The Point Park University Myron Cope Sports Media Awards are awarded annually for excellence in high school sports journalism and broadcasting.
The Eagle Eye won awards in five of thirteen categories this year, including Best Sports Coverage in a High School Newspaper, and individual awards for two Eagle Eye staff members, podcaster and social media editor Logan Rumberger and sportswriter Brayden Parsons.
Myron Cope was a Pittsburgh sports journalist, radio personality, and sportscaster. He is best known for being “the voice of the Pittsburgh Steelers” and helping to invent the “Terrible Towel.” He was the first football announcer inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame and is a member of the Steelers Hall of Fame and Hall of Honor.
“I am so proud of the students for the work they put in this year to make these awards possible. Our sports coverage this year is as good as it has ever been,” said Eagle Eye Adviser Todd Cammarata. “A lot of credit goes to sports editor Dylan Ewing, social media editor Logan Rumberger, photography editor Anna Myers, and sports writers Brayden Parsons, Owen Oakes, Austin Lucas, Kendall Lehner, Jenna Naylor, Grace Naylor, Aidan Luther, Ashton Walk, Ben Walk, Emma Myers, Abby Anthony, Landon Hamer, Carter Gwinn, Abby Lucas, Isiah Suhoney, Sidney Goodwin, Nicole Ramsey, Cooper Spicer, and Claire Lehman.”
The Best Sports Coverage in a High School Newspaper award was a group effort by all the sports writers, photographers, social media contributors, videoographers, and live-streamers on the Eagle Eye staff.
“I couldn’t have asked for a better group of sports writers. Everyone has their own unique style and strengths. It makes for a well-rounded team,” said Eagle Eye Sports Editor Dylan Ewing.
Junior Brayden Parsons received an honorable mention for High School Sports Journalist of the Year (Newspaper and Yearbook) based on a representative sample of his work.
“I’m honored to receive this award and grateful for the Eagle Eye community’s support, which has been instrumental in my growth as a journalist and graphic designer,” Parsons said.
Senior Logan Rumberger received three individual awards, including first place for Podcaster of the Year, for his podcast centered around Tyrone sports, “TSPN”, featuring himself as host and senior Austin Lucas as co-host.
Rumberger also received second place for the Mike DeCourcy High School Sports Multimedia Journalist of the Year Award.
Mike DeCourcy is a member of the United States Basketball Writers Hall of Fame and is a studio analyst at the Big Ten Network and NCAA Tournament Bracket analyst for Fox Sports. He was born in Pittsburgh and graduated from Point Park University.
Rumberger also won an honorable mention for Best Individual Sports Media Account for his work on the Eagle Eye Instragram account, Tyrone Sports Central account, which is not affiliated with the school and is co-run with Parsons and Tyrone alumni and current Penn State Altoona student, Brayden Sloss, and the unofficial Tyrone Wrestling Instagram account.
“I am very grateful to add this to my academic record. Podcaster of the Year means so much to me, I worked super hard on establishing TSPN to become the best podcast it could be. I would like to thank my fellow Eagle Eye classmates for all the help and support given,” Rumberger said. “It should be acknowledged that the four individual awards wouldn’t have been possible without the help of the entire Eagle Eye sports staff.”
The Myron Cope awards are open to any high school or student in Pennsylvania and counties in West Virginia and Ohio that border Pennsylvania.
Point Park School of Communication Dean Bernie Ankney said the competition was fierce.
“I was so impressed with the live broadcasts, sports photography, and sports journalism that high school students submitted last year for the first Cope Awards,” said Ankney. “I thought the high school broadcasts were nearly as good as college broadcasts.”
Elizabeth Cope, daughter of Myron Cope, said her dad would be honored that the awards were named after him.
“I know my dad would have been thrilled to see the excellent work recognized at last year’s Cope Awards ceremony,” Cope said. “He would be so excited to see these young men and women entering sports communication. I think his advice would be: ‘Be yourself and don’t be afraid to take risks. Don’t let someone tell you that you don’t have the right voice or right look.’”
Cammarata said that he and the staff that will be back next year are looking forward to entering the competition again next year.
“Seeing Logan and Brayden succeed on a state level inspires other writers here at the Eagle Eye. Logan is a great leader and took Brayden under his wing much like Sloss took Logan under his,” sophomore staff member Carter Gwinn said.
