King named Sportswriter of the Year, Daily Record nabs several awards

The San Marcos Daily Record earned several awards in this year’s Texas Associated Press Managing Editors contest. 

Sports Editor Drew King and photographer Gerald Castillo highlighted the Daily Record’s performance with first place honors. King was named the Celeste Williams Star Sportswriter of the Year and Castillo earned first place in sports photography in Class A. 

“The Daily Record continues to strive to produce quality journalism for our readers and we couldn’t be prouder of the awards earned in this year’s TAPME contest,” Managing Editor Nick Castillo said. “The accolades earned by Drew and Gerald showcase the journalism we strive to produce across our entire newsroom. We hope to continue producing the same quality product our readers have to come to expect from us and we aim to improve with every issue.” 

The Daily Record competes in the TAPME’s Class A division — the competition’s largest division, which consists of over 40 newspapers across Texas. 

Former staff reporter Robin Blackburn earned second place in specialty reporting for her series highlighting free speech at Texas State University during the spring 2019 semester. 

Lead designer Colton Ashabranner earned a third place award in the infographics category for his infographic about the housing and rental market in San Marcos. 

Publisher Lance Winter received an honorable mention for his feature story — A San Marcos Serial Killer. King earned an honorable mention for his feature sports story — San Marcos' Anthony Lopez strives to be first. Nick Castillo received an honorable mention for Star Sportswriter of the Year. 

Publisher Lance Winter said he’s proud of the Daily Record team and their ability to keep readers informed through a variety of methods; stories, photos and graphic design. 

“We’re fortunate to have such a great group of dedicated, hard working people at the Daily Record. They make it their mission to tell the stories you want to read, locally,” he said. “These awards are a reminder of their dedication and just how good they are.”