News editor and Kansas State women’s basketball reporter Zach DeLoach took home the top spot in the sports column category for “It’s time to hop on the women’s hoops bandwagon,” published Nov. 18. The piece called on K-State fans to join the national hype surrounding women’s basketball fans, especially as the Wildcats are expected to have a breakout season in 2023-24.

“A very prophetic column on a current topic,” the jury wrote in their commentary on the column. “Well written and of a good length for a column, not too long but not too short. Easy to understand for casual sports followers like me, without making them feel stupid. This was the ideal column of all the entries; other columnists, take note!”

DeLoach also finished in the top three in two other categories. His story, “LAST STOP: K-State ends year with Elite 8 loss to FAU,” was the runner-up for Best Sports Story. The March 25 article chronicled the Wildcat men’s basketball team’s disappointing 79-76 loss to Florida Atlantic at Madison Square Garden in New York.

“A fan who missed the match simply had to read this coverage,” the jury wrote. “Goes beyond a typical match story.”

DeLoach’s article “GOT THEIR GOAT: Meet the Gap Goat, the supposed key to K-State’s defensive success” took third place in the sports feature competition. The article, published in November, broke the news of the Gap Goat, the stuffed goat mascot of the Wildcat women’s basketball team that became wildly popular within the fandom.

“This is the lightest topic of the four entries that were given a place, but so what?” the jury wrote. “It is fun to read, it was worth reporting and it was reported well.”

Publisher Ned Seaton won three awards for his editorials. His piece, “The Banana Republic Just an Hour South of Us,” came in third in the competition for best editorial. The editorial compared the shocking August 2023 police action on the Marion County Register to attempts to suppress press freedom in authoritarian countries and advocated for the ability of journalists to do their jobs without interference.

“This was an important topic that the paper really HAD to cover,” the judges wrote. “The writer did a great job of locating the topic.”

Additionally, Seaton received an honorable mention in the editorial contest for his May 15 work “The booze-tax shell game,” in which he criticized the Manhattan City Council for attempting to plunder the booze tax — which is intended to fund the prevention and treatment of drug and alcohol problems — to fund general government operations and keep property taxes low.

“The author explains a very complicated issue well,” the judge wrote.

Seaton also received an honorable mention for “The Intermittent Grief” in the category of best serious column. In “The Intermittent Grief,” Seaton struggles with the sudden and unexpected waves of grief that hit him after the death of his father, former publisher Ed Seaton.

“Well written column about the personal emotions of losing your father during the holidays,” said the judge.

Editor-in-Chief Megan Moser received an honorable mention in the Preserving Local History category for her story “Wildkittens: 50 Years After Title IX, a Look Back at Women’s Sports at K-State.” The article used a selection of clippings from the Royal Purple yearbook to provide a snapshot of the evolution of women’s athletic programs at K-State, beginning in 1904 and ending in 1974. The title, “Wildkittens,” is a reference to the nickname the yearbook used for women’s sports teams in the 1970s.

“Interesting historical retrospective on women’s athletics,” wrote the jury.