The Vicksburg Post won 12 awards — including two first place honors — at the recent Louisiana-Mississippi Associated Press Managing Editors contest.

The contest, which was judged by newspaper staffers from other states, ranked stories and photos produced in 2016 editions of The Vicksburg Post.

Long-time sports reporter Ernest Bowker won a first place award for a breaking sports story, “Clinton knocks WC out of the playoffs in overtime win,” and a third place in the same category for “Vikings’ ride is over.”

Vicksburg Post photographer Courtland Wells won first place in the sports action photo category for “The MVP.”

Wells also earned two second-place awards, one for a multi-photo package on the Southern Heritage Air Foundation’s air show and another for a personality portrait on “Secret Santa.”

Vicksburg Post Publisher Tim Reeves praised the work of Bowker and Wells, and their contributions to the newspaper on a daily basis.

“Ernest has consistently produced great content for years and is respected among coaches and athletes here,” Reeves said. “And Courtland is fresh out of college and an up and coming talent. He’s added much to our newspaper, and we look forward to the photos he will shoot for us in the future.”

“We are proud on a daily basis of the work of our hard-working news staff, and happy our peers recognize the good works they produce, too,” Jan Griffey, Vicksburg Post editor, said.

Bowker also earned a second place award for his sports feature, “Summer camps, social media alter landscape of football recruiting,” and a third place award for his sports feature photo, “At the end of the day.”

Reeves earned a second place award in the headline writing category for his headline, “Crest easy.”

Other awards included:

• Staff writer Terri Cowart Frazier won a third place award for her story, “Jeffery’s Best Friends.”
• Staff writer John Surratt won a third place award in the breaking news division for his story, “Man jumps to his death from Interstate 20.”
• The staff of The Vicksburg Post won third place awards for “Murder Suspect Escapes,” its coverage on the escape of Rafael McCloud.
• The staff of The Vicksburg Post won third place for its special pink edition in October, which focused on breast cancer.