An SMSC junior won first place in the sports writing category of the Society of Professional Journalists Region 8 Mark of Excellence contest this past weekend.

Hallie Hart's entry advances to the national competition to be judged against the first-place winners in the 11 other regions.  Those contest results are expected by late spring.

SMSC students compete in the "large" division, i.e., universities with at least 10,000 students.  Hart also was a finalist in the feature writing category.

A sports journalism major, Hart wrote her first-place entry, After the last sunset:  Patterson's legacy lives in new OSU soccer stadium, beyond, for her multimedia reporting course.

Hart will intern in The Oklahoman's sports department this summer.  She plans to work as a sports reporter after graduating in May 2020 and eventually earn a master's degree so she can teach sports journalism classes.

The Chandler (Okla.) High School graduate serves as treasurer for SMSC's SPJ chapter and as vice president for the campus chapter of the Association for Women in Sports Media.