Student’s story selected as finalist for inaugural college sportswriting award

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — A feature story by a Penn State student about a South Carolina town with a reputation as a Little Leage baseball powerhouse was selected as one of five finalists for the inaugural Dan Jenkins Medal for Excellence in Sports Writing.

Amanda Vogt, a journalism major who graduated earlier this month from the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications, wrote “Little League Town USA: Irmo, South Carolina,” which was published by Penn State Student Media. Vogt visited the community of about 12,000 that has sent four teams in different divisions to the Little League World Series (baseball and softball) in recent years.

The Dan Jenkins Medal for Excellence is Sportswriting has been presented annually by the University of Texas, and this is the first year for a student division in the competition.

Vogt, from Wayne, New Jersey, recently earned her bachelor’s degree in journalism along with minors in sports studies and digital media trends and analytics.

A dean’s list student and member of the Association for Women in Sports Media, Vogt gained abundant hands-on experience during her time at Penn State. She was a reporter for The Daily Collegian, a host and analyst for Penn State Sports Night, and a football insider for CommRadio. She completed internships with the Centre Daily Times and with the Carolinas Golf Association.

Vogt’s passion and storytelling skills also helped her secure opportunities covering the U.S. Open golf tournament, thanks to a scholarship form the Golf Writers Association of America, and covering both the Little League World Series and the 2024 Paralympics as part of a partnership with the Associated Press. She also covered Penn State football for Penn State on SI.

Vogt recently accepted a full-time position with the New York Jets.

Winners of the Jenkins medals — including The Dan Jenkins Medal for Lifetime Achievement in Sportswriting, the Dan Jenkins Medal for Best Sportswriting, and the Dan Jenkins Medal for Best Book (also new this year) — will be announced later this summer. The awards will be presented Sept. 17 in Texas.

All the awards are named for Dan Jenkins, an award-winning sportswriter and best-selling novelist whose career spanned more than six decades. He was the author of 24 books — 12 novels and 12 works of nonfiction. Jenkins wrote for newspapers in Fort Worth and Dallas for 15 years before he became nationally known for his stories in Sports Illustrated. After more than 25 years at SI, Jenkins was a columnist for Playboy and Golf Digest. Three of his best-selling novels — Semi-Tough, Dead Solid Perfect, and Baja Oklahoma — were made into movies.