Feature - 1st place - Christmas tree lighting in Gibsonburg. (Molly Corfman / The News-Messenger)
Feature - 2nd place - Nathaniel Mendoza, 3, waves to a swimming Santa as a zebra shark passes by in the renovated aquarium at the Toledo Zoo. (Andy Morrison / The (Toledo) Blade)
Feature - 3rd place - Anne Gerdes tickles her son Liam, 8, and tells him he's got to get back to school as he lays in her bed and plays with one of their cats, Beanie, while their family moves across the street on West 1st Avenue in Grandview. The Kalnow's have always had their eye on Anne Gerdes' big old house and corner lot, so the second she put out a for sale by owner sign they walked across the street to inquire. A weird sequence of events fell into place culminating with the two families buying each other's homes and moving across the street. (Eamon Queeney / The Columbus Dispatch)
Feature - HM - Garret Wassmuth positions his cycle in preparing to take a photo of it at COSI (in ground lighting makes the steps turn different colors). Several motorcyclists stopped at COSI to take advantage of the warm weather to take shots of their cycles . (Eric Albrecht / The Columbus Dispatch)
Feature - HM - Jace Meggitt, 4, enjoys a treat at Copper Top Bake Shop as he looks out the window in Bellevue. The bakery is raising money and awareness of Angelman's Syndrome, a neuro-genetic developmental disorder that Jace has been diagnosed with. (Angela Wilhelm / Sandusky Register)
General News - 1st place - Carlene Davis-Dale gives a kiss to granddaughter Ava Lok who lives with her. Carlene has custody of Ava due to her sons Drake Lok's drug addiction which has prevented him from being a father due to his heroin use. (Eric Albrecht / The Columbus Dispatch)
General News - 2nd place - Heath Tucker with the Ohio National Guard's 1st Battalion, 137 Regiment, returning from Kuwait, kissing his daughter Quinn, 9 months, for the first time at Port Columbus International Airport. (Tom Dodge / The Columbus Dispatch)
General News - 3rd place - Mansfield resident and volunteer Barbara Piatt plays Christmas tunes on the pump organ in the second floor chapel at Oak Hill Cottage. (Mitchell Pe Masilun / The (Mansfield) News Journal)
General News - HM - Franklin County Municipal Court Environmental Judge Daniel R. Hawkins, (not pictured) visited with David Evans Hunter, 78, who has been living in a tent at 697 Harley Dr with his cat "Monty" and 4 or 5 other cats after he was evicted from his home for hoarding issues. (Tom Dodge / The Columbus Dispatch)
General News - HM - Isabella Blevins (left) a 3rd grader at Sherman Elementary, and R.C. Pittenger attempt to draw a Christmas Tree during the ninth annual Christmas party at Dayspring Assisted Living. (Mitchell Pe Masilun / The (Mansfield) News Journal)
AIllustration - 1st place - Cheese board for holiday entertaining (Adam Cairns / The Columbus Dispatch)
Illustration - 2nd place - A leaf rests in a luminary along 3rd Street during the "German Village Lights" celebration in Columbus. The celebration features luminaries that line the streets of German Village to guide visitors to local businesses and restaurants. (Brooke LaValley / The Columbus Dispatch)
Illustration - 3rd place - Green eggs and ham deviled Eggs make a tasty fall treat. (Andy Morrison / The (Toledo) Blade)
Illustration - HM - The Ohio State basketball special section. (Kyle Robertson / The Columbus Dispatch)
Illustration - HM - Pickled pears make for a healthy alternative dessert. (Eric Albrecht / The Columbus Dispatch)
Portrait - 1st place - Milt Mapou a surviving Pearl Harbor vet at his home in Columbus. Milt went on to serve in the Navy was later wounded when having to jump from his ship during a kamikaze attack. (Eric Albrecht / The Columbus Dispatch)
Portrait - 2nd place - Game On store owner Brian Wingfield poses for a photograph in his South High Street video game store. Brian's store was robbed at gunpoint and he has the whole thing on surveillance cameras. The robber cleared both cash drawers and left in a matter of minutes. No one was harmed. (Eamon Queeney / The Columbus Dispatch)
Portrait - 3rd place - David Conley, of the Short North, poses for a photograph at Broad and Hoffman Streets on the near East Side. It was at this spot he became a victim of a hate crime while walking home late one summer's night in 2013. Conley is open to speaking about that situation and does not let it define him. Instead he wants to empower other people in the LGBT community to report hate crimes that often go unreported. (Eamon Queeney / The Columbus Dispatch)
Portrait - HM - Zeus McClurkin , Columbus native and current member of the Harlem Globetrotters show off some moves in the Dispatch studio. (Chris Russell / The Columbus Dispatch )
Portrait - HM - Larry Rose is surrounded by memorabilia from his horse reining days at his home in Lexington. (Mitchell Pe Masilun / The (Mansfield) News Journal)
Sports Feature - 1st place - Bishop Hartley head coach Brad Burchfield is doused with ice water by player Rian Anderson (2) as time expires in the Division IV state championship football game against Steubenville at Ohio Stadium in Columbus. (Barbara J. Perenic / The Columbus Dispatch)
Sports Feature - 2nd place - Perkins' Kordell Chaney lunges to take down Sandusky's Jerell Wells in a wrestling event under the spotlight. (Angela Wilhelm / Sandusky Register)
Sports Feature - 3rd place - Toledo Central Catholic players celebrate after defeating Whitmer High School 67-66 during their basketball game at Whitmer High School. (Andy Morrison / The (Toledo) Blade)
Sports Feature - HM - Ohio State fans try to distract Virginia Cavaliers forward Anthony Gill (13) during a free throw during the second half at Value City Arena. Ohio State lost by a score of 64-58. (Jonathan Quilter / The Columbus Dispatch)
Sports Feature - HM - Bowling Green State University players Nilijah Ballew (25) Matt Johnson (11) and Ryan Burbrink (17) celebrate after defeating Northern Illinois University 34-14 to win the MAC football championship game at Ford Field in Detroit. (Andy Morrison / The (Toledo) Blade)
Spot News - 1st place - Anthony Borg, 57, of Taylor, Michigan, and his dog were killed after his van was struck by a train on Rye Beach Road in Huron. Witnesses said the railroad crossing gates were down and the lights were flashing when Borg drove across the tracks. (Angela Wilhelm / Sandusky Register)
Spot News - 2nd place - Clint Eisnnicher talks with a highway patrol Sgt. Ron Cox after his vehicle plowed through a carport at a home on state Route 517 in Fairfield Township. (Patricia Schaeffer / The (Lisbon) Morning Journal)
Spot News - 3rd place - A representative of Richland County Children Services and the Mansfield Police department talk with people at the scene of meth lab discovery at 275 W Dickson Ave. (Mitchell Pe Masilun / The (Mansfield) News Journal)
Spot News - HM - Firemen check out a truck that was the cause of a house fire on Collins Road in Berlin Heights after pulling it from the smoldering garage. (Angela Wilhelm / Sandusky Register)
Spot News - HM - Two people are overcome with grief after Columbus Police were on the scene at the Wynds apartments on Christmas morning of an early-morning shooting on Courtside Drive, where two people were found dead in a car. (Tom Dodge / The Columbus Dispatch)
SSports - 1st place - Xavier Musketeers guard Edmond Sumner (center) loses the ball on the way to the basket as Cincinnati Bearcats guard Troy Caupain (10) and Kevin Johnson (25) defends in the second half during the 83rd annual Crosstown Shootout game at Cintas Center in Cincinnati. (Kareem Elgazzar / Cincinnati Enquirer)
Sports - 2nd place - Will Homan (24) of Fort Recovery is nabbed by Paul Skye (55) of Mogadore during the Division VII state championship game at Ohio Stadium in Columbus. (Barbara J. Perenic / The Columbus Dispatch)
sSports - 3rd place - Columbus Crew SC defender Harrison Afful (25) jumps on the back of Portland Timbers defender Jorge Villafaña (19) trying to get the ball in the 1st half of the 2015 MLS Cup Final at MAPFRE Stadium in Columbus. (Kyle Robertson / The Columbus Dispatch)
sSports - HM - North Carolina A&T's Courtney Powell (32) fouls Ohio State guard Kelsey Mitchell (3) as she goes to the basket at Value City Arena. (Chris Russell / The Columbus Dispatch)
sSports - HM - Ohio State center David Bell (10) grabs a rebound against Virginia Military Keydets forward Trey Chapman (15) during the 2nd half of their game at Value City Arena in Columbus. (Kyle Robertson / The Columbus Dispatch)
sStory - 1st place - Portland Timbers celebrates Rodney Wallace (22) goal as Columbus Crew SC fans throw beer cans at the players in the 1st half of the 2015 MLS Cup Final at MAPFRE Stadium in Columbus. (Kyle Robertson / The Columbus Dispatch)
Story - 2nd place - Parishioners say goodbye after the last service at the Church before the New Year. (Mitchell Pe Masilun / The (Mansfield) News Journal)
Story - 3rd place - Dancers perform at the end of the first act during dress rehearsal for "The Nutcracker" performed by BalletMet at the Ohio Theatre in Columbus. (Brooke LaValley / The Columbus Dispatch)
Story - HM - Bruce "Mask Juice" Lewis and Jennifer Johnson embrace after the MLS Cup game between the Columbus Crew SC and the Portland Timbers at Mapfre Stadium in Columbus. The Timbers defeated the Columbus Crew SC 2 - 1. (Eamon Queeney / The Columbus Dispatch)
