Greenlee students sweep IBNA sports radio honors
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A quartet of Greenlee School students won awards for student radio sports coverage at this year’s annual Iowa Broadcast News Association (IBNA) Awards Banquet and Conference at the Stoney Creek Inn in Johnston. Mya Allen, Nick Mensen, Stephen Schwartz and Jordan Rech received top honors in the Newscast/Sportscast Contest for their sports talk-show programs, which aired in the fall of 2025 on 88.5 KURE – Ames Alternative, Iowa State’s student-run radio station and a student affiliate organization of the Greenlee School.
Allen, a senior in sports media and communication and native of West Des Moines, took first place for her one-hour show “All About Her,” which covered women’s sports and related issues for her Sports Fieldwork (SMC 4910) course project.
“I am grateful to receive the IBNA award for sports coverage of my radio show, ‘All About Her.’ It’s rewarding to see the preparation and effort I put into this show recognized. The conference overall was a great experience, and it was valuable to receive feedback on my portfolio from news professionals in the field,” Allen said.
She continued,”This experience has helped me grow my on-air confidence and strengthen my skills within sports media, and I am motivated to continue improving so I can further my future in this field.”
Mensen’s “Nick’s Picks,” a one-hour show about Iowa State athletics, finished second. To complete the sweep, Schwartz and Rech took third with “The Chi-Town Rundown,” a two-hour show covering the Chicago sports scene.
“Really exceptional work by all of our students,” said Assistant Teaching Professor Tony Moton, who developed the Sports Fieldwork course to give students practical experience in various sports-media related fields, including broadcasting, sportswriting, sports photography/videography, public relations and social media. “The hours and hard work they put into their talk shows in a live, on-air setting really paid off for them.”
Also during the conference, Joseph Diehl, assistant general manager of broadcast at KURE, was voted onto IBNA’s board of directors as its student representative. The nonprofit organization represents radio and TV news professionals in Iowa and neighboring states and works to improve electronic media news.