Three Villanovan editors received the state’s top honors for collegiate journalism this week. The Pennsylvania Newspaper Press Association (PNPA) recognized them for their work at its 10th annual Scholastic and Collegiate Keystone Press Awards ceremony on March 23.

The paper’s former editor-in-chief picked up four of the awards himself.

Dave Carlberg (former news editor), Joe Mordini (former editor-in-chief) and Jill Ozovek (former associate editor) shared second place in the Ongoing News Category for their coverage of the Dr. Ener case in August and September of 2003.

Mordini also won first place in the Spot News category for his Oct. 3 article “Senior killed in car crash,” covering Missy Harrell’s death; he placed second in the same category for his April 11 article about Diana Sugg, “Former Villanovan editor wins Pulitzer.” He also placed first in the Editorial Writing category, based on three editorial columns he entered.

“I’ve been lucky to have the opportunity to work with people as talented as Dave and Jill and the rest of the Villanovan staff,” Mordini said. “It was also nice to be honored for the coverage of stories that several at the university thought were too ‘negative’ to appear in a school paper.”

Carlberg said, “I think the awards we won speak to the quality of the newspaper as a whole. I’m proud of receiving the award; I’m even more proud of the Villanovan and the efforts it makes to provide the best news coverage on campus.”

“Joe, Jill and Dave, like most staff members of the Villanovan, put extraordinary effort and talent into their work,” Jody Ross, the Villanovan’s faculty advisor, said

“As reporters and as editors, they set high standards for research, writing, fact checking and courage. I’m not surprised that they have been recognized as among the best student journalists in the state.”

According to its website, the Keystone Press Awards recognizes “journalism that consistently provides relevance, integrity and initiative in serving readers, and faithfully fulfills its first amendment rights/responsibilities.”

The PNPA invited all editors across the state to submit articles and to encourage their writers to do the same. The submissions were judged against about 600 others from college newspapers across the state.

Carlberg, Mordini and Ozovek won first place for Best Feature Story last year.