Staff  members from the College Heights Herald, Western Kentucky University’s student newspaper, returned from the annual Kentucky Intercollegiate Press Association convention with the Kentucky College Newspaper Staffer of the Year and the winners of the deadline writing and copy editing competitions.

 For the second straight year, Jan Diehm, a senior from Springfield, Tenn., won the Staffer of the Year award. She placed in eight categories, winning first for informational graphic, sports page layout and overall layout. She placed second is sports page layout and front page layout. She placed third in best special section and picked up honorable mentions in best special section and feature page layout.

Bowling Green sophomore Tessa Duvall won the deadline writing contest. She wrote a story about the banquet speech by Peter Baniak, editor of the Lexington Herald-Leader.

Josh Moore, a Beechmont senior, won the deadline copy editing competition.

In addition to Diehm, multiple winners in the annual newspaper contest were Alaina Matthews, a May graduate from Lexington, first for advertising campaign, second for house ad, third for advertising campaign and honorable mention for advertising design; Crestwood senior Mandy Simpson, first for feature story and third for personality profile; Moore, first for overall layout and second for front page layout and opinion page layout; Louisville sophomore Sarah Hyman, third for sports game story and two honorable mentions for sports game story.

Junior Luke Sharrett, a junior from Forest, Va., won first for sports photo and news photo; Ben Severance, a junior from Wilmont, N.H., picked up thirds for sports photo and news photo; Kohl Threlkeld, a senior from Knoxville, Tenn., placed second for news photo and honorable mention for feature story.

December graduate David Harten from Louisville was second for sports news story and honorable mention for sports feature; Andrew Robinson, a senior from Overland Park, Kan., won second for sports news story and third for news headline.

Other first-place winners were Bowling Green sophomore Kayla Golliher, overall layout; Bowling Green junior Annie Erskine, comic strip; and Owensboro senior Jennifer Dooper, general interest column.

Second-place winners were senior Chris Fryer, a senior from Spring Hill, Tenn., original illustration; Armando Sanchez, a junior from Clovis, Calif., sports photo; and Greenup junior Marianne Hale, sports news story.

Placing third were Matt Fields-Johnson, a May 2009 graduate, photo essay; Alex Marks, a senior from Franklin, Tenn., house ad; and Bowling Green senior Josh Raymer, editorial. Honorable mentions were awarded to Colleen Stewart, a junior from Crestview Hills, feature story; Owensboro junior Emily Ulber, analyses and special reports; Nebo sophomore Emily Patton, sports feature.

Herald adviser Bob Adams and nine students attended the convention in Lexington co-hosted by Transylvania and the University of Kentucky. Transylvania adviser Terri Darr McLean,  UK student media director Chris Poore and UK photo adviser David Stephenson are WKU graduates.