Ryan Wood wins first place for Beat Writing

Ryan Wood, who covers the Packers for the Green Bay Press-Gazette and USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin, won first-place honors Wednesday for Beat Writing from the Associated Press Sports Editors.

Competing in Category C (30,000 to 75,000 circulation/250,000 to 750,000 unique monthly website visitors), Wood was honored for a collection of 2015 stories that demonstrated authoritative, newsy and innovative coverage. They included a feature on Packers defensive lineman and cancer survivor Mike Pennel and a look inside a yoga session with defensive tackle B.J. Raji.

Wood also received top-10 honors in the Explanatory category for his story analyzing year-to-year data that detailed the success Packers general manager Ted Thompson has had in the NFL draft.

Wood will receive a first-place plaque at the 2016 APSE banquet in Charlotte, N.C., in June.