The sports sections of three MCC newspapers and a sports writer at another have been named among the Top 10 in the nation by The Associated Press Sports Editors.

More than 90 sports editors and assistants participated in the judging of the Top 10 lists announced at a meeting in St. Petersburg, Fla.

Tim Guidera of the Savannah (Ga.) Morning News was ranked among the nation's Top 10 best sports writers for his article about the final round of the 1999 Masters golf tournament in Augusta, Ga.

The sports staff of the Amarillo (Texas) Daily News and the Amarillo Globe-Times won two national awards for being among the Top 10 in their size in the special sections and enterprise categories.

Amarillo's Friday Night Flashbacks/Pigskin Preview football section, a history of area high school football, was listed in the special sections category and its year-long series on top sports figures of the 20th century was listed in the enterprise category.

"This isn't the Pulitzers, but it is the Oscars of our industry, no doubt about it," said Amarillo sports editor Jon Mark Beilue. "To be honored nationally by APSE is about as good as it gets for sports print journalism.

"Like a lot of the good teams we cover, our success was a team effort," Beilue added.

The Augusta Chronicle's sports section, headed by sports editor Ward Clayton, was listed among the nation's Top 10 in the general excellence category.

The newspaper's Masters Tournament special section also ranked among the Top 10 in that category for the eighth time in nine years.