The 2009-2010 staff of The Times-Delphic took home 11 awards last week at the Iowa College Media Association Student Newspaper Contest.

The accolades come after the paper was named a national finalist for the highest college media award in the country, the Associated College Press Pacemaker award.

This most recent prize was a part of the ICMA Annual Conference held in conjunction with the Iowa Newspaper Association’s annual convention. This year’s event took place Feb. 3 at the Marriott Hotel in downtown Des Moines.

More than a dozen college newspapers from around the state contributed materials published between Oct. 16, 2009, and Oct. 15, 2010, to be judged by the association.
Former editor-in-chief senior Matt Vasilogambros won three individual awards for pieces he wrote.

“I’m just really glad that the ICM recognized how hard our writers and editors worked last year. The diligence of their work truly paid off,” he said. “It felt pretty good.”

This was the first time The Times-Delphic has entered the competition, and its honors included six first place awards–including one for general excellence–three second place, one third place and one honorable mention.

First Place Awards:
• General Excellence
• Best Page One- Relays 1A
• Best News Story to Matt Vasilogambros for his breaking news story on a hazing incident at the fraternity Phi Delta Theta
• Best Feature Story to Matt Vasilogambros for “Three for the Free” piece about Drake students going to Afghanistan with the military
• Best Photographic Portfolio for Sarah Andrews
• Best Sports Story to Matt Moran for his coverage of Drake Basketball’s come-from-behind victory over South Illinois during the first round of the MVC tournament

Second Place Awards:
• Best Editorial Leadership
• Best Explanatory/Interpretive News to Matt Vasilogambros for his article on recent sexual assaults at the university
• Best Sports Feature to Dominic Johnson for his piece on the new Drake men’s tennis coach and his developing relationship with his team

Third Place Award:
• Best infographic to Sarah Andrews for her work appearing in the Relays edition

Honorable Mention:
• Best Inside Page Design to Mary Bess Bolling for her sports page layout in the Relays edition