Central receives athletics communications writing awards
PELLA-Central College had five athletics stories cited as the College Sports Communicators’ (formerly CoSIDA) Fred Stabley Sr. Writing Contest college division district awards were announced.
The five stories were written by athletics senior editor Larry Happel. Entries were considered in seven categories.
Central, which was honored for three entries honored last year, was awarded first place in CSC College Division District 7 for Athlete Profile with “Central’s DeRocher: ‘Just as good, if not better,'” a feature on Dutch outfielder Colton DeRocher, who set the school’s career home runs record with only one fully formed hand. Happel earlier received the 2024 Fall Division III and Division III Sports Information Directors of America (D3SIDA) Recognition Award for the DeRocher story.
Also taking first place under Coach/Administrator Profile was “Path to McMartin’s dreams led him home to Central,” a story about Central’s highly successful football coach, Jeff McMartin.
Both stories are now under consideration for CSC national honors, including the National Story of the Year Award, which will be revealed later this month.
Three stories received district runner-up awards.
In the General Feature/Blog category, “Former Dutch athletes preserve Iowa prairie one fire at a time,” profiled five former Central athletes who fight wildfires and manage prescribed burns, primarily through the Iowa Natural Heritage Society.
“Sweet home, Alabama — 50 years later, it still sounds sweet” highlighted the 50th anniversary of Central’s 1974 NCAA Division III championship season and placed second for Historical Feature.
A preview of the 2024 softball season, “Veteran Central softball team thinking big,” placed second under Season Recap/Preview.
The entries were judged in the College Division that included NCAA Division II and III institutions as well as NAIA schools and two-year colleges. District 7 includes colleges and universities in Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, Nebraska, Wyoming, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Saskatchewan and Alberta.
Happel spent 45 years as Central’s athletics communications director and now serves in a part-time role. He previously won the CSC Fred Stabley Sr. Writing Contest National Story of the Year Award in 2017 and has now received 23 CSC writing awards overall as well as two from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education. He’s received more than 35 CSC publication awards and was inducted into the CSC Hall of Fame in 2010 after receiving the CSC Warren Berg Award in 2006. At the CSC Convention in Orlando, Florida June 9, he will receive the organization’s Lifetime Achievement Award. He’s a former CSC board member and past D3SIDA president.
