CSC Release

GREENWOOD, Ind. - The Illinois Wesleyan University Athletic Communications Office reeled in two College Sports Communicators Fred Stabley Writing Contest Awards, as the district winners were announced Wednesday, May 14. Assistant Athletic Director of Athletic Communications Katie Gonzales and Assistant Director of Athletic Communications Taiah Gallisath each garnered runner-up honors for general feature/blog and historical feature, respectively, for the District 5 college division.

Gonzales was the recipient of the general feature/blog runner-up award for an article written covering IWU athletic communications student workers and student-athletes Emma Thorman and Eddie Cisneros. A part of Illinois Wesleyan's DIII50 celebration, which was highlighted throughout the 2023-24 school year to celebrate 50 years of NCAA Division III, Gonzales's DIII50: Extending Their Experience Outside of Competition & the Classroom was the final installment of the year-long project. 

The first part of the story covered Thorman's decorated women's golf career, highlighted by a third-place finish at the 2024 NCAA Division III Women's Golf National Championship, as well as her four-year experience working in athletic communications and finding her passion. Thorman was able to attend and help out at the highly coveted NCAA Men's Basketball First Four, hosted by University of Dayton, in 2024. The article finished by discussing football player and IWU student videographer Cisneros, who recently accepted an internship to work for the Cleveland Browns. A staple behind the camera for Titan athletics, Cisneros utilized his videography and photography skills, as well as his football knowledge to land a role with the NFL to work the 2024 NFL Draft in Cleveland, Ohio. 

Gallisath received the runner-up accolade for her DIII50 feature on Titan great Lon Erickson, titled DIII50: Lon Erickson: An IWU Football Great. Erickson, one of the best to represent the Green and White on the football field, as he rewrote the record books in his three years as the starting quarterback. He became the first and only Titan to earn the prestigious Gagliardi Trophy, recognized as the premier individual award in Division III football, honoring excellence in athletics, academics, and community service.

The duo has helped lead the Illinois Wesleyan athletic communications office to multiple awards, including the D3SIDA Region 4 Communicator(s) of the Year award in the summer of 2024.