Chris Russell of The Columbus Dispatch rallied in the final month and became only the second person to win four ONPA Clip Photographer of the Year titles. Russel won previouslly in 2006, 2004 and 1997.

Russell’s win for 2010 came at the expense of co-worker Neal Lauron who finished second in the standings. Lauron had two wins in October, but only a 50 point lead going in, which wasn’t enough to hold off Russell.

Russell racked up 192 points with five wins in October, which was the final month judged. That was the most points won in any one month all year in the contest.

As in the previous years contest only three papers cracked the top ten. The Columbus Dispatch had six photographers in the top ten, with the Springfield News-Sun placing three and The Plain Dealer with one, which was the third place overall winner, Lisa DeJong.

For the record keepers Jim Witmer, now with the Dayton Daily News, has won five clip titles, all while working at the Troy Daily News.

Final top 10 standings
1st – Chris Russell, The Columbus Dispatch – 1114
2nd – Neal C. Lauron, The Columbus Dispatch – 1044
3rd – Lisa Dejong, The Plain Dealer – 914
4th – Bill Lackey, Springfield News-Sun – 794
5th – Kyle Robertson, The Columbus Dispatch – 774
6th – Jonathan Quilter, The Columbus Dispatch – 634
7th – Marshall Gorby, Springfield News-Sun – 624
8th – Eric Albrecht, The Columbus Dispatch – 592
9th – Fred Squillante, The Columbus Dispatch – 564
10th – Barbara Perenic, Springfield News-Sun – 464