Butler Eagle staff writer Zach Petroff won an award for his multimedia presentation “Duquesne University Investigates” in the Student Excellence in Journalist Craft Achievement category at the Press Club of Western Pennsylvania’s 60th Golden Quill Awards dinner Tuesday night at Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh.

Petroff was a part of the project before joining the Butler Eagle team in January, during which he was able to learn more about Pittsburgh’s Hazelwood neighborhood.

“It’s really great to be recognized for a project that took nearly a year to finish,” Petroff said. “It was such a great opportunity to learn and experience investigative journalism techniques such as research, interviewing and analyzing data.”

Other Butler Eagle staff finalists included staff writer Irina Bucur, who was a finalist for an award in the news feature category for Excellence in Written Journalism (Division 2) for the story “Crash victim’s family calls for safety measures on New Castle Road.”

Eagle sports editor John Enrietto and staff writers Eddie Trizzino and William Pitts were finalists in the sports category for Excellence in Written Journalism (Division 2) for their coverage of the conflict between East Butler borough and the East Butler Baseball Association.

Staff writer Molly Miller was also a finalist in Excellence in Journalistic Craft Achievement for her spot news photo titled “Historic Center Avenue Building Burns.”

The Golden Quills competition honors professional and student excellence in print, broadcast, photography, videography and digital journalism in Western Pennsylvania and nearby counties in Ohio and West Virginia.