Although it took second place in the general excellence category, Central Michigan Life took home the most awards from this year’s Michigan Press Association contest.

The student-led newspaper of Central Michigan University won 22 awards total from the contest that evaluates campus newspapers for editorial content, page design, multimedia and advertising.

CM-Life took home eight first place awards, five seconds, six thirds and three honorable mentions.

For their months-long coverage of the Delta Chi fraternity, and the ensuing campus investigation, CM-Life editors Justin Hicks, Ben Solis, Adrian Hedden and Nathan Clark won first place for investigative reporting.

“Thorough investigative coverage of a frat’s suspension for misbehavior at a party,” judges said. “A FOIA request brought out the facts that were not revealed otherwise. Balanced reporting with lots of input. Multifaceted approach worked well. Comments from readers following the stories were interesting. Timeline of events in one story was helpful.”

CM-Life also won third place for Sports Editor Malachi Barrett’s look into the reported attendance at CMU football games, against the NCAA requirements.

University Editor Ben Solis also won first place for news story, for his incremental reporting of a CMU professor accused of being inebriated at work. Reporter Mark Johnson was awarded second place in this category for a story about some health investigated at a building on campus.

Metro Editor Adrian Hedden won first place in the feature story category for his story on an abandoned Native American boarding school near campus.

CM-Life swept the editorial category, taking first, second and third place for three editorials coordinated by Voices Editor Kyle Kaminski.

Senior Reporter Katherine Ranzenberger and photographer Shannon Millard won first place in the multimedia-reporting category, for their multi-faceted coverage of the annual zombie walk in Mount Pleasant.

That category also saw CM-Life win a second place award for coverage of a zombie vampire roller derby by reporters Megan Pacer and Katy Kildee, and an honorable mention for Hedden’s feature on a visually impaired news reporter.

The sports news and features category saw CM-Life take a third place award for reporter Jeff Papworth’s coverage of two brothers meeting on the gridiron, and an honorable mention for Assistant Sports Editor Dominick Mastrangelo’s article on a two-sport athlete.

For feature or sports photography, CM-Life won three awards. Second place went to Kildee for a shot of a soccer player injured on the field. Third place was awarded to photographer Taylor Ballek for coverage of popular hip-hop artist Big Sean’s performance on campus.

An honorable mention in this category also went to photographer Daytona Niles for coverage of victory from CMU’s women’s basketball team.

For the front-page design category, CM-Life staff took second place for a front page from Jan. 13. Art Director Mariah Prowoznik was award third place for another front page layout.

Prowoznik also took home a first and second place for inside page design.

For a single ad, CM-Life’s advertising staff won first place for an ad for the Slower Donkey’s Festival. The advertising staff also won first place for a special advertising section titled Apartment Life.

“The university community should be very proud of the achievements of our student journalists,” said Dave Clark, director of student publications and CM Life’s adviser. “I want to thank our student editors for their leadership and our entire team for its tenacity and creativity.”