The staff of the North County Times took home 33 awards Thursday at the annual San Diego Press Club banquet: seven first-place awards, 13 second-place awards and 13 third-place awards. The annual contest recognizes excellence in local journalism.

First-place awards went to:

• Darrin Mortenson for his account of the elections in Najaf, Iraq, as chronicled in the special section "Building Hope."

• Teri Figueroa for her story about grandparents caring for their grandchildren.

• Mark Thornhill for his editorial cartoon titled "The Incredibles."

• Jamie Scott Lytle for his photo essay of a Marine couple caring for quadruplets.

• Ruth Marvin Webster for her story of a Vista man battling Parkinson's.

Second-place awards went to:

• Mike Sullivan for his sports story of SDSU tennis coach rebounding from heart surgery.

• Mark Walker for his story about government pensions.

• Mark Hineline for his science column.

• Agnes Diggs for her series "The Road to College."

• Michael Donnelly for his design of the special section on the election in Iraq, "Building Hope."

• Waldo Nilo for a sports photo.

• Jamie Scott Lytle for his photo essay of water therapy for disabled children.

• Don Boomer for his photo of the mayor of Tombstone titled "Minute by Minute."

• Ruth Marvin Webster for her profile of Oceanside resident joining Natural History Museum.

• Maggie Espinosa for her travel story "Baja Valley rich with wineries."

Third-place awards went to:

• Teri Figueroa for her story on injured Marines.

• David Sterrett for his investigative stories on First Latino in Vista.

• Ruth Marvin Webster for her science story about ants.

• Jim Trageser for his opinion page column.

• Andrew Kleske for his commentary.

• Jim Trageser for his review of "Palm Beach."

• Mark Thornhill for his editorial cartoon "Redistricting Needed Here."

• Laura Groch for her headline "Ring around the caller."

• Waldo Nilo for his breaking news photo titled "Coming Home."

• Hayne Palmour IV for his photo of a grieving Marine titled "They Gave Everything They Had."

• Hayne Palmour IV for his photo of a Bedouin woman titled "Watchful Eyes."

The newspaper's Web site, operated by Andrew Kleske and Jim Trageser, won seven awards:

• Two first-place awards, one for news story and the other for a blog by a journalist.

• Three second-place awards, one for best overall news site, another for best feature story, "Building Hope," and a third for public service for "The Road to College."

• Two third-place awards, one for best news story about a police standoff in Escondido and another for best integration of media for "Back to Iraq."