ORLANDO — The Sun Journal sports department and sports reporter Kevin Mills are among the winners this week in the annual Associated Press Sports Editors contest.

Mills, who has been with the Sun Journal for 23 years, earned a top-10 award in project reporting for his series of stories on the evolution of soccer at Lewiston High School and the impact the Somali community has had on the program. The story ran in four parts on Saturday, Oct. 25, 2014.

Additionally, the Sun Journal’s daily sports section was named a top-10 newspaper among all entries in its size category nationally, and the Sun Journal’s Sunday sports section earned an “honorable mention” for being among the top 20.

The contest, which culls entries from media outlets of all sizes, highlights the best sports writing and sports sections from around the country, and is open to all APSE member institutions. A media outlet does not have to be a member of The Associated Press to be a member of APSE.

From Maine, the Kennebec Journal, Morning Sentinel and Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram also earned accolades at the annual conference. 

The final order of all individual awards, including first-place awards in each category, will be announced at a later date, and all award-winners will be recognized as part of APSE’s annual summer convention, being held this year in San Diego in June.

For a full list of winners, visit APSE’s website.