Senior Dan Greene was named a national finalist for sports writing by the Society of Professional Journalists Tuesday for his piece on the growth and development of the men’s basketball team.

“Rise, Fall, Rebuild” was published in The Hatchet last November and was awarded first place in March at a regional competition, before advancing to the national level. The Mark of Excellence Awards are arguably the most highly coveted awards in collegiate journalism.

The Hatchet and staff was up for two other national awards – Best All-Around Non-Daily Student Newspaper and General Column Writing – but did not place in those two categories. SPJ does not award second and third places on the national level.

At the Region II awards ceremony in March, The Hatchet won second place for online sports reporting, third place for photo illustrations, third place for feature writing and second place for best affiliated website.

Greene was the sports editor for The Hatchet for the 2009-2010 academic year.