Centre Daily Times staff nets 8 state awards

The Centre Daily Times is being honored for its local coverage of news, sports and features.

The Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association announced the winners of the annual Keystone Press Awards on Thursday.

The CDT staff picked up eight prizes.

Ryne Gery took honorable mention in the sports story category for his story about the Bellefonte Area High School senior baseball players keeping the memory of their lost teammate Dylan Crunick alive.

Lori Falce received second place in the feature story category on her tale of chasing her genetic and genealogical roots.

Falce also scored honorable mention in the news beat category for her ongoing coverage of Penn State during a year that included the Beta Theta Pi criminal case and a restructuring of Greek life in the wake of the death of Timothy Piazza.

Shawn Annarelli won first place in feature beat reporting for his coverage of pet and animal issues like the search for Leo, a 160-pound Leonburger who escaped and was on the run for two weeks.

John McGonigal was recognized with an honorable mention for his Penn State football beat reporting, a year that included charting the epic season of Saquon Barkley.

Abby Drey's feature photography was honored with a first place for her picture of Lia Florio, a little girl with a rare genetic condition, getting a backyard play set.

Phoebe Sheehan's first place was in photo story, where she was recognized for her high-altitude shots from a special flight of a B-17 bomber.

Drey also received second place in that category for her pictures of a decaying greenhouse on Rockview state prison property that was sold to the Boal Mansion.

The awards will be presented at the PNA's annual Pennsylvania Press Conference in June.

This story was originally published April 5, 2018 at 2:26 PM with the headline "Centre Daily Times staff nets 8 state awards."