By TTU Sports Information
LEBANON, Tenn. – Tennessee Tech swept the Sports Information division of the Tennessee Sports Writers Association's annual writing contest as the organization announced its awards on Tuesday afternoon.
Tech Sports Information Coordinator Thomas Corhern took first place in both the Best Feature Writer and Best Event Writer categories, beating out sports information writers across the state.
The entries, to be eligible, had to have been written between January 1 and December 31 in the 2018 calendar year. Three stories had to be submitted for each category.
For the Best Feature Writer, Corhern's feature on Tech cross-country and track and field standout Micayla Rennick (story) putting together Athlete of the Championship efforts at the Ohio Valley Conference Indoor and Outdoor Championships, Golden Eagle kicker Nick Madonia (story) making a run at the Tech record books, and Tennessee Tech women's basketball (story) making a push to return to its storied tradition were submitted.
The second and third place winners in the category were Colby Wilson (Austin Peay) and Mark McGee (Lipscomb).
For the Best Event Writer, Corhern's recaps of former Golden Eagle linebacker turned combat pilot and later astronaut Barry Wilmore winning the NCAA's Theodore Roosevelt Award (story), Raegan Sparks and Taylor Thomas going yard to lead Tech softball to a sweep over Murray State after losing to the Racers 21-0 in tournament play earlier in the season (story), and Tech football earning its Homecoming victory over Murray State to give Dewayne Alexander his first win as Golden Eagle head coach (story) were submitted.
The second and third place winners in the category were Phil Stukenborg (Memphis) and Mike Hutchens (Union City Schools).
Corhern recently was also honored by the College Sports Information Directors of America in its annual Fred S. Stabley Writing Contest with a first-place win in District 4 (Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee and Alabama) for Best Event Coverage on the NCAA award presentation to Wilmore and was in the running for the national prize in the category.