The Post-Standard, syracuse.com earn 6 honors in national AP sports contest

Posted by author March 4, 2025 Sports

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The staff of The Post-Standard/Syracuse.com earned six awards in the annual Associated Press Sports Editors contest for published work in 2024.

The contest has honored some of the nation’s best reporting, writing, photography, video and overall sections in sports journalism for more than 40 years.

Chris Carlson received a top-10 award in the long feature category, for his sincere portrayal of OnTech charter school’s fledgling boys basketball team.

Carlson was granted extensive, behind-the-scenes access to chronicle the team’s first full season and its effort to teach life lessons through sports. His account details the stresses of everyday life that shaped the season and the team’s top players.

Emily Leiker received a top-10 award in the short feature category, for a heart-warming tale about a memorable couple that found each other during the Covid lockdown and tied the knot in Vegas after an SU football game last October.

Leiker is now part of a team covering the Minnesota Vikings for the Minnesota Star Tribune.

Dennis Nett received a top-10 award in the action photo category, for a mind-bending image of former Syracuse point guard Judah Mintz gliding midair in a 2024 game at Louisville.

Syracuse Orange guard Judah Mintz (3) goes airborne after attempting a layup and having the ball knocked out of his hands. The Syracuse men’s basketball team travel to Louisville Kentucky to play the Louisville Cardinals at the KFC Yum Center, March 2, 2024. ( Dennis Nett | dnett@syracuse.com)dnett@syracuse.com

Scott Schild received a top-10 award in the feature photo category, for an emotional image of Felisha Legette-Jack following her last game coaching star guard Dyaisha Fair in the second round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament in Storrs, Connecticut.

basketball action — Syracuse Orange head coach Felisha Legette-Jack gets emotional talking about sending Syracuse Orange guard Dyaisha Fair (2) off on her next chapter after the Orange fell to the UConn Huskies in second round of the NCAA tournament at Gampel Pavilion, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, Monday March 25, 2024. (Scott Schild | sschild@syracuse.com) Scott Schild | sschild@syracuse.com

The newsroom also took home a top-10 award for overall digital presence, highlighting the staff’s use of digital tools in its storytelling, including creative social media use and staff-written newsletters.

Videographer Scott Trimble was also honored for a revealing look at SU football coach Fran Brown, and the love, loss and lessons he carries with him from his earlier years in Camden, New Jersey.

The APSE contest is a national competition that dates back to 1981. Newsrooms compete against peers on reporting, writing, photography, video and overall sections.

The Post-Standard/Syracuse.com is sorted among newsrooms comprising the second-largest classification, including markets such as Indianapolis, Buffalo, St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Charlotte, Baltimore and Kansas City.

Judges will name winners later this spring ahead of the annual summer conference, scheduled for June 26-28 in Minneapolis.