KENOSHA — Seven student creatives from the Carthage College athletics communications team combined to win 35 national honors across 13 different categories in the 2024-25 CSC Creative & Digital Design Contest, capping a historic year of storytelling and content creation that highlighted 14 Firebirds athletic programs.
Leading the way was Kayleigh Wieska, who placed 10th nationally in the College Division's Photographer of the Year category, earning recognition for her standout portfolio work.
Kaitlyn Jerbi earned five national honors for her work in social media graphics and milestone recognitions. She earned three top-10 placements in the Individual Awards, Milestone & Record Graphics – Best of Division III category, including fifth for her recognition of Aubrey Schoeneman's All-America honor and ninth for highlighting Marianna Morrissey's 1,000-point milestone in women's basketball. She also earned recognition for Christina Hall's Athlete of the Week honor and contributed to two additional awards in the Major Awards & Championship Graphics category.
Jerbi shared two honors with Justin Corrigan, who was also recognized individually for a game day graphic highlighting the women's water polo championship and a milestone graphic celebrating Clare Rettler's stolen base record.
In the video production category, Hannah Lizano and Aidan O'Neill each earned three national honors for their hype video work. Lizano was recognized for her men's basketball hype video, placing fourth in Best of Division III Videographer of the Year and appearing in the top five of both the Hype/Pre-Game and Video of the Year categories. O'Neill earned matching recognition for his men's soccer hype video and was additionally honored for a black uniform reveal video that earned fourth in Short Form Videos – Best of Division III.
Three student designers were recognized in the Game Day Graphics category. Abigail Calhoun earned third and fifth place for her championship-day graphics in women's track and softball. O'Neill added two more top-10 finishes in the same category, while Abigail Trapp was recognized for her tournament design work in women's volleyball.
This year's contest featured hundreds of entries from institutions across the country in categories such as photography, videography, hype content, media guides, posters, and creative graphics. Winners were selected by industry professionals based on visual impact, storytelling, branding alignment, and technical quality.
More than 250 institutions and conference offices were among the participants this year, with more than 650 total individuals having been named on an entry. A total of 435 places were recognized in the overall contest results, while 307 entries garnered "Best Of" honors for each level in the College Division. 930 entries made up the 17 contests in the University Division composed exclusively of Division I institutions. The College Division was headlined by Division II with 571 total entries, followed by Division III with 447, the NAIA with 170, Canadian Institutions with 17, two-year colleges with 16, and high schools with nine.
A total of 123 different institutions and league offices were among those recognized along with 229 individuals who either submitted solo entries or collaborations from their communications and creative staff.
"Our student workers are the heartbeat of our athletic communications efforts," said Sam Boyle, Director of Athletic Communications. "To have seven individuals win a combined 35 national awards across 13 different categories is extraordinary. What's even more special is that their work highlighted 14 different Carthage athletics programs. Their creativity, consistency, and commitment to excellence are what elevate our department and bring Firebirds athletics to life."
