University of Portland Athletics Program Manager of Communications Kyle Garcia earned two honors in the 2022-23 Fred Stabley Sr. Writing Contest, which is presented by College Sports Communicators, the national organization of strategic, creative and digital communicators in college athletics.
The Fred Stabley Sr. Writing Contest recognizes the best writing from athletic departments across the country. Winners are selected by a panel of regional judges, with this year's contest seeing 395 stories submitted from this past academic year. A winner and a runner-up are selected from each district across seven categories. A panel of judges also selects national winners among eight different categories, including a national story of the year.
Garcia's story reflecting on a historic 2022 men's soccer season won first place in District 8 – which encompasses schools in Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Canada – in the "Season Recap/Preview" category while his feature on former Pilot basketball player and filmmaker Walter Thompson-Hernandez was runner up in the "General Feature/Blog" category.
This is the second year in a row Garcia has won an award from the contest. Garcia's preview of the 2021-22 men's basketball season was named co-winner for the season preview/recap category for District 8. Garcia has been with UP Athletics since 2021 and graduated from the University in 2020. He is also the former sports editor of The Beacon where he was nationally recognized for his work, including winning Best Sports Columnist at the 2020 College Media Association Pinnacle Awards.
You can read Garcia's stories below as well as the full list of winners.
Winner, Season Recap/Preview: "
Portland Head Coach Nick Carlin-Voigt Asks 'Why not us' When Reflecting on Season"Â
Runner-up, General Feature/Blog: "
Walter Thompson-Hernández has a Story to Tell"
Co-Winner, Season Recap/Preview:Â "Shantay Legans, Pilot Hoops Ready for a Fresh Start"Â
Full list of winners for the 2022-23 Fred Stabley Sr. Writing Contest
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