Archbishop Ryan High School for Boys - Arrow Yearbook (Philadelphia, PA)

Page 70 text:

Words cannot express the sincere gratitude of the entire student body to our cross country team for bringing us our first city championship. AGONY AND ECSTASY FOR A CHAMPIONSHIP Mr. Ulmer and Mr. Ryan set the pace for the varsity Captains: Al Chicitti and Rick Steinberg starters. 66

Page 69 text:

 V 7H S COMER - 7 3 Ryan Runner Finally First ■ ' u Kevin kth „u °un j ZJ was a meet record tor the Belmont Ptat. b was especially enthused. It time the mfrt'j born run on 2.9 it Inter explained ■loved lo have gone Into the Us. said The ll r to do so next year. along with seven otl Biters. ■d l' yr.tr old who won the Irosh champ: •tithed 13th In the 1972 varsity champ! ■ght Into th- nom.itton of a cross coun yourself. When I'm out n and can openly see myu rsell .o the limit and s good feet Inn when you ■nlor when he finish plonthipt -ause there was 11 hat all the cross cot Inn to gel time on I CROSS COUNTRY 1973 ffesWYn •--------— % ■ yc Yuv? ' C,aV vo t , Wv w T V e ■ «»«. Woshinglon's John M.o.l (o„.w) puM » » »™

Page 71 text:

Championships are the gravy that crowns an agonizing quest which at times seems unreachable. Ryan's X-country team has always had outstanding individuals in its seven year history and had won two freshman championships before this year. The coveted varsity title seemed to always elude Ryan although our harriers never gave up hope entering the day of the champs Last year ted by All-Catholic Jim Hughes and then freshman Michael Thom our squad finished a surprising second in the .league title run losing to the power laden LaSalle harriers. This year our team returned with four of our five scorers but suffered an early season jolt when co-captain Rick Steinberg was injured. Al Cicchitti the other senior co-captain led our chargers in pre-season meets with Holy Ghost and Roman. Practice in hot sweltering days during the last week of August were at times agonizing as our boys paced off an average of ten miles a session. Some of the boys did double workouts on their own and for a time had only some blistered feet to show for their efforts. There is a loneliness of a long distance runner that is difficult to explain. It was best said in a Bulletin article that X-country strips you to the soul and tests your intestinal fortitude to continue in face of adversity without the support of the fans in the stands or the blare of the band. There is a self-satisfaction enjoyed when the race is over and you know you have given all. There is a tremendous team feeling when you're walking in the finish chute and see your teammates struggle in with their last burst of effort to get their best time and help bring the team a victory and pride. Throughout the session our top seven rotated in their order of scoring with senior Al Cicchitti and sophomores Mike and George Petrick taking turns as our leading scorers. Juniors Jack Kuhar. Kevin McGuire, and Marc Armstrong were steady performers along with Rich Steinberg. On the Tuesday before the Catholic League Champs. Coach Ed Ulmer and his Assistant Joe Ryan took our team to Belmont Plateau for a special workout. The temperature was 35 degrees and windy. Other teams were out there jogging m their sweat suits and so our boys were quite alarmed when the coaches informed them that they were to strip down to racing shirt and shorts The boys reacted like the coaches had gone mad or were just putting them on. Then they were told that not only were they to run in racing gear but were expected to hit the first time check in 4:15 even with the wind and despite the fact that no one had hit under 4:23 in an actual race This running condition was certainly a far cry from the sweltering heat of August but a little too cold and windy to expect much. The coaches' logic was that the Saturday champs could be just as cold and windy and so the team went into its gruelling workouts. As George Petrick hit the check point the clock ticked 4:16 with Mike Thom. Kevin Maquire. Jack Kuhar. Al Cicchitti and Rich Steinberg in hot pursuit, all within four seconds of each other and seventh man Marc Armstrong dashing right behind them. They had gone through the agony but would they ever receive the ecstacy of a championship. As expected Saturday was cold and windy around 37 degrees You could see the determination in the eyes of our harriers, but LaSalle had the same desire and they were the defending champs for the last two years. During the regular season LaSalle's J.V. team had handled our top squad but we had come on in the latter pari of the season Still, just the previous week LaSalle had beaten us in the Catholic War Vets by 16 points This was the race our boys had waited for; all the season was hanging on this one race. As a college runner dreams of the Olympic win. our thinclads had prepared themselves for this strenuous physical and mental task Michael Thom powered into the finish with a sixth place in the whole league followed by fellow All Catholic soph George Petrick Honorable mentions Jack Kuhane and Kevin Maguire were m the next scoring positions while senior stalwarts Al Cicchitti and Rich Steinberg completed the scoring. All Catholics Mike Thom and George Petrick show power. Varsity 7 set blistering pace on road to success. As the officials were tabulating the scores one thing was certain, it was either LaSalle or Ryan for the title Twenty minutes after the race, an official announcement came, the unreachable quest was a reality Ryan was the Catholic League Cross-country Champions by a thin four points margin over defending champs LaSalle The following week brought up the city Title win against Overbrook and the chant on the Dus as it pulled into our parking lot was When the champs go flying in There had been the years of agony and now the Raiders bathed in the ecstacy of a championship