Big win in Dallas

Student members of The Rider, UTRGV-TV, UTRGV Radio, Gallery and Pulse magazines took home a total of 43 awards at the 108th annual Texas Intercollegiate Press Association Convention held last week in Dallas.

More than 500 students and advisers from 47 Texas colleges and universities gathered in the Crowne Plaza Hotel attended the convention. Students competed in numerous on-site contests and attended workshops. TIPA is the nation’s oldest and largest student press association.

Competition categories included news writing, television announcing, feature photography, sports photography, magazine design and radio announcing, among others.

In the on-site contests, The Rider captured three awards. Editor-in-Chief Jesus Sanchez received first place in Print News Writing; Cartoonist Clarissa Martinez, third place in Editorial Cartoon; and Photographer Ana Cahuiche, honorable mention in Feature Photo.

UTRGV-TV Station Manager Sarah Garcia earned honorable mention in the on-site TV announcing (Spanish) competition.

In the on-site magazine design competition, Pulse Graphics Editor Melissa Alatorre received honorable mention.

Jalen Portillo, UTRGV Radio social media editor, garnered honorable mention in the on-site radio advertising competition.

In the previously published and broadcast categories of the competition, works from UTRGV won 34 awards.

Pulse magazine was awarded first place in General Magazine Overall Excellence.

Former Editor-in-Chief Betzaida Rivera and Veronica Cardenas, a UTRGV alumna and contributor, garnered first place in the Story Package category. Rivera also received second place in Feature Story.

Photo Editor Gustavo Huerta won second place in News Feature Story. Alatorre received honorable mention in the Illustration category.

Gallery magazine won first place in Literary Magazine Overall Excellence.

Angela Ruiz captured first place in Illustration; Ivanna Mejia, second place in Photo Essay; Mayanin Rosa, honorable mention in Poem; and Sergio De Leon, honorable mention in Short Story.

UTRGV Radio earned second place in Radio Overall Excellence.

Former News Director Melissa Gutierrez won first place in the Spot News category. Gutierrez shared second place with former News Director Mark Lopez in Single Public Affairs.

Station Manager Nathaniel Puente won third place in the Spot Commercial/PSA/Promo and Sportscast categories.

For UTRGV-TV, former Station Manager Cassandra Torres placed first in News Feature Story. Sports Director Daniel Galvan earned third place in Sportscast and former Chief Reporter Erick Guerra received honorable mention in News Non-Feature.

The Rider netted 19 awards in the previously published and broadcast categories of the competition among Division 2 schools.

Sanchez earned first place in Opinion/Editorial Page Design, second place in Single Subject Presentation and honorable mention in Print News Story. Photo Editor Mario Gonzalez received first place in Critical Review, third place in Best Audio Slideshow and honorable mention Feature Photo. Two of Gonzalez’s entries received third place and honorable mention in the Information Graphic category.

Spanish Editor Rebeca Ortiz placed second and third in Spanish News Writing; Photographer Gabriel Mata, third place in Feature Photo; and Photographer Lesley Robles, third place in News Feature Story.

News Editor Bryan Ramos garnered honorable mention in Sports News Story; Sports Editor Nathaniel Mata, honorable mention in Headline Writing and Sports Feature Story; Photographer Sarah Carvajal, honorable mention in Sports Action Photo and Sports Feature Photo; and Martinez, two honorable mentions in Editorial Cartoon.