National Winners Announced for 2024-25 CSC Fred Stabley Sr. Writing Contest for both University and

June 2, 2025

in Member Contests,

National winners announced for the 2024-25 CSC Fred Stabley Sr. Writing Contest in University and College Divisions

CSC awards National Story of the Year honors in the University Division (Division I) and the College Division. For a fourth time, Princeton’s Jerry Price won for his feature “Of Love, Sorrow and Cancer,” while Central College’s Larry Happel’s “Central’s DeRocher: Just as Good, if not better” story was chosen as the top College Division entry.

Central College baseball player Colton DeRocher wanted to be “just as good, if not better,” than his peers who were born with two complete hands, and now a powerful story about his journey has been voted to be a national winner in the annual College Sports Communicators (CSC) Stabley Writing Contest.

“Central's DeRocher: 'Just as good, if not better'” by retired Central College athletic communications leader Larry Happel was named College Division National Story of the Year in the 2024-25 Fred Stabley Sr. Writing Contest.

“Of Love, Sorrow and Cancer,” Jerry Price’s poignant article about three Princeton University women’s soccer players dealing with cancer, was selected as National Story of the Year in the University Division.

Despite being born with a congenital defect on his left hand, DeRocher established himself as Central’s top batter in his senior season of 2024. And in his mind, that made his story worth telling.

“A baseball hitter with one hand seems like an obvious feature, but I admired the fact that Colton DeRocher didn’t want one written until after he felt his play on the field justified it,” said Happel. “He was fascinating to visit with, and one of the most determined athletes I’ve met.

When Sean Driscoll, the head women’s soccer coach at Princeton, shared his story idea, little did Driscoll know how personal it would be for Price, who won a National Story of the Year recognization for the fourth time.

“I had never met any of [the soccer players] before, and I left with so much admiration for their courage and their stories,” said Price. “This is their award as much as it is mine. I’m thankful that they allowed me to share their stories — though I really wish they never had those stories to have to tell in the first place.

“I’m very proud and honored to have had my story chosen. In a world where athletic communications is increasingly about how quickly you can create a graphic for the game that just ended or an Instagram post for every player weekly award, I still believe that there is a strong market for long-form feature story telling. The number of high quality entries in the Fred Stabley contest each year confirms that.”

Nearly 500 entries were submitted in seven categories in the 2024-25 contest. Each category was first judged on the district level, with the winners then advancing to national consideration. All national category winners were considered for National Story of the Year.

Price, Mike Green of Iowa State University, and Steve Bradley of Roberts Wesleyan University each won two categories in the national judging.

“I’m grateful that CSC continues to recognize the value of writing. Even in this digital age, I firmly believe that good writing still matters,” said Happel.

“Congratulations to everyone in CSC who was honored on the national and district levels, and to everyone who took the time to tell a story in a way that will always be appreciated,” added Price.