ORLANDO — Sun Journal sportswriter and columnist Kalle Oakes was honored this week by the Associated Press Sports Editors organization at its annual winter conference with three national top 10 awards in the newspaper’s size classification.

In addition, the Sun Journal sports department was honored as one of the top 20 newspapers in the country for its Sunday section and for its special section produced in advance of the 2012 Super Bowl between the New England Patriots and New York Giants.

“The fact that the Sun Journal is recognized as one of the best in the country goes to show how much hard work and dedication can really pay off,” Sun Journal Sports Editor Justin Pelletier said. “Winning awards for the section is a reflection on the staff in its entirety and its commitment to being the best we can be.”

Oakes, a 25-year newspaper veteran, has won awards before from APSE, including as a top columnist, and earned two awards simultaneously in 2008. Oakes is also one of the few writers across the country to win more than one award this year. His honors are for column writing, explanatory feature (for his stories on concussions in sports), and breaking news coverage (for his stories on the sale of Oxford Plains Speedway).

“It is a humbling honor to be recognized in all three categories by the APSE,” Oakes said. “I am blessed to work with a talented group of people in an area that is wildly passionate about its local sports.”

The APSE also handed out awards in writing to Steve Solloway of the Portland Press Herald (column writing, project reporting), Mike Lowe and Glenn Jordan of the Portland Press Herald (project reporting), and section awards to the Kennebec Journal (daily section, Sunday section) and the Maine Sunday Telegram (Sunday section).