The American Scholastic Press Association has presented the Crusader student

newspaper of Seward County Community College/Area Technical School with a

first-place award and honored the publication with Best Overall Sports

Coverage.

ASPA is a national organization based in New York that provides annual

review and contest awards for scholastic newspapers.

In a letter to Crusader editor Morgan Allaman, the judge wrote,

Newspapers judged were those published in 2009. Sports editor Rustin Watt,

along with Crusader sports reporter Will Rector, were the driving forces

behind sports coverage in that time frame.

In awarding the Crusader with Best Overall Sports Coverage, the judge

specifically noted the March 12, 2009, sports section which covered the Lady

Saints Region VI run in the basketball tournament, the men??s basketball

team??s season-ending overtime, and included a student-athlete feature, plus

coverage of Saints baseball, Lady Saints softball and tennis.

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The ASPA judge??s letter included kudos to the entire Crusader staff.

The Crusader is an open forum student-run publication of the SCCC/ATS

journalism program with an online newspaper at CrusaderNews.com.

Student journalists for 2009-2010 were Allaman, editor, of Liberal; Watt,

sports editor, of Liberal; news editor Dana Loewen, Meade; entertainment

editor Jose Rodriguez, Liberal; and online editor Deisi Barboza, Liberal.

Staff members included Alfredo Anaya, Liberal; Rector, Dodge City; Zach

Carpenter, Liberal; Miguel Campano, Venezuela; Logan Green, Meade; Joseph

Hoffman, Hooker, Okla.; Antigon?? Lowery, Denton, Texas; and Landry

Mastellar, Liberal.

Loewen and Anaya will be taking over the top editor responsibilities in the

fall of 2010 as the Crusader begins its 41st year of publishing.