The Crimson White was honored Friday at the regional Society of Professional Journalists Mark of Excellence Awards luncheon in Birmingham. The Crimson White won first place in the category Best All-Around Daily Student Newspaper at a 4 Year College/University. The region consists of newspapers in Alabama, Georgia, Florida and South Carolina.

Sports Editor Jason Galloway won first place in the Sports Writing category for his story “Prothro Still Believes,” which profiled former Crimson Tide wide receiver Tyrone Prothro and his quest to return to playing football. Sports reporter Miranda Murphy placed third in the same category for her story “Quidditch sweeps the Capstone,” which covered the championship round of Creative Campus’s Quidditch on the Quad event in November. Photo Editor Drew Hoover placed third in the sports photography category for his photo of Tide wide receiver Julio Jones’s one-handed reception against San Jose State in September.

The first-place winners will move on to national competition against winners from other regions. National winners will be announced in May and showcased on SPJ’s website, spj.org.