Feature - 1st place - Nick Garza of Fremont sleds with his daughter Myla at St. Joseph´s Cemetery in Fremont. (Jeremy Wadsworth / The Blade)
Feature - 2nd place - Timber, a 2-year-old Husky, chases Yoyo, a 1-year-old Golden Doodle, in the snow at Summit Park in Blue Ash. (Sam Greene / The Cincinnati Enquirer)
Feature - 3rd place - An eagle takes flight after enjoying a road side snack on State Route 590 just north of Lindsey in Oregon. (Jeremy Wadsworth / The Blade)
Feature - HM - Snow covers the ground at Summit Park in Blue Ash. (Sam Greene / The Cincinnati Enquirer)
Feature - HM - A man trudges through the snow on Jackson Street amid a snow storm in Toledo. (Kurt Steiss / The Blade)
General News - 1st place - Avery Affourtit, a kindergarten student at Dayton Regional STEM Elementary School, counts on her fingers while doing a practice assignment on her computer. The school opened a new elementary building the first week of the month. The new building is located just south of the combined middle and high school building. (Bryant Billing / Dayton Daily News)
General News - 2nd place - Richard Cohen, 82, (center) is assisted by Bryant Koback (left) and Andy Glenn during the New Year's Day Springfield Splash at Community Homecoming Park in Holland. (Jeremy Wadsworth / The Blade)
General News - 3rd place - Cincinnati mayor Aftab Pureval celebrates with his wife, children and mother after performing the oath of office as he begins his second term during a ceremony at the Music Hall ballroom in the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood of Cincinnati. (Sam Greene / The Enquirer)
General News - HM - Akron native Ryan DeAlexandro (top center) works through rehearsal for a new dance by choreographer Avree Walker, at Ohio Contemporary Ballet in Shaker Heights. (Andrew Dolph / Akron Beacon Journal)
General News - HM - Chuck Blaz smiles from the driver's seat of a 2026 Nissan Frontier during the Toledo Auto Show at the Glass City Center in Toledo. (Kurt Steiss / The Blade)
Portrait - 1st place - Amber Hall (left) and her mother, Cora Fleeta Hill, discuss the life and death of Jayson Murphy, Amber’s brother at Amber’s home in Reminderville, Ohio. Murphy overdosed and died while incarcerated at the Lebanon Correctional Institution. The two were reminiscing over grade school records and memorabilia from Jayson’s life. Cora holds a picture of Jayson and an ex-girlfriend from his high school days. (Andrew Dolph / Akron Beacon Journal)
Portrait - 2nd place - Matt Hurd rests his arm on a AIM-9M Sidewinder missile replica he made inside his garage workshop in Bryan. Above him hang various other ordnance Hurd has built for his company, Bombs Away LLC, which he operates out of his home. (Addison Annis / The Blade)
Portrait - 3rd place - Venessa Leonard, a local filmmaker whose second film Unwrapping Fate is premiering at the Maumee Indoor Theater in Toledo. (Jeremy Wadsworth / The Blade)
Portrait - HM - Yolanda Hernandez, Marcelo’s girlfriend, watches cartoons with their two daughters, Yolanda, 3, and Stella, 2, inside their home in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Hernandez expressed her concern for safety to leave the house with her children due to increased ICE activity over the past months. (Addison Annis / The Blade)
Sports Feature - 1st place - Streetsboro’s Johnny Bollinger celebrates after defeating Southeast’s Nick Coffman by fall in the 106 pound championship match during the Portage County Tournament in Garrettsville. (Jeff Lange / Akron Beacon Journal)
Sports Feature - 2nd place - Toledo’s Ella Weaver cheers after making a layup as Kent’s Emery Klatt reacts to the play during game at Savage Arena in Toledo. (Addison Annis / The Blade)
Sports Feature - 3rd place - Brecksville's Zack Aquilla reacts to defeating Highland’s Niko Giaris in a 165 lb bout, during the Suburban League wrestling tournament at Highland High School in Granger Township. (Andrew Dolph / Akron Beacon Journal)
Sports Feature - HM - Toledo’s Patricia Anumgba celebrates hitting a three pointer during the Battle of I-75 at the University of Toledo’s Savage Arena in Toledo. Toledo defeated Bowling Green, 59-49. (Rebecca Benson / The Blade)
Spot News - 1st place - Firefighters work to put a mulch fire at Renewed Outdoors in Perrysburg. (Jeremy Wadsworth / The Blade)
Spot News - 2nd place - Windows were broken by an overnight vandal at the home of Vice President JD Vance in the East Walnut Hills neighborhood of Cincinnati. (Sam Greene / The Cincinnati Enquirer)
Spot News - HM - Jenny Lipppowitsch improvises with a wide rake to clean snow from her steps in the Mt. Washington neighborhood of Cincinnati. The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning for Hamilton County, Ohio. (Sam Greene / The Cincinnati Enquirer)
Sports - 1st place - Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow (9) is hit as he throws the ball in the fourth quarter of a game against the Cleveland Browns at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati. The Browns kicked a last second field goal to win 20-18. (Sam Greene / The Cincinnati Enquirer)
Sports - 2nd place - Toledo’s Sam Craggs tries to tap the puck into the goal during an ECHL hockey game at the Huntington Center in Toledo. (Rebecca Benson / The Blade)
Sports - 3rd place - Toledo’s Sean Craig gets hit by Ohio’s Javan Simmons during a game at the University of Toledo’s Savage Arena in Toledo. (Rebecca Benson / The Blade)
Sports - HM - Perrysburg´s Connor Bagdonas (bottom) defeats Eastwood’s Hunter Meeker, 8-3, during the 113 pound championship match at the Maumee Bay Classic wrestling tournament in Oregon. (Jeremy Wadsworth / The Blade)
Sports - HM - Kent State forward Rayvon Griffith (0) topples on top of Akron Zips forward Chabi Barre (8) as he fights his way to the basket during the second half of a game at the James A. Rhodes Arena in Akron.. (Jeff Lange / Akron Beacon Journal)
Story - 1st place - Right-wing influencer Jake Lang clashes with counter-protesters during his demonstration in support of ICE outside the Federal Building in downtown Minneapolis. (Addison Annis / The Blade)
Story - 2nd place - At center, Tina Boeck, takes the Oath of Citizenship during a Naturalization Ceremony at the Toledo-Lucas County Public Library in the McMaster Center. (Jeremy Wadsworth / The Blade)
Story - 3rd place - Cady Parsons, 10, walks on her own while her grandmother Stephanie Biegala cheers during Bird’s Eye View Circus’ stilting workshop at the Collingwood Arts Center in Toledo. (Jeremy Wadsworth / The Blade)
Story - HM - Michelle Lithgow (left) and Amy Kaiser take photos during an eagle tour event at the DTE Energy coal-fired power plant in Monroe, Michigan. Wildlife enthusiasts, who had to win in a lottery of more than 1,200 entries to attend, got the rare opportunity for the tour at the plant. The eagles are attracted to the area near the thermal discharge of the plant because the warm water melts ice and opens up a prime fishing spot along the icy waters of Plum Creek and the western Lake Erie shore. (Kurt Steiss / The Blade)
