By TTU Sports Information
NASHVILLE – The first Tennessee Tech football practice back during the middle of a pandemic as the team tried to regain a sense of normalcy as they prepared for an unprecedented spring campaign. The Golden Eagle women's basketball team's first outing of the 2020-21 campaign with a different ambiance than usual. A stellar performance for Alyssa Arden against Bowling Green in the early part of the 2020 season, striking out 11 as she allowed one hit.
There were many stories to tell across the course of the 2020 year, even if the COVID pandemic made an impact on the sheer number of events to tell stories from.
While the calendar itself took a hit, the Tennessee Tech Sports Information office continued to tell the stories and the Tennessee Sports Writers Association recognized the efforts as it awarded first place for Best Event Writer in the Sports Information division to Thomas Corhern.
The winners were announced on Monday and will be awarded on July 8 at Cumberland University for the organization's Hall of Fame dinner and banquet.
It is the 14th straight year Corhern has been honored by the TSWA stretching back to his 10-year tenure at the Cookeville Herald-Citizen. It is also the 14th first-place trophy awarded to Corhern in the organization's annual writing contest. He also previously took home a second-place and two third-place finishes in the Gary Lundy Writer of the Year category in Division II (newspapers under 15,000 circulation).
Corhern has also previously been honored by the College Sports Information Directors of America as the District 4 (Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee and Alabama) winner for Best Event Coverage in its Fred Stabley Sr. Writing Contest.
The judge's comments included: "Engaging leads but story organization and flow were strongpoints. Gave the readers all the answers to any questions they might have."
Corhern's three stories submitted included the Oct. 31 football intersquad scrimmage nearly two months after the fall season had been postponed to the spring, the Dec. 11 season opener for the Tech women's basketball team at Chattanooga and softball's March 1 appearance at the Buccaneer Classic against Bowling Green and East Tennessee State.
All entries had to be dated between January 1 and December 31 in 2020.
Second and third place went to Chattanooga's Anne Wehunt and Jay Blackman.
Vanderbilt's Chad Bishop won the Best Feature Writer category with his feature on soccer player Sara Fuller's transition to placekicker for the Commodore football team. Memphis' Phil Stukenborg took second and Lipscomb's Mark McGee was third.
