2017 CoSIDA Fred Stabley Sr. Writing Contest National Winners Announced
College Sports Information Directors of America
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by Wade Steinlage, William Penn/Chair of the CoSIDA Writing Contest Committee
The narrative of a young man overcoming incredible circumstances helped Larry Happel of Central College (Iowa) take the National Story of the Year honor as the 2017 CoSIDA Fred Stabley Sr. Writing contest winners have been announced.
Happel took the highest award with his entry entitled: "From Homeless to Heavyweight—Miranda Finds a Family at Central". The story was entered in the Athlete Profile category.
“Larry Happel's story about Jaime Miranda captured the essence of small school athletics and the sacrifice, dedication, and will to succeed each athlete must have to make a difference,” one national judge said. “Miranda is an inspiration to all athletes for his abilities on and off the mat.”
Six other awards were claimed at the national level as well. While he did not win the top prize, Gene McGivern of the University of St. Thomas (Minn.) notched a pair of category wins.
McGivern was first in the Blog category for "A Little Rust, a Lot of Character in DNA of D-III". McGivern also won the Season Preview/Recap category with his entry named "Psychology, Chemistry are Recipe of Success".
David Kiefer of Stanford University (Calif.) took home the win in the Coach/Administrator Profile & Historical Feature category for “Beyond 1,000.”
Cornell University’s (N.Y.) Julie Greco topped the Event Coverage category with “Garrett’s Bow”.
“Take This Job and Love It” by Kyle Leach of the NCAA (Ind.) was first in the General Feature category.
Lastly, in the Story With Video category, John Heisler of the University of Notre Dame (Ind.) claimed the laurel for “Counsell, Murphy Continue Three-Decade ‘Conversation’.”
The 2017 contest drew 454 total entries with the Athlete Profile category leading the way with 112 stories. Submissions were first judged at the district level with district winners advancing to a national committee.
2018 Contest Details
The 2018 contest will include entries written from January 1, 2017 through December 31, 2017. Just a reminder: Association members are only allowed to submit one (1) entry per category and each entry can only be used in one (1) category. So please, submit ONLY your BEST!
2017 Fred Stabley Sr. Writing Contest Results
National Winners
| 6621 | Story of the Year (Athlete Profile) Larry Happel (Central College, Iowa), District 7 From Homeless to Heavyweight—Miranda Finds a Family at Central |
| 5978 | Blog Gene McGivern (University of St. Thomas, Minn.) District 5 “A Little Rust, a Lot of Character in DNA of D-III” A Little Rust, a Lot of Character in DNA of D-III |
| 6622 | Coach/Administrator Profile & Historical Feature David Kiefer (Stanford University, Calif.) District 8 “Beyond 1,000” Beyond 1,000 |
| 6623 | Event Coverage Julie Greco (Cornell University, N.Y.) District 1 “Garrett’s Bow” Garrett’s Bow |
| 6624 | General Feature Kyle Leach (NCAA, Ind.) District 5 “Take This Job and Love It” Take This Job and Love It |
| 5978 | Season Preview/Recap Gene McGivern (University of St. Thomas, Minn.) District 5 “Psychology, Chemistry are Recipe for Success” Psychology, Chemistry are Recipe for Success |
| 6625 | Story With Video John Heisler (University of Notre Dame, Ind.) District 5 “Counsell, Murphy Continue Three-Decade ‘Conversation’” Counsell, Murphy Continue Three-Decade ‘Conversation’ |
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