“Enjoy Every Minute”

Less than three weeks after classes came to a close for the 2023 Newhouse Master’s Broadcast and Digital Journalism Graduate students, one student began his career as a professional.

Karl Winter, the multimedia journalist, is the NBC 26 Neighborhood reporter covering Titletown and the Green Bay suburbs of De Pere, Allouez, Ashwaubenon and Bellevue, Wisconsin. Raised in a household that prided itself on kindness, integrity and having parents as role models in the way they interacted with others, has left a mark on Winter, he said. Without hesitation, the traits he has mastered from Newhouse have carried over into his day to day work.

As a student-athlete at Pepperdine University earning a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism before attending Syracuse to pursue his Master’s degree, Winter continues to bring an energy and spirit that remains to be an edge of competitiveness as a reporter. Winter says being flexible and curious, working around others in thinking ahead is important at the next level.   

“We’ve got some good competition in the size market that I’m in,” Winter said. “Watching what they do drives us to be better and make sure we present something unique to the audience that makes them want to watch us over our competitors.”

The drive comes by no surprise for the former Orange Track and Field star who headlined Syracuse University Athletics this past year for becoming the eighth man in program history to break four minutes in the mile. Winter crossed the line at 3:59.25 at the David Hemery Valentine Invitational in Boston. An incredible accomplishment that keeps Winter’s feet moving, running as much as possible without competing collegiately.

“To now be done is abrupt, but thankfully, I have found good places to run here,” Winter said. “I have reached out to some people to try and find training partners, being somewhat consistent. I have been able to get out the door and run either every morning or in the afternoon.”

Winter has kept up with the mileage in case he wants to race. He may not be in the same shape of training if he were competing at the division one level, but has maintained a strong foundation of fitness working through the next stages of his running career. 

However with Winter’s innate background on both sides of the track and news studio, his skill set has the potential to be used for a different type of talent. 

“One opportunity that I do have is calling the WCC Cross Country Championships in California in October,” Winter said. “I have called a lot of sports in my broadcast career but running is not one of them. To be able to call my own sport at my alma mater (Pepperdine University) where the WCC Championships are this year, would be fun and hopefully that opportunity comes through.”   

Winter broadcasted multiple Syracuse University athletic events and hosted ACC Network studio shows throughout his time at Newhouse. “Talking about journalism and sports, both of those things are things where you need to be able to talk to people, to interact with people to understand people to be empathetic and I tried to do that when I was on a team and now in the industry,” Winter said. 

“The opportunities that you are given, the people you have the privilege to meet and the professors you have the privilege to learn from, it’s invaluable what you are able to do in one year,” Winter said. “While it seems like a challenge at times, as it is a challenging program especially as a student athlete, it builds character and it molds you into a great journalist and great person if you are willing to get out of it what you put in. Looking back now at a year at Newhouse, I wish I could do it all over again.”

SU Runner Nick Ryan: How High is Your Up?

SYRACUSE (Newhouse Sports Media Center) — That was the mantra. That was the question his high school coach always posed to Nick Ryan. Some might call it cliché, or coachspeak, because it’s one of those questions to which you never really know the answer. But the Syracuse University freshman cross country/track runner plans on doing his best to discover. One of the most highly touted high school runners in the nation last year, Ryan’s combination of talent, athleticism and heart might make finding out the answer his longest, toughest hill to climb yet.
Ryan is a hometown kid, graduating from local running powerhouse Fayetteville-Manlius last year. His elite status on the national running scene made him a hot commodity in recruiting circles. He considered offers from Michigan, Virginia and Wisconsin. In the end he chose Syracuse.

“I looked at Syracuse because I knew they were really good, but at first I wanted to get out of state,” he said. “After going on all my other visits and meeting the different coaches, I realized this really was the best team that I could be a part of.”

He was not a running prodigy right out of the gate though.

“My sixth grade teacher suggested I should do it, basically because I had a lot of energy in class and I was kind of obnoxious,” Ryan said, laughing. He remembers showing up on the varsity team as a freshman and chasing after standout senior, Alex Hatz at the time. “He was kind of the older kid that was really, really good at running that I wanted to be as fast as someday.”

The prestigious running program at F-M is headed by legendary coach Bill Aris, perhaps best known for his success with the girls’ team in recent years, where he has led them to seven consecutive national championships. Up until his sophomore season, Ryan was a good, but not yet great runner. They were preparing for the Nike Cross Nationals meet in Portland, Ore. when his coach pulled him aside.

“I suggested to him this,” Aris said. “You’ll have nothing to lose, and everything to gain by just going out, and running like hell, and taking a shot at it, and dealing with the pain and finding out just how good you can be.”

The result of that race was F-M placing runner up in the nation when no one expected them to make it close to the podium that year. Ryan placed 28th overall in what is high school cross country’s equivalent of a national championship, and third on his team behind two seniors.

“After that, that created really a breakthrough for him where he saw the world in a whole different perspective,” Aris said. Ryan hasn’t looked back.

He was named Gatorade State Cross Country Runner of the Year for New York by the time he was a junior, an honor he would repeat his senior year. He ran a Section III record-breaking 4:05 1600 meter (mile) race his junior year to capture the state crown, along with a laundry list of other championships and record setting performances.

Even with so much success, Ryan finds it uncomfortable to talk about himself. Asked if his name deserves to be mentioned in the pantheon of F-M distance greats, he fidgets nervously.

“I mean, I think. I don’t…” Ryan starts to trail off. “Yeah I think so. I hold school records, I like to think I’m up there.”

He lets out a slightly nervous laugh.

Jack Reed, a retired teacher who coaches at nearby Skaneateles High School has coached for more than 30 years and won several championships. He holds a 15-year unbeaten dual meet streak (93 straight) and coached many athletes who have gone on to great success, such as Olympian Jonathon Riley (Athens).

“He’s a blue-chip for sure. Every time I’ve seen him compete he looks totally in control,” Reed said. “His mechanics are fluid he looks relaxed. I have to believe he can still go a lot deeper in the well.”

Standing slightly more than six feet and weighing a lean 165 pounds, Ryan’s body type is not that of the stereotypical, thin and wispy distance runner.

“He’s kind of a throwback to me,” Reed said. “His body is similar to the old milers like a Peter Snell; bigger, dense, thunderous thighs. He’s a kid that stands out on the [starting] line.”

Ryan got started early by enrolling in Syracuse’s Summer Start program. It gave him a chance to move into the dorms, take a couple of classes and grow somewhat acclimated to college life before the fall semester started. It also let him get a jump-start training with some teammates.

“I’m just trying to put in all the work I can possibly do to be as good as I can,” he said. “If I can make the top 10 or top 7 that would be really cool, but with all the really good guys on this team it’s tough to gauge.”

Coaches Aris and Reed both agree the sky is limit for Ryan if he stays healthy and dedicated to running. Winning national championships, getting sponsored after school and even the Olympics could all be possible for a runner of Ryan’s magnitude.

As a blue-chip prospect, there is a certain level of pressure on Syracuse head coach Chris Fox.

“Blue-chippers are a big responsibility to the coaching staff,” Reed said. “You got him in house, now how do you improve him. Word gets out. If you got a blue-chipper and he doesn’t, that might keep you from landing the next.”

Both coaches agree he is in good hands at Syracuse and expect to see big things out of Ryan in his junior and senior years and possibly beyond.
No one will predict just how high Nick Ryan’s up is. The consensus is the ceiling is too high to see right now, and that’s kind of the way Ryan likes it.

“Running is one of the most straightforward sports you can have,” he said. “You either do the work or don’t do the work and there’s not really a whole lot of messing around.”