Tyler Palmateer of The Tennessean was honored by the Associated Press Sports Editors in its annual sports journalism contest.
Sports editors and journalists throughout the country voted on top-10 placements in various writing, website, print newspaper and photography categories, which were split into four divisions based on newspaper circulation and digital readership size. The Tennessean is in the B Division.
The exact order of finish in the writing contests will be announced later.
The Tennessean received four awards. Palmateer, who covers high schools, was honored for his high school beat coverage in 2025. His coverage included the TSSAA adopting a one-time transfer rule. The Tennessean also received honors for event coverage, projects and recognized for video excellence.
Vanderbilt beat writer Aria Gerson, columnist Gentry Estes and enterprise writer Paul Skrbina were honored for their event coverage from Vanderbilt football’s 46-25 win over Tennessee on Nov. 29. Skrbina and features writer Keith Sharon were recognized for their project on L.W. Wright, a three-part series, a con man who qualified and participated in a 1982 NASCAR race at Talladega.
The Tennessean’s video on its 2025 Kaia Jergenson Courage Award recipients received excellence in video.
Also receiving honors from Middle Tennessee were Cecil Joyce and Helen Comer of The Daily News Journal in Murfreesboro in the D Division. Joyce was honored for his high school beat coverage. His coverage included a piece on former Riverdale football coach Gary Rankin’s coaching tree. Comer was honored in sports photography for feature photo.
Other honorees include Adam Sparks of Knox News, who was honored three times in C Division. Sparks was selected in top 10 for beat writing, project and long feature. Cora Hall, who covers women’s athletics at UT for Knox News, was selected in top 10 for long feature.
The Tennessean is part of the USA TODAY South Region. In total, sports received 19 awards across three divisions.
Asheville Citizen Times: Division D, high school beat writing (Evan Gerike), action photo (Josh Bell).
Clarion Ledger (Jackson, Mississippi): Division C, short feature (Sam Hutchens).
Commercial Appeal (Memphis): Division C, projects (Jason Munz), breaking news (Munz), feature photo (Chris Day).
Daily News Journal (Murfreesboro): Division D, high school beat writing (Joyce), feature photo (Comer).
Knox News (Knoxville): Division B, print portfolio, long feature (Hall), beat writing (Sparks), project (Sparks), long feature (Sparks).
Greenville News: Division D, team beating writing (Lulu Kesin), short feature (Kesin).
The Tennessean (Nashville): Division B, projects (Skrbina, Sharon), events (Gerson, Estes, Skrbina), high school beat writing (Palmateer), video excellence.
