Sports

A longtime radio personality and the “Voice of the Hilltoppers” earned a big award at this year’s New Mexico Broadcasters Association awards banquet.
Gene Mortensen, the veteran sports announcer at KRSN, was named the Sports Play-by-Play Broadcaster of the Year. KRSN AM 1490, which regularly covers Los Alamos High School athletic events, competes in the NMBA’s Division 4 along with radio stations from Deming, Artesia and other similarly-sized towns.
This was a first-time win for Mortensen, who has picked up several awards for his work with high school sports throughout his career.
“I’ve been entering this (competition) for a few years and I’ve never made the grade,” he said. “I made the grade this year. It’s kind of exciting. It made my day when they called me and told me I won.”
Despite winning the play-by-play award for the first time this year, this is hardly the first time he’s been honored by the NMBA.
The NMBA inducted Mortensen into its Hall of Fame in 2010, being nominated for induction by current co-owner of KRSN, Gillian Sutton.
Mortensen was also nominated for the NMBA’s sports broadcasting award but didn’t win it.