Central College earned five awards in the College Sports Communicators’ Fred Stabley Sr. Writing Contest, which were announced on Tuesday.
The five stories were written by athletics senior editor Larry Happel, and entries were considered in seven categories. Central, which was honored for three entries 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. The second first place award was under the Coach/Administrator Profile for “Path to McMartin’s dreams led him home to Central,” a story about Central 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. The final runner-up story was a preview of the 2024 softball season titled, “Veteran Central softball team thinking big,” in the Season Recap/Preview category.
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 on June 9th, he will receive the organization’s Lifetime Achievement Award.