Staff Report
NATCHITOCHES, La. — Members of the Lincoln Parish Journal and the Ruston High School football broadcast crew garnered multiple accolades at the 2024-25 Louisiana Sports Writers Association award ceremony Sunday with a pair of first place finishes in the state-wide competition.
Lincoln Parish Journal Co-Publisher Kyle Roberts was awarded first place in the General Sports Feature (Class II) for his story “Brian Estes: Miracle Man,” recapping lifelong Bearcat fan Estes’s sudden cardiac arrest right before the 2023 state championship game and his following recovery.
Judge’s Comment: “I loved the lede. Quick, punchy and a pun that hinted at the story. It felt like you were along this scary ride with the family. The writer did a great job of letting the family tell the story of this untimely heart attack, and did so with a variety of viewpoints of how it went down. It’s not always easy to describe details of a life-threatening event and I thought the writer did a great job of that from start to finish. The tone felt appropriate for the subject matter, too. The chronological cadence was necessary to paint the picture, and the writer executed on that. Overall, just a great read.”
For the second consecutive year, LPJ Co-Publisher Malcolm Butler was named the runner-up for both the Class II Prep Writer of the Year and Class II Columnist of the Year. Butler’s submissions for the Prep Writer of the Year included a story on Cedar Creek’s Avery Ryan, a column on Ruston High’s football team, a story on Cedar Creek’s Blake Robinson, and a story on Cedar Creek’s Campbell Woodard.
Butler’s submissions for Columnist of the Year included a column on LA Tech’s Lane Burroughs, a column on Ruston High’s football team, and a column on former Lady Techster Christie Sides.
LPJ photographer Reggie McLeroy earned honorable mention for a photo of freshman Dalen Powell hurdling into the end zone for a touchdown against Pineville.
Roberts is also a member of the Ruston High School broadcast team alongside Nick Brown, Toby Nations, and Matthew Carswell that was awarded first place for calling the Bearcat playoff win over Destrehan, sending Ruston High to its third consecutive state championship appearance.
Judge’s comment: “This was outstanding quality with great color analyst commentary with the hometown feel (emotion/passion) and great background info especially for someone listening from a different state/market.”
The Ruston High broadcast finished its first season in Q94.1 FM under owner Brandon Forester. Rob Tucker mixed and mastered the winning audio file. The award marks the second time in three years the Ruston High broadcast has placed first in the category.
Roberts also earned third place in College Radio Play-by-Play for his game-winning call of Louisiana Tech’s win over Liberty during the Lady Techsters’ 2024-25 regular season, while Butler earned an honorable mention alongside Chris Mycoskie for their ESPN+ broadcast of Tech baseball’s win over Liberty in the 2024 CUSA Championships in Ruston.
