First place: Staff, The Columbus Dispatch

About this entry: The Columbus Dispatch’s sports sections are beautifully designed, full of expertly written coverage and and appeal to fans of all sports.

Complete, attractive, well-written and engaging, and at its best covering the biggest events, the Dispatch is a pleasure to read and spend time with. Pulling off a wrap-around cover on deadline from the CFP title game was impressive.

Second place: Staff, The Repository

About this entry: The Repository uses great photos, excellent design and great coverage to appeal to sports fans.

View the section online here

Ambitious, nicely written section that always seems to give the readers something extra, to wit, even on the night of Ohio State in the CFP title game the paper also included an alternative story form analysis of the Cavs. Well-handled 4-page wrap on the NBA Finals with lots of color on deadline including a clever LeBron-Curry meter.

Third place: Staff, StarNews

About this entry: The StarNews sports section is home to great design, excellent graphics and wonderful writing.

Section earns high marks for clean design, good use of graphics and non-traditional story presentations, and strong packaging. Clever use of scrabble tiles on college basketball preview.