Feature - 1st place - Lacy Bowman helps her granddaughter Salecia Bowman, 3, put on her helmet to ride her new bike as they enjoy the warm Christmas Day weather in Toledo. (Rebecca Benson / The Blade)
Feature - 2nd place - Toledo resident Charlie Seewer, a senior at St John's Jesuit High School, changes the letters displayed on the marquee outside the Maumee Indoor Theater in Maumee. (Isaac Ritchey / The Blade)
Feature - 3rd place - Columbus Police Officer Shawn Lutz helps Derriona Greathouse, 5, check the size on her coat before he gives her a new one in front of her home in the Linden neighborhood. The program, organized by Starfish Assignment, AEP Ohio, and Macy’s, helps officers connect kids in need with a new winter coat. The program was started in 2018. (Brooke LaValley / The Columbus Dispatch)
General News - 1st place - Columbus Police Officer Amanda Hoover digs through piles of coats set up for donation while holding the list of sizes she needs in her teeth at the Columbus Police Academy. Officers filled large bags with coats to distribute to schools in their jurisdiction. (Brooke LaValley / The Columbus Dispatch)
General News - 2nd place - Chef and Instructor Justin Thatcher rolls fresh pasta dough as students watch during a cooking class through Sinclair Community College at the Ohio Reformatory for Women in Marysville. (Brooke LaValley / The Columbus Dispatch)
General News - 3rd place - Jayy Smith and Hazel Penrose dance after turning their tassels during UT’s class of 2023 fall commencement at the University of Toledo’s Savage Arena. (Rebecca Benson / The Blade)
Illustration - 1st place - Blackberry Pomegranate Mocktail. (Jeremy Wadsworth / The Blade)
Illustration - 2nd place - Deep-fried stuffing balls with a cranberry dipping sauce. (Jeremy Wadsworth / The Blade)
Illustration - 3rd place - Leftover turkey sandwich. (Jeremy Wadsworth / The Blade)
Portrait - 1st place - John Kerstetter, Adams Street Cafe owner and chef. (Jeremy Wadsworth / The Blade)
Portrait - 2nd place - Anna Cotterman is the new historic farm specialist at the Carter Historic Farm in Bowling Green. (Jeremy Wadsworth / The Blade)
Portrait - 3rd place - Steve Shellabarger holds a poster he created in 1988 to raise awareness about AIDS in the Columbus community. Shellabarger continues to be an advocate in Central Ohio. (Brooke LaValley / The Columbus Dispatch)
Sports Feature - 1st place - Springfield's Zy'Aire Fletcher sits by himself on the bench following the Wildcats' loss to St. Edwards in the state finals at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton. (Bill Lackey / Springfield News-Sun)
Sports Feature - 2nd place - Jacob Lyons of Tuslaw (right) celebrates after pinning Savier Faulks of Steubenville to place first in the 157 pound weight class during the North Canton Holiday Invitational wrestling tournament. (Jeff Lange / Akron Beacon Journal)
Sports Feature - 3rd place - South Carolina’s head coach Dawn Staley hugs her former assistant coach and now head coach for Bowling Green, Fred Chmiel after a women’s basketball game at the Stroh Center in Bowling Green. The University of South Carolina defeated Bowling Green, 93-62. (Rebecca Benson / The Blade)
Spot News - 1st place - Firefighters clear debris after containing an apartment fire on the sixth floor of the TenEyck Towers in Toledo. (Kurt Steiss / The Blade)
Spot News - 2nd place - The Springfield Police Division investigates the scene of a shooting along the 600 block of Euclid Avenue. According to police they arrived to find a male laying beside the road with a gunshot wound to the head. The victim was transported to Springfield Regional Medical Center and flown by CareFlight to Miami Valley Hospital. (Bill Lackey / Springfield News-Sun)
Spot News - 3rd place - A Loram Maintenance of Way Inc. rail grinder train works on a stretch of train track owned by Wheeling & Lake Erie Railway Company in Lawrence Township. Residents concerned about a possible train fire called 911. (Andrew Dolph / The Times Reporter)
Sports - 1st place - Liberty Center defensive lineman Landon Bockelman (75) chases a Perry fumble during the Division V state championship game at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton. (Jeremy Wadsworth / The Blade)
Sports - 2nd place - Toledo’s Junior Vandeross catches the ball over Miami’s Jacquez Warren during the MAC Championship game at Ford Field in Detroit. Miami defeated Toledo, 23-14. (Rebecca Benson / The Blade)
Sports - 3rd place - Toledo’s Riley Sawchuk (center) and Cincinnati’s Jalen Smereck (right) dive for the puck during an ECHL hockey game at the Huntington Center in Toledo. (Kurt Steiss / The Blade)
Story - 1st place - Central Catholic players celebrate defeating Columbus Bishop Watterson, 27-7, to win the Division III state championship at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton. (Jeremy Wadsworth / The Blade)
