Longwood University Athletics

FARMVILLE, Va. – For the fifth straight year, Longwood's athletic communication office snagged recognition in the annual Fred Stabley Sr. Writing Contest, the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) announced this week.
 
Longwood earned first-place honors in the "Coach/Administrator Profile & Historical Feature" category in District 3 for Chris Cook's profile/historical feature on Kathy Riley, Longwood's legendary softball coach, and the Lancer softball program she has guided to historic success.
 
Cook's feature, titled "Building A Dynasty: How Kathy Riley Forged Longwood's Powerhouse," digs deeper into Longwood softball under Riley's leadership. The piece highlights not just the incredible success but also the special connection Riley and the program have forged with the Longwood community as well as how her approach molds and prepares student-athletes for their future. Cook, Longwood assistant vice president for athletics communications, earned his fifth straight writing award from CoSIDA.
 
The Longwood athletics communications office has received seven awards in the past five years in the Fred Stabley Sr. Writing Contest, earning those honors in a competition that draws hundreds of entries annually from schools at all levels of college athletics. The 2018-19 contest drew 362 total entries from around the nation, which in District 3 includes all institutions in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia.
 
Per CoSIDA, the writing contest "recognizes excellence in feature writing, historical features, administrator/coach profiles and event coverage writing. Entries will be judged on overall writing style, correct use of English, inventiveness, written presentation and the ease with which the reader acquires the information."
 
The contest features eight categories: athlete profile, event coverage, general feature, coach/administrator profile and historical feature, season recap/preview, blog/interview and story with video. Longwood has won District 3 honors in four of those categories, including a national award in the "Story with Video" category in 2015.
 
Longwood Athletics' Fred Stabley, Sr. Writing Contest Award 

Year	Category	Award	Winner's Name	Title
2015	Story with Video	National/District	Chris Cook, Gary Maiorano	McConnell Goes Beyond the Numbers
2016	General Feature	District 3	Chris Cook	Longwood Alum Breaking Down Barriers on Gridiron
2017	Story with Video	District 3	Todd Lindenmuth, Christian Fox	Softball Slugger Living Out Hardball Dreams
2017	Coach/Admin/Historical	District 3	Chris Cook	600 Wins...What's the Big Deal?
2018	Story with Video	District 3	Darius Thigpen, Christian Fox	What Makes a Dynasty?
2018	Season Preview/Recap	District 3	Chris Cook	The Rise of Longwood Baseball
2019	Coach/Admin/Historical	District 3	Chris Cook	Building A Dynasty: How Kathy Riley Forged Longwood's Powerhouse

 
2019 Fred Stabley Sr. Writing Contest Results – District Winners

District 1
Category	Winner's Name	School	Title
Athlete	Ryan Long	University of Maine	Strike Out The Stigma
Coach/Admin/Historical	Aaron Morse	Bates College	With his 'Fresh' approach, Al Fereshetian makes history with Bates track and field throwers
Event	Scott Eddy	St. Bonaventure University	#BonniesDance: St. Bonaventure Men's Basketball 2018 NCAA Tournament
General	Ali Paquette	Wesleyan (Conn.) University	We Are Wes - Feature I - Brian O'Rourke
Blog/Interview	Scott Dietz	Babson College	Trio of Project TEAM Student-Athletes Attends Apple Conference
Story With Video	Rick Bender	Dartmouth College	The Curious Son of Sidd Finch
Season Preview/Recap	Sarah Kirkpatrick	American International College	Baseball Breaks New Ground
Season Preview/Recap	Ashley Robbins	UMass Lowell	River Hawks Make a Statement in First Year of Full DI Eligibility
District 2
Category	Winner's Name	School	Title
Athlete	Ethan Hulsey	Millersville University	A chance meeting changes course for Lopez, Marauders
Coach/Admin/Historical	Ethan Hulsey	Millersville University	100 Years of Women's Athletics
Event	Ira Thor	New Jersey City University	Mmmm Bacon! Bacon Sisters Combine for 46 Points as #NJCUWBB Snaps Lengthy Losing Skid with Second Half Comeback
General	Rob Knox	Towson University	Wallace's Special Gift To Turner Is One To Cherish
Blog/Interview	Adam Zundell	Mountain East Conference	Part Of The Team
Story With Video	Corey Jewart	Gettysburg College	Baseball, Softball Team Up for Home Run Derby Fundraiser
Season Preview/Recap	Corey Jewart	Gettysburg College	Defending National Champs Focused on 2018
District 3
Category	Winner's Name	School	Title
Athlete	Zach Dirlam	University of Florida	Human, or Super Saiyan? Grant Holloway Keeps the World Wondering
Coach/Admin/Historical	Chris Cook	Longwood University	Building A Dynasty: How Kathy Riley Forged Longwood's Softball Powerhouse
Event	Zach Dirlam	University of Florida	Finishing the NCAA Championships Heptathlon: A Visual Story
General	Jimmy Robertson	Virginia Tech	Tech Athletics involved in creating revolutionary blood test for concussions
Blog/Interview	Dan Ryan	Bethune-Cookman University	Dan Ryan: Hall of Fame Induction News A Shared Joy
Story With Video	Dale Long	Georgia Gwinnett College	One- Six
Season Preview/Recap	Zach Dirlam	University of Florida	The Mission Continues: Florida Gators Track & Field 2018 Season Preview
District 4
Category	Winner's Name	School	Title
Athlete	Bryan Fyalkowski	Western Kentucky University	I'm So Proud Of You, Buddy, I Love You
Coach/Admin/Historical	Cody Wilson	Austin Peay State University	The Odyssey: Rouco's fascinating journey through a life of basketball
Event	Thomas Corhern	Tennessee Tech University	Wilmore receives NCAA's highest honor, the Theodore Roosevelt Award
General	Erin Madden	Baldwin Wallace University	Makowski Hits All the Right Notes as a Conservatory Student-Athlete
Blog/Interview	Colby Wilson	Austin Peay State University	Here Comes Hudspeth: Day One with Austin Peay's new head coach
Story With Video	Craig Hicks	Denison University	Denison men's swimming & diving wins fourth national championship
Season Preview/Recap	Bryan Fyalkowski	Western Kentucky University	Quadruple Threat
District 5
Category	Winner's Name	School	Title
Athlete	Mandy Hansen	University of Minnesota	Full Strength: Cameranesi Cherishes Olympic Opportunity
Coach/Admin/Historical	Bob Sakamoto	DePaul University	Celebrating the Courageous Legacy of Jack Dean
Event	Bob Sakamoto	DePaul University	Special Olympics Brings Our World Closer Together
General	John Heisler	University of Notre Dame	Rudy: He Roots for the Irish--They Root for Him
Blog/Interview	John Heisler	University of Notre Dame	I Still Remember That Night
Story With Video	John Heisler	University of Notre Dame	Jessica Harris: Making Mom Proud
Season Preview/Recap	John Heisler	University of Notre Dame	Sunday Brunch: Irish Women (At Some Point) Move On
District 6
Category	Winner's Name	School	Title
Athlete	Murray Evans	Oklahoma Christian University	Livestock showing yet another area of excellence for OC's Stanford
Athlete	Wes Bloomquist	Texas Tech University	SPOTLIGHT: Brandone Francis
Coach/Admin/Historical	Murray Evans	Oklahoma Christian University	Softball coach Heath, an OC institution, set to retire
Event	Ryan Cameron	Oklahoma State University	When The Cowboys Talk...
General	Chelsey Kraft	University of Oklahoma	Winning An Unseen Battle
Story With Video	Chelsey Kraft w/ Jessica Coody	University of Oklahoma	The Butterfly Connection
Season Preview/Recap	Murray Evans	Oklahoma Christian University	Experience, depth should bode well for Lady Eagles in 2018
District 7
Category	Winner's Name	School	Title
Athlete	Corbin McGuire	Kansas State University	'I Think I like Being Bald' — K-State WBB Senior Kali Jones' Journey to Handling Alopecia with Confidence
Coach/Admin/Historical	Jake Knabel	Concordia University (Neb.)	A relationship built on the volleyball courts of Nebraska
Event	Joel Carlson	University of Montana	Griz topple Bears, win Big Sky title
General	Mike Green	Iowa State University	How Attention To Details Helped Win The Liberty Bowl
Story With Video	Darren Miller	University of Iowa	Humble off the mat, animal on the mat
Season Preview/Recap	Ryan Davis	Missouri Valley Conference	Drake Picked to Win Third-Straight MVC Women's Hoops Crown
Season Preview/Recap	Corbin McGuire	Kansas State University	K-State MBB Knows Time will Help Alleviate Sting of Elite Eight Loss, Create Appreciation for NCAA Tournament Run
District 8
Category	Winner's Name	School	Title
Athlete	David Kiefer	Stanford University	Jaylen Jasper
Coach/Admin/Historical	David Kiefer	Stanford University	1998 Final Four Team
Event	Mara Rudolph	University of California	Bear Brilliance Boosts Cal to Upset No. 4 Utah
General	Jonathan Okanes	University of California	'He Gives You A Great Cal Broadcast'
General	Ben Enos	University of California	He Knows The Story
Blog/Interview	Akilah Laster	University of California	Hawai'i Quick Pitch With Kama
Story With Video	Mara Rudolph	University of California	Meant to Bee
Season Preview/Recap	Andy Jobanek	Portland State University	Vikings Ready to Make Another Big Sky Tournament Run as Season Opens at Oregon Friday

 
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