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4 Salt Lake Tribune reporters earn national honors for sports writing

Columnist Gordon Monson was among those awarded top-10 spots in the annual APSE contest.

(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Salt Lake Tribune newspapers are pictured on Monday, Nov. 24, 2025.

(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Salt Lake Tribune newspapers are pictured on Monday, Nov. 24, 2025.

Salt Lake Tribune reporters took home five individual awards in this year’s Associated Press Sports Editors contest.

Tribune reporters Jason Batacao and Kevin Reynolds both placed in the top 10 in beat writing for their coverage of the University of Utah and Brigham Young University athletics, respectively.

Batacao chronicled Kyle Whittingham’s final season in Salt Lake City, the “dirty business” of the NCAA transfer portal, and former Utes quarterback Cam Rising’s new chapter.

Reynolds, meanwhile, expertly covered name, image and likeness issues in Provo and broke the news of the civil lawsuit against former BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff and his decision to leave the school rather than face an Honor Code suspension. The Tribune reporter earned another APSE top-10 honor in explanatory journalism for his coverage of the anti-LDS chants that have persisted at BYU road games.

Longtime columnist Gordon Monson placed in the top 10 for his criticism and analysis of issues ranging from Whittingham’s departure to BYU’s Honor Code.

Tribune reporter Julie Jag took home top-10 honors in the short features category for a profile of Beaver Mountain’s iconic owner Marge Seeholzer.

The Salt Lake Tribune competes in APSE’s Division B, which includes the Oregonian, the Baltimore Banner, the Kansas City Star, and the Oklahoman, among others.

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