Cornell University Athletics

At Cornell: Despite having setbacks from anemia and foot injuries at times during his first few years, Ryan has been a paragon of dedication, patiently persevering with training and racing, and has shown tantalizing flashes of great talent in the middle distances. As a sophomore, he earned his first all-conference honor when ran the leadoff leg on the DMR squad which finished second at the indoor Heps with a time of 9:53.92, the fifth-best indoor time in Cornell history. As a junior, Ryan set an indoor mile PR and made his first individual Heps final with another PR in the 1,000m. Outdoors, he established a lifetime best of 3:53.20 for 1,500m.

At Central Preston: Ryan won four events at the 2004 West Virginia state meet. He started things off with a 1:51.9 carry to lead his team to victory in the 4x800 before coming back to set the state record (4:14.03) in the 1,600. He later won the open 800 and anchored the 4x400 to another title. Ryan ran open PRs of 49.90 (400m), 1:56.36 (800m), 4:14.03 (1600m) and 9:33.49 (3200m), and was the state runner-up in cross-country.

Personal: Eric William Ryan is the son of Karina Ryan and has an older brother.