Theo DeRosa, Mississippi State University athletics beat writer for The Dispatch, earned top-10 finishes in five categories in the Associated Press Sports Editors Contest.
He competed against sports writers from across the nation with work produced in 2021.
DeRosa placed second among 48 entries in game story, fifth (of 58) in long feature, fifth (of 42) in beat writing, sixth (of 38) in explanatory and seventh (of 54) in short feature story.
It’s DeRosa’s second straight year competing in the APSE contest. He logged three top-10 finishes last year.
Former MSU beat reporter Ben Portnoy placed ninth in long feature for work he produced while at The Dispatch in 2021. Former Dispatch sports editor Garrick Hodge placed 10th in game story.
“It is always good to see young writers get recognized, and Theo is as consistently strong as anyone I’ve worked with in 30 years in this profession,” said sports editor Tom Rysinski. “The storytelling might win him awards, but his talent for turning the routine story into a good read is what makes him such an asset to our department.”
The Dispatch competed in the Class C circulation division, which included publications such as The State in Columbia, South Carolina; The Commercial Appeal and The Daily Memphian, both in Memphis; The Idaho Statesman; The Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania) Tribune-Review The Roanoke Times in Virginia; and the Clarion-Ledger.
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