NWMA names annual National Wrestling Journalism Awards
March 16, 2000
St. Louis, Mo.- The National Wrestling Media Association, the national
professional organization for wrestling journalists, has named the recipients
of its Annual Wrestling Journalist Awards. The NWMA honors the top wrestling
journalists in these categories: Broadcaster of the Year, Print Journalist of
the Year, Photographer of the Year, Publicist/SID of the Year, Publication of
the Year and Web Page of the Year.
Wrestling Publication of the Year - The North Carolina Mat News
The North Carolina Mat News has provided coverage of high school,
college and local wrestling in North Carolina for 30 years. It's editor, Bob
Mauldin of Kannapolis, has compiled rankings, results and features on North
Carolina wrestlers, and distributed the newsletter to the state's wrestling
community as a service to the sport. The publication is supported through
donations from wrestling enthusiasts.
Wrestling Print Journalist of the Year - Gary Mihoces, USA Today
Mihoces has served as a sports reporter for USA Today for 18 years, and
previously worked for the Associated Press in Pittsburgh, Pa. For many years,
Mihoces has been the primary wrestling reporter for USA Today, which is the
nation*s largest circulation newspaper. He covered the 1996 Olympic Games for
USA Today, and has worked most of wrestling*s major events including the World
Cup, the World Championships, the U.S. Nationals, the NCAA Championships, the
Big 12 Championships and more. While with AP, Michoces was the pool reporter
for wrestling at the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal, Canada. His features on
wrestling have been outstanding, and show tremendous insight into the sport.
Wrestling Photographer of the Year - Kevin Allen, Impact Images, Herndon, Va.
Allen, a professional sports photographer by trade, has covered amateur
wrestling as a personal passion throughout his career. He has worked most of
wrestling*s major events, including the NCAA Championships, the World Cup, the
U.S. Nationals, and major competitions on the East Coast. Allen has generously
provided his photography to numerous national wrestling magazines and college
wrestling programs. His photos are often spectacular, and show his
understanding and appreciation of wrestling technique and the competitive
nature of the sport.
Wrestling SID/Publicist of the Year - Susan Filkins, Univ. of Minnesota
Filkins has served as the SID contact for the Univ. of Minnesota*s Div.
I wrestling program for two years. She was a 1998 graduate there. Her regular
and timely reports on the Gopher team have helped promote the success of the
program on a local and national basis. The Minnesota team has developed a
strong fan base, including a record crowd of over 13,000 for its February dual
meet against the Univ. of Iowa.
Wrestling Broadcaster of the Year - Mark Allen, KXIC radio, Iowa City
Allen is the sports director for KXIC Radio in Iowa City, Iowa. For the
past five years, Allen has served with Morrie Adams as the radio broadcast team
for the University of Iowa dual meets, which air on KXIC. During the last two
years, Allen has travelled with the U.S. freestyle wrestling team and provided
live radio coverage from the Freestyle World Championships, including the
historic trip to Tehran, Iran in 1998 as well as to Ankara, Turkey in 1999. He
has also covered major USA Wrestling events. Allen, a former youth and high
school wrestler, also coaches a local junior high wrestling team.
Wrestling Web Page of the Year - The Mat
A new category for the NWMA awards, The Mat has been honored as one of
the pioneer web pages for wrestling. Lareau, a wrestling fan, created *The Mat*
in April 1995, while enrolled as a Computer Science graduate student at the
Univ. of North Carolina-Charlotte. Before creating The Mat, Lareau created a
newsgroup (alt.sport.wrestling.amateur) for fans that is still in use today.
While living in North Carolina, he also developed web pages for wrestling
within the state. The Mat has been sold to USA Wrestling, and will serve as the
homepage for the new Amateur Wrestling Alliance.
Comments & Questions -- info@ncmat.com
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