LOGAN, Utah - Student journalists from Utah State University came away from the regional convention of the Society of Professional Journalists in Denver this weekend with 12 awards, including seven firsts, in the 1997 Mark of Excellence Contest.

The best overall performance was by senior broadcasting news major Reed Cohen of Roosevelt, Utah, who took six awards, including three firsts. The Utah Statesman, edited in 1996-97 by Genae Stevenson of Logan, was named best all-around non-daily student newspaper.

The Mark of Excellence Contest honors the best of student journalism from colleges and universities in the Society of Professional Journalists' four-state region 9, which includes Utah, Colorado, Wyoming and New Mexico.

Leading the USU award winners, Cohen took top honors in TV in-depth reporting, TV spot reporting, and TV news photography, as well as seconds in TV feature reporting and radio feature reporting, and a third in feature writing. In addition to the Statesman's first prize, other top awards went to Alan Gardner for editorial cartooning, Tim Wagner for column writing, and Eric Olsen for TV sports photography.

Penny Byrne, who is advisor to the USU student SPJ chapter and directs the broadcasting area in the Department of Communication, applauded her students. "We're very proud of our student journalists and the hard work they do," she said. "We think our program and all our students are outstanding, and this is confirmation of that quality from media professionals who are in a position to judge."

First-place winners in each of the 12 SPJ regions go on to compete at the national level for awards at the national SPJ convention in October.

The full list of USU Mark of Excellence Contest winners:

Society of Professional Journalists (Region 9) Mark of Excellence Awards

1st Place, TV In-Depth Reporting, Reed Cohen
1st Place, TV Spot News Reporting, Reed Cohen 1st Place, TV News Photography, Reed Cohen
1st Place, Editorial Cartooning, Alan Gardner
1st Place, TV Sports Photography, Eric Kent Olsen
1st Place, Column Writing, Tim Wagner
1st Place, Best All-Around Non-Daily Student Newspaper, The Utah Statesman, Genae Stevenson, Editor-in-chief
2nd Place, TV Feature Reporting, Reed Cohen
2nd Place, Radio Feature Reporting, Reed Cohen
2nd Place, TV Sports Reporting, Eric Kent Olsen
3rd Place, Feature Writing, Reed Cohen
3rd Place, Spot News Reporting, Josh Loftin