Feature - 1st place - Dean Simms performs with Par Tolliver during the Holiday in the City festival in downtown Springfield. (Bill Lackey / Springfield News-Sun)
Feature - 2nd place - Children reach for bouncy balls during the New Year’s Eve Eve Celebration at Imagination Station in downtown Toledo. Imagination Station dropped 20,000 bouncy balls from the ceiling at 2:20 pm to bring in the new year. (Rebecca Benson / The Blade)
Feature - 3rd place - Children hop from one disc to another in the installation The Pool by artist Jen Lewin.The display of interactive pads of shifting and fading colors will be at Franklin Park Conservatory through January 4.(Eric Albrecht / The Columbus Dispatch)
Feature - HM - People look at 'Intersections' an installation by artist Anila Quayyum Agha from her Between Light and Shadow exhibit at the Toledo Museum of Art.(Rebecca Benson / The Blade)
Feature - HM - Brenden Cottman (center) reaches out for his mother, Brandy Suman (right) as he tumbles off a skateboard as his sister, Lily Suman (left) watches from behind the ramp at the skate park in Celina’s Westview Park.(Daniel Melograna / The Daily Standard)
General News - 1st place - Myliyah Brisco, 6, left, smiles after unwrapping a matching pair of sneakers as her cousin, Suniyah Long, 6, seated beside her, from Rock City Church volunteers Mackenzie Boland, 24, right, and Katlyn Baker, 25, at Parkmoor Elementary in the Northland area. In an effort to meet the practical needs of the city, the church, which has held the event for eight years, is giving away free shoes to 5,000 students at 12 different Columbus City Schools throughout the first two weeks in December. (Adam Cairns / The Columbus Dispatch)
General News - 2nd place - Jacqueline Murphy looks up and cries as she is consoled by family members during the funeral for local jazz musician Clifford Murphy at Mount Pilgrim Church in Toledo.(Rebecca Benson / The Blade)
General News - 3rd place - Maryellen Schmidt, with The Compassionate Friends of Northwest Ohio who also lost her son and his fiancée (left) hugs Wanda Butts, who lost her son to drowning, during a vigil as part of a worldwide candle lighting held by The Compassionate Friends of Northwest Ohio at the Toledo Children's Memorial. Attendees celebrated and grieved the lives of children they have lost. (Kurt Steiss / The Blade)
General News - HM - Moriarty Lukyanova Dance Academy perform "Winter Fantasy" during The Ohio Statehouse Holiday Festival & Tree Lighting in Columbus. (Kyle Robertson / The Columbus Dispatch)
Illustration - 1st place - St. Marys' Derek Fisher and Jaden Gibson look to lead the St. Marys Roughriders bowling teams to back-to-back state titles.(Daniel Melograna / The Daily Standard)
Illustration - 2nd place - Parlor chili featuring ground beef and mettwurst, and spoon bread at Parlor on Seventh restaurant in Covington, Ky. (Kareem Elgazzar / The Cincinnati Enquirer)
Illustration - 3rd place - Large plate of Pork at Ghostwriters Public House restaurant in Johnstown. The large plate includes pasture-raised chop, ember roasted butternut squash, pickled shallots, cilantro, spiced pumpkin seeds, mole negro. (Kyle Robertson / The Columbus Dispatch)
Illustration - HM - Rime, a new holiday IPA beer photographed in front of the fireplace at Antiques on High, a sister brewery to Seventh Son Brewing, at 714 South High Street in Columbus.(Maddie Schroeder / The Columbus Dispatch)
Illustration - HM - Smashburger at Ghostwriters Public House restaurant in Johnstown.(Kyle Robertson / The Columbus Dispatch)
Portrait - 1st place - Chris Sauer owner of Architectural Salvage in Columbus. The plaster statue used to be Washington Courthouse High School and is headed back to the present school in Washington Courthouse.(Eric Albrecht / The Columbus Dispatch)
Portrait - 2nd place - From right, Orange Middle School eighth-graders Alex Hertzfeld, Ben Tong, Sarah Fenstermaker, Raya Reid, Amadou Diane and Nazzy Seigneur pose alongside their pop-up museum in remembrance of the 400th anniversary of the transatlantic slave trade at Orange Middle School in Lewis Center. The museum, organized by history teacher Shane Shoaf, will be viewable through the end of winter break.(Shane Flanigan / ThisWeek Community News)
Portrait - 3rd place - Bonnie Johnson looks out her window at Vistula Manor in Toledo. Vistula Manor residents are without hot water currently. Bonnie Johnson said this is a common occurrence, along with numerous other issues such as lack of air conditioning, cockroaches, bedbugs, and crime. (Jeremy Wadsworth / The Blade)
Sports Feature - 1st place - Pickerington Central's Anthony Lampron Jr. leads the Tigers onto the field for the OHSAA Division I state championship game against Cincinnati Elder at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton.(Shane Flanigan / ThisWeek Community News)
Sports Feature - 2nd place - Julie Marasco becomes emotional as she celebrates with her son, Dom Marasco, after Pickerington Central's 21-14 victory over Cincinnati Elder in the OHSAA Division I state championship game at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton.(Shane Flanigan / ThisWeek Community News)
Sports Feature - 3rd place - Cincinnati forward Angel Rizor (4) is congratulated by Sam Rodgers (11) and the team after scoring a basket at the end of the first quarter during the first half of a NCAA college basketball game at Cintas Center in Cincinnati. (Kareem Elgazzar / The Cincinnati Enquirer)
Sports Feature - HM - Dayton's Ryan Mikesell places his hand over his heart during the playing of the National Anthem prior to the start of their matchup against Drake.(Erik Schelkun / Elsestar Images)
Sports Feature - HM - Addison Callison, 3, watches the Springfield Wildcats football team bus drive away from Springfield High School in route to their state semifinal game against Elder High School. (Bill Lackey / Springfield News-Sun)
Spot News - 1st place - Toledo Police detain a man at his home on North Byrne Road after responding to a gun being fired at a residence.(Rebecca Benson / The Blade)
Spot News - 2nd place - Police use a search dog at Fifth Street and Fulton Street to search for Harley Dilly, 14, in Port Clinton on Dec. 26. The Port Clinton boy has been missing since Dec. 20. (Kurt Steiss / The Blade)
Spot News - 3rd place - Shortly before 1 a.m. a 2015 Jeep Compass drove by Brittany Bailey, 23, Howard, eastbound on Vine Street sideswiped a parked Toyota Matrix, flipping the Jeep onto the side. Mount Vernon Police and Fire responded as well as the Ohio State Highway Patrol. The occupants were able to exit the vehicle and were transported to Knox Community Hospital with minor injuries. Bailey was cited for driving under the influence.(Joshua Morrison / Mount Vernon News)
Sports - 1st place - Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton (14) tries to tackle Cleveland Browns cornerback Denzel Ward (21) on an interception return for a touchdown in the first quarter of a game at FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland.(Kareem Elgazzar / The Cincinnati Enquirer)
Sports - 2nd place - Ohio State tight end Jeremy Ruckert (88) catches a 16-yard touchdown pass during the third quarter of the Big Ten Championship Game against the Wisconsin Badgers at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.(Adam Cairns / The Columbus Dispatch)
Sports - 3rd place - Toledo Walleye defender Charle-Edouard D'Astous (14) fights Wheeling Nailers forward Brandon Hawkins (7) during anECHL hockey game at the Huntington Center in Toledo. (Jeremy Wadsworth / The Blade)
Sports - HM - Dayton's Jhery Matos sticks out his tongue as he dribbles the ball up the court against Drake. The Flyers defeated Drake 78-47(Erik Schelkun / Elsestar Images)
Sports - HM - Akron Zips forward Vari Caitlin (left) takes to the floor to fight for a loose ball against Duquesne guard Nina Aho during the first half of a game in Akron.(Jeff Lange / Akron Beacon Journal)
Story - 1st place - Ohio State head coach Ryan Day hoists the Stagg Championship Trophy following their 34-21 win over the Wisconsin Badgers in the Big Ten Championship Game at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.(Adam Cairns / The Columbus Dispatch)
Story - 2nd place - People eat during a Christmas Eve luncheon at the Cherry Street Mission Life Revitalization Center in Toledo. Cherry Street is offering special meals for the holidays and hope to engage others in some of the life changing opportunities through Cherry Street. (Jeremy Wadsworth / The Blade)
Story - 3rd place - Katrina Renee of Toledo plays "Sunny" on the alto saxophone during a first night of Kwanzaa celebration at the Martin Luther King Jr. Academy in Toledo.(Jeremy Wadsworth / The Blade)
