The 2025 ONPA Still Contest had a little rarefied air to it and made some history along the way.
The rarefied air is courtesy of Jeremy Wadsworth from The Blade who won his second consecutive George S. Smallsreed Photographer of the Year title in the Large Market Division. In doing so he achieved the triple crown, as he also won Best of Show and the Clip Contest POY title all in the same year. The only other person to accomplish this was Dale Omori of The Plain Dealer for his work in 2003.
Now for the history side of the equation. Wesley Blackburn, a high school student from Greenville, won the Small Market Photographer of the Year title and is the first student to win a POY title since Tim Barmann from Kent State University did so in 1986. Ohio University students Lois Bernstein in 1984 and Gail Fisher in 1979 also accomplished the feat. Needless to say Blackburn is the only one of these students who was looking for a prom date while winning.
Ben Pennington from Ohio University won the Chuck Scott Student Photographer of the Year title. Judges were impressed with Pennington’s portfolio commenting that it would hold its own up against the professional portfolios that they were about to judge. By the way, they were right.
Pennington and Wadsworth both came away with three first place wins in the individual categories of the contestand in the end were the final candidates for Best of Show award. Judge Patrick Breen said of the two finalist, “editing was tight to perfection.”
Wadsworth’s first place news picture story about the murder of 13-year-old Kei’Mani Latigue won the top prize. It was an entry that judge Seth Harrison described was “devastatingly strong.” Pennington’s contender was his first place feature story winner about Fred Baker, who despite fracturing his spine in a motorcycle accident, continues to pursue his hobbies, including deer hunting.
Addison Annis from The Blade won second place and Adam Cairns from The Columbus Dispatch placed third in the Large Market POY competition while Andrew Dolph from The Times-Reporter placed second and Bryant Billing from the Dayton Daily News placed third in the Small Market contest.
Ohio University student Loriene Perera won the James R. Gordon Ohio Understanding Award for her entry, “From Diner to Destination” which documents the Triple Nickel Diner in Chesterhill, OH, and its role as a connective hub in a rural Appalachian village. Perera was the Chuck Scott Student Photographer of the Year for her work in 2023 and 2024.
The bragging rights for the Ron Kuntz Sports Photographer of the Year Award for 2025 go to Adam Cairns from The Columbus Dispatch. Placing second was Rebecca Benson from The Blade with Jeff Lange from the Akron Beacon Journal placing third. All three have won the top spot previously.
Twenty one visual journalists from across the state submitted 283 entries in the 75th annual news photography contest.
Judging the still competition were: Seth Harrison is a staff photographer for The Journal News/USA TODAY Network in the New York City area for 39 years. Briana Sanchez, a visual journalist based in Boston, Massachusetts. Sanchez is currently a Photo Editor at the Boston Globe and Patrick Breen, a staff photographer and videographer for the Arizona Republic. He is a winner of three Arizona Press Club’s Arizona Photographer of the Year and three AZPC’s Sports Photographer of the Year.
Results from the multimedia portion of the contest will be released upon completion of their judging.
George A. Smallsreed, Jr. Photographer of the Year (Small Market)
1st place - Wesley Blackburn, Freelance
2nd place - Andrew Dolph, The Times-Reporter
3rd place - Bryant Billing, Dayton Daily News
George A. Smallsreed, Jr. Photographer of the Year (Large Market)
1st place - Jeremy Wadsworth, The Blade
2nd place - Addison Annis, The Blade
3rd place - Adam Cairns, The Columbus Dispatch
Award of Excellence - Kurt Steiss, The Blade
Chuck Scott Student Photographer of the Year Award
1st place - Ben Pennington, Ohio University
2nd place - HG Biggs, Ohio University
3rd place - Sandra Fu, Ohio State University
Larry Fullerton Photojournalism Scholarship
1st place - Ben Pennington, Ohio University
2nd - place - Ayiana Andrella, Ohio University
James R. Gordon Ohio Understanding Award
1st place - Loriene Perera, Ohio University, “From Diner to Destination”
2nd place - Kurt Steiss, The Blade, "Legacy of Luckey"
Best of Show
Jeremy Wadsworth, The Blade, “Kei’Mani”
Monthly Clip Contest Photographer of the Year
1st - Jeremy Wadsworth, The Blade
2nd - Andrew Dolph, Akron Beacon Journal
3rd - Kurt Steiss, The Blade
Feature
1st Place - Kurt Steiss, The Blade, "Splash Pad"
2nd Place - Adam Cairns, The Columbus Dispatch, "Poodle"
3rd Place - Thomas Fetcenko, The Chronicle Telegram, "Inflatables"
Award of Excellence - Rebecca Benson, The Blade, "Confetti"
Feature Picture Story
1st place - Ben Pennington, Ohio University, “Parahunter”
2nd place - Andrew Dolph, Akron Beacon Journal, “First Snow of Season”
3rd place - Claira Kimble, Ohio University, “In My Room”
Award of Excellence - Andrew Dolph, Akron Beacon Journal, “Crunch MAHA Moms”
General News
1st Place - Addison Annis, The Blade, "Victim"
2nd Place - Jeremy Wadsworth, The Blade, "Deer"
3rd Place - Kristin Bauer, The Chronicle Telegram, "Election Night"
Award of Excellence - Kurt Steiss, The Blade, "Memorial"
Award of Excellence - Frank Bowen IV, The Cincinnati Enquirer, "Ryan Hinton Funeral"
Illustration
1st Place - Andrew Dolph, The Times Reporter, "Mocktail"
2nd Place - Jeremy Wadsworth, The Blade, "Candied Cherries"
3rd Place - Andrew Dolph, The Times Reporter, "The Debutant"
News Picture Story
1st place - Jeremy Wadsworth, The Blade, “Kei’Mani”
2nd place - Phillip L. Kaplan, The Blade, “Kei'Mani Latigue”
3rd place - Wesley Blackburn, Freelance, “Soybean Tariffs”
Award of Excellence - Ben Pennington, Ohio University, “Brown University Shooting”
Pictorial
1st Place - Jeremy Wadsworth, The Blade, "Lunch"
2nd Place - Kurt Steiss, The Blade, "Rainbow Bird"
3rd Place - Adam Cairns, The Columbus Dispatch, "Fall Snow"
Award of Excellence - Adam Cairns, The Columbus Dispatch, "Sun Rainbow"
Portrait Personality
1st Place - Ben Pennington, Ohio University, "Pastor Brandon"
2nd Place - Adam Cairns, The Columbus Dispatch, "Paper Mill"
3rd Place - Phillip L. Kaplan, The Blade, "Trumpet"
Ron Kuntz Sports Photographer of the Year
1st place - Adam Cairns, The Columbus Dispatch
2nd place - Rebecca Benson, The Blade
3rd place - Jeff Lange, Akron Beacon Journal
Sports Action
1st Place - Sam Greene, The Cincinnati Enquirer, "LaPorta Flipped"
2nd Place - Rebecca Benson, The Blade, "Dive"
3rd Place - Phillip L. Kaplan, The Blade, "Shoulder Save"
Award of Excellence - Frank Bowen IV, The Cincinnati Enquirer, "Strike Out"
Sports Feature
1st Place - Jessica Phelps, Newark Advocate, "Halftime"
2nd Place - Addison Annis, The Blade, "Drills"
3rd Place - Sandra Fu, The Ohio State University, "Triumph"
Award of Excellence - Addison Annis, The Blade, "Win"
Award of Excellence - Kristin Bauer, AP, "FLAG Championships"
Sports Picture Story
1st place - Ben Pennington, Ohio University, “Like Champions”
2nd place - Adam Cairns, The Columbus Dispatch, “Ohio State Playoffs”
3rd place - Jeff Lange, Akron Beacon Journal, “Volleyball Under the Lights”
Award of Excellence - Addison Annis, The Blade, “Sidelines”
Spot News
1st Place - Jeremy Wadsworth, The Blade, "Cry"
2nd Place - Andrew Dolph, The Times Reporter, "Dog Road Fire"
3rd Place - Andrew Dolph, The Times Reporter, "Animal Rescue"
Award of Excellence - Bryant Billing, Dayton Daily News, "Flooding in Troy"
News Video
1st place - Sam Greene, The Cincinnati Enquirer, “Ohio River Flooding”
Judge’s comments: Superior use of the drone to tell this news story. The selection of imagery really brought home the extent of the flooding. Additionally, all the imagery was wonderfully composed. A well told visual news story.
Sports Video
1st place - Sam Greene, The Cincinnati Enquirer, “Reds Pitchers and Catchers”
2nd place - Phillip L. Kaplan, The Blade, “Sound Play”
3rd place - Phillip L. Kaplan, The Blasé, “Snowman Shamans”
Judge’s comments: A strong category all around. The Pitchers and Catchers video was a quick, seldomly seen behind the scenes look at Spring Training. A couple of details stood out, especially the sound of spikes as the players walked on asphalt. A quick, but well executed video that any baseball fan would appreciate.
Both the "Have you Ever Seen" videos were well told visual stories of unusual subjects. I enjoyed seeing people so passionate about their quirky interests. My only quible would be the length of these videos. I hope I'm wrong, but I fear that the average viewer may not stay with these for the entire time. I think I would have preferred a tighter edit.
Documentary Video
1st place - Phillip L. Kaplan, The Blade, “Under the Helmet: Whitmer Panthers”
Judge’s comments - An extremely well produced video taking a deep dive into a high school football program, from training camp through first game of the season. The videographer took great care in every aspect of shooting and post-production, resulting in beautifully produced documentary.
Multimedia Photographer of the Year
1st place - Phillip L. Kaplan, The Blade
Judge’s comments: The videographer excels in all aspects of video storytelling. His shot choices and style of shooting are compelling, as is his use of b-roll, audio (always clean) and transitions. His post-production work creates a polished final product. The video titled "Cakewalkin' band bids adieu to longstanding member, spreads ashes at Packo's" was especially lovely. A charming story that was very simply told.
Large Market Photographer of the Year Jeremy Wadsworth / The Blade
Riverside Mobile Home Park resident Chuck Parker kisses his pet deer, Lotus Rain in front of his home in Toledo. Mr. Parker is being forced to vacate his mobile home because it and the rest of the homes in the park were condemned by the City of Toledo.
Small Market Photographer of the Year - Wesley Blackburn
Terry Jesse kneels beside a surviving goat after a barn fire killed multiple goats in Arcanum.
Student Photographer of the Year - Ben Pennington / Ohio University
Fred Baker takes a look inside his butcher shop as his father brings his truck in carrying a customer’s deer in the bed. When Fred Baker fractured his spine in a motorcycle accident in 2009, his first thought was how he would continue his hobbies - skiing, motorcycling, fishing at his family’s lake house, and hunting. For the last few years, he’s participated in the statewide annual “parahunt” held by the Massachusetts Department of Fisheries and Wildlife which offers disabled hunters an opportunity to get back out into the woods.
Best of Show - Jeremy Wadsworth / The Blade
Tiara Kasten, mother Kei’mani Latigue, at the scene where her 13-year-old daughter’s body was found inside a house on the 1100th block of Miami Street in Toledo.
James R. Gordon Ohio Understanding Award - Loriene Perera / Ohio University
A motorcyclist rides past Triple Nickel Diner during lunch service in Chesterhill, Ohio.
Ron Kuntz Sports Photographer of the Year Award - Adam Cainrs / The Columbus Dispatch
Rickie Fowler hops the creek to the 14th green during the first round of the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin.
2nd place Large Market Photographer of the Year - Addison Annis / The Blade
Lynn Spino cries as her cousin, Danielle Spino, embraces her after speaking about her late son, Nicholas, who died in a traffic incident during an awareness event for World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims at Ottawa Park in Toledo on Friday, Nov. 14, 2025.
2nd place Photographer of the Year Small Market - Andrew Dolph / The Times-Reporter
Crystel Vest, a United States Marine Corps Veteran, reaches into her partner’s burned out vehicle in Oxford Township. The two survived their house fire along with a few pets earlier in the day, but lost virtually everything. Throughout the day, neighbors came to their aid with donations of food and clothing.
1st place Feature - Kurt Steiss / The Blade
Tommy Maulsby and 10-month-old Marcel Fields cool off at the splash pad at Rev. H. V. Savage Park in the Junction neighborhood of Toledo.