Reagan Hoverman of the Duluth News Tribune in Minnesota won first place in the Division C explanatory category of the 2025 Associated Press Sports Editors contest.
Hoverman’s winning entry was a detailed, nuanced explanation of the predicament facing Grand Rapids High School in Minnesota, which in 1995 changed its nickname from “Indians” to “Thunderhawks” but later learned of Chief Thunder Hawk, a Native American leader who was a companion of Sitting Bull in the 19th century.
Grand Rapids High is now facing a mandatory nickname change because of a 2023 Minnesota state law, and although it applied for an exemption, three of the state’s 11 tribal nations rejected it. The final problem: Grand Rapids High doesn’t have the estimated $800,000 it will cost to rebrand.
APSE contest winners will be honored at the 2026 APSE Summer Conference banquet July 18 at the Crystal Gateway Marriott in Arlington, Va. Registration for the conference is open; you can register right here.
Hoverman will receive a first-place plaque. The second- through 10th-place finishers will receive frame-worthy certificates.
Sports editors submitted 71 entries in the Division C explanatory category. Contest chair Perryn Keys and APSE officers Paul Barrett, Erik Hall and Tony Maluso prepared the entries.
Contest results: Digital, print and podcasts | Writing and photography
Judges convened in late February, in person at the APSE Winter Conference in Las Vegas and remotely around the nation, to select the top entrants. The committee determined 10 finalists, with each judge ranking the entries in order from 1 to 10. The final 10 were given to a second judging group in late February and March, ranking the entries from Nos. 1 to 10 in the same fashion.
The final rankings are determined by tallying the ballots.
The top 10 are listed, with first-place votes in parentheses, along with links to the winning entries.
The contest is open to APSE members. Click here to join.
1. Reagan Hoverman, Duluth (Minn.) News Tribune (2)
2. Tyler Dunne, Go Long
3. Amie Just, Lincoln Journal Star (2)
4. Todd D. Milewski, Wisconsin State Journal (Madison)
T5. Gerald Thomas, Tallahassee Democrat (2)
T5. Tim Buckley, The Daily Memphian
7. Shaun Goodwin, Idaho Statesman (Boise)
T8. Matt Case, The Roanoke Times
T8. Brendan Howe, Butler (Pa.) Eagle
10. John Clay, Lexington Herald-Leader
