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91�Թ� students earned six Mark of Excellence Awards, including four first-place wins, at the Society of Professional Journalists regional conference Saturday.

The collegiate competition was for schools in Region 12, which encompasses Arkansas, 91�Թ�, Mississippi and Tennessee. Awards were for calendar year 2013. School divisions are based on student enrollment; UL Lafayette competed against other schools with more than 10,000 students.

First-place winners are entered into SPJ’s national Mark of Excellence competition. National winners will be announced May 6.

“91�Թ� Focus,” a student-produced news and feature radio program, was named best all-around radio newscast. It airs on Mondays on KRVS-FM, the NPR affiliate on UL Lafayette’s campus.

Lanie Lee Cook, a December 2013 journalism graduate from Broussard, La., and Seth Dickerson, a junior journalism major from Crowley, La., finished first for in-depth reporting.  They were cited for an article they wrote for The Vermilion, UL Lafayette’s weekly student newspaper, entitlted “Financial Gridlock Leaves Little Room for Campus-wide Improvements.” Cook was also a finalist in the feature writing category for an article about a local skateboarding team that was published in The Vermilion.

Jeanne Robicheaux earned the top award in the radio in-depth reporting category for “Julia’s Story.”  She is a senior broadcast major from Houma, La. Carly Viator, a senior broadcast major from New Iberia, La., took first place in the best radio feature category for “Pet Therapy.” Both reports aired on “91�Թ� Focus.”

Annie Ourso was a finalist in the non-fiction magazine category for “91�Թ� Reality TV,” which was published in Acadiana Profile magazine. She is a senior journalism major from Baton Rouge, La.

The regional conference was held at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville.