Marshall Johnson is the first name listed in Arthur Utley's source list.

On Wednesday night, Utley was named the recipient of the 2008 Marshall Johnson Media Award, given annually to a reporter whose work has contributed to high school athletics.

The award is given by the Virginia High School Coaches Association in recognition of the work done by Johnson, a retired Associated Press sports editor who received the first award 43 years ago.

Utley has coordinated coverage of high school athletics for the Richmond Times-Dispatch since 1996.

In addition to covering hundreds of high school events, Utley heads up the selection of the paper's All-Metro teams and athletes of the year. He also works closely with the Richmond Sports Backers in selecting the monthly and yearly scholar-athletes awards.

Utley has been a sports writer and editor in Richmond since 1978. He started on the sports desk at The Richmond News Leader and joined The Times-Dispatch staff when the papers merged in 1992. After a four-year stint as news editor of the Henrico Plus section, Utley rejoined the sports staff in 1996.

Before coming to Richmond, Utley worked at newspapers in High Point and Greensboro, N.C. He is a graduate of the University of North Carolina.