For a small school news organization, The Runner is pulling through. The Runner attended the annual Midwinter National College Journalism Convention in La Jolla on March 1 and 2, 2019 and returned with two awards from the Associated Collegiate Press (ACP) and two awards from the California College Media Association (CCMA).

As of fall 2018, CSU Bakersfield’s enrollment surpassed 10,000 students, which bumped The Runner up in categories among large universities with enrollment over 10,000 students.

“I wasn’t going with any expectations. I was just really going to represent The Runner and to gain some knowledge,” said Fernanda Martinez, The Runner’s Editor-in-Chief. “I guess that was my personal expectation for myself to come back with things to share with the whole staff.”

The Runner’s Features Editor, Vincent Perez, attended the conference for a second year and said that he came back learning more than expected. 

“I learned more about print, more about feature writing, and more about things I really didn’t know I was going to learn about,” said Perez. 

The three-day convention consisted of several 50 mintue workshops hosted by journalism professionals who gave tips, advice, and solutions to students. On the last night, the award ceremonies for ACP, CCMA, and the College Media Business and Advertising Managers (CMBAM) were given out.

The Runner placed fourth in the ACP’s Best of Show category for Four-year Less Than Weekly Newspaper. The Runner beat The Pace Press from Pace University in New York and The Independent from Northeastern Illinois University from Chicago.

The Runner also came in fourth in the ACP’s Best of Show Four-year Website (More Than 10,000 Enrollment) category. The Runner beat The Utah Statesman, The Observer, The Daily Aztec and The Orion.

“It’s nice to hear your newspaper name being called out when there’s several other schools that entered, so just to know that you made it to the top five, feels good,” said Martinez.

After the Best of Show awards by ACP finished, the CCMA awards began shortly after. Rebecca Romo, former Runner staff, came in second place for Best Online House Ad. 

The Runner ended its night by winning one more award that was given to former Editor-in-Chief, Peter Castillo. Castillo placed third for Best Sports Story in the category more than 10,000 students in a four year school for his story, “Roadrunner pitcher almost called it quits before time at CSUB.”