Gwinnett Daily Post

The Daily Post sports department won 17 total awards in the Division II category, including first-place finishes by staff writer Ben Beitzel and sports editor Will Hammock, in voting conducted by the Georgia Sports Writers Association for its best of 2011.

The awards were handed out Sunday at the organization's annual convention. The award haul matched a high for the sports section, which also won 17 awards in 2007.

Beitzel's first-place finish was for his amateur, non-scholastic sports feature on former Collins Hill football player and then law school student Keaston White, who was paralyzed on Sept. 11, 2001. Hammock's first-place award for best feature or series, non-deadline in pro sports was for a look at the late Wingo brothers of Norcross and their rise to Major League Baseball stardom.

The Daily Post also earned a trio of second-place section honors for best sports section, best Sunday sports section and best special section for its football preview issue. Hammock won six total awards, with four second-place finishes and one third-place finish. He earned second-place honors for his stories on Brookwood's football victory over Parkview, Mill Creek football player Kyle Freiberger and injured war veteran Jeff Morgan, along with his column on Wesleyan volleyball player Alana Broe. His third-place award was for best columnist.

Staff writer Christine Troyke received four awards, including a second-place award for her bull riding feature. She also had third-place finishes for stories on wheelchair racer Jeremy Maddox, Walton beating Peachtree Ridge in girls tennis and for a Gwinnett Gladiators game story.

Staff writer Brandon Brigman picked up two awards for high school sports features, a second place for his piece on Providence Christian's soccer team helping refugees and a third place for his story on track star O'Neal Wanliss' charity.

Staff writer David Friedlander also earned a second place award for his coverage of Georgia Tech's basketball win over Georgia.