TIFTON — Staff members of The Stallion newspaper and Stallion TV at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College dominated their division at recent conventions held in Athens and Savannah by bringing home a total of 21 awards.

“For years, The Stallion was the best college newspaper among two-year colleges in Georgia,” said Dr. Thomas Grant, advisor of The Stallion and Stallion TV. “But when ABAC became a four-year college, the students were challenged to compete against many larger, well established colleges and universities. The fact that the staff of The Stallion has managed to rise to that challenge and be named the best paper overall is a powerful sign of how well our students perform academically.”

At the Georgia College Press Association Conference in Athens, ABAC students brought home first place awards for General Excellence, Layout and Design, General Advertising, Overall Improvement, Best Campus Community Service-News and Best Campus Community Service-Features.

“An excellent student newspaper from front to back. Nice layout, quality writing, and pleasing to read,” a judge commented ion an article published in “The Stallion.

The newspaper received second place in Best Campus Community Service-Editorial and third place in General Photography.

“When The Stallion Editor Dalton Spangler kept being called up again and again to accept top awards for the newspaper, I was extremely proud for him and the entire staff,” said Grant. “They do it all themselves – assign the stories, shoot the photographs and lay out the pages. Being named the top paper demonstrates that they’re taking what they learn in class and using it in practical ways as well as anyone in the state.”

Students also had the opportunity to compete in individual competitions against larger schools including the University of Georgia, Mercer University and Georgia Southern University.

Remington Miller, a writing and communications major from Tifton, received first-place in Best Review Group II for her review of the “A Series of Unfortunate Events” Netflix series.

Ricky Rodriguez, a writing and communications major from Tifton, received third-place for Best Review Group I for his review of The Weekend’s “Trilogy” mixtape.

Kevin Joachin, a history and government major from Tifton, received second-place for Best Photograph-News Group II for his photo of DACA protesters in Atlanta.

Spangler, a writing and communication major from Groveland, Fla., received third-place in Best Photography-News Group I.

“I am extremely proud of my staff and of the work they put forth every day to make this paper happen,” Spangler said in an article in The Stallion. “Many people do not realize the hours and hard work that go into the newspaper-making process.”

The Southern Regional Press Institute held its annual Press Workshop at Savannah State University. ABAC brought home nine awards including First Place Best Overall Newspaper for

the third year in a row and Second Best Overall Online Newspaper along with seven individual awards.

“ABAC’s showing at the Southern Regional Press Institute was also impressive,” Grant said. “Competition came from three states in the Southeast. Not only did The Stallion win the best newspaper among small colleges, but it also won the top television awards among all schools.”

Tristin “Buck” Clements, a writing and communication major from Tifton, won second place individual Video Production award for his story on the Red Cross Blood drive.

Walter Murphy, a writing and communication major from Moultrie, won the first place individual Video Production award for his “On the Road with Walter Murphy.”

Hannah Robinson, a history and government major from Purvis, Miss., won first place for Sports Writing for her article following two ABAC tennis players.

Ethan Reddish, a writing and communication major from Odum, won first place in Editorial/Column Writing.

Joachin won second place for individual Outstanding Feature Writing for his “Federal Plan to End TPS Threatens Immigrants” news article.

Rodriguez received first place for individual Outstanding Feature Writing for his “ABAC opens doors to evacuees in Gressette Gym” after Hurricane Irma.

Spangler received Best Photograph for his image of “Free Hugs” seen on the cover of “The Stallion.”