The Northwestern State sports information office collected a total of eight awards in the annual Louisiana Sports Writers Association's sports information/communications contest held Sunday afternoon at the conclusion of the LSWA's annual conference.

Assistant sports information Brad Welborn led the way with four awards, including a while associate athletic director for media relations Jason Pugh earned two and assistant director of communications Jonathon Zenk and Northwestern State Director of Photography Chris Reich each collected one.

Welborn and Reich each grabbed first place honors.

Welborn earned a pair of awards for stories written during the 2025-26 school year, as well as one each for game notes and graphics.

He won first place for a feature on the 15-year relationship between softball's Jenny Fuller and JT Smith.

Welborn collected second place for his graphic on women's basketball's Vernell Atamah being named Southland Conference Player of the Year, the first in more than 20 years for the program.

He also collected third place for his feature on NSU quarterback Abram Johnston's progress from his first collegiate start to his second matchup this past season with that same opponent—East Texas A&M, and also for his softball game notes during the SLC Tournament.

Pugh earned a pair of second-place finishes, starting with his game story for the NSU football victory over Alcorn State for its first win since November 2022.

He also took home second place for his feature on former Demon baseball legend David Fry, one year after his appearance in the MLB All-Star game.

Reich joined Pugh with an award for the football win against McNeese and he also joins Welborn as a first-place award winner.

He collected his award with his photograph of Blaine McCorkle earning the Gatorade bath following NSU's season-opening 20-10 win over Alcorn.

To round out the NSU awards, Zenk collected a second-place honor for his feature on women's basketball player Carla Celaya relishing her role as the hard-working defensive specialist for her team.
 
Division I
Demons double up Alcorn State to emphatically snap skid - Jason Pugh – 2nd place

Johnston ready to face East Texas A&M again as different quarterback – Brad Welborn – 3rd place

Division II
Off All-Star anniversary, Fry reflects and looks ahead to second half – Jason Pugh – 2nd place

Division III
Relationship years in the making helped fuel Demons' turnaround – Brad Welborn – 1st place

Celaya relishes role on team as hard-working defensive specialist – Jonathon Zenk – 2nd place

Division V
Softball game notes for SLC Tournament – Brad Welborn – 3rd place

Division VII
Vernell Atamah Player of the Year graphic – Brad Welborn – 2nd place



Division VIII
Blaine McCorkle Gatorade photo – Chris Reich – 1st place