The St. Rita High School Family is proud of the recent success of Drew McGowan, a 2008 alumnus, and soon-to-be graduate of Cornell University.  Drew is an Evergreen Park native.

Drew is a wonderful example of a true “Ritaman,” someone who works hard to excel in all areas of life, be it the classrooms, athletic fields, or the community around him.

While at St. Rita, Drew was involved in many areas of the school, and was an All-Catholic League football selection in his senior year.  While playing for the Mustangs as a junior, Drew helped guide St. Rita to a Class 7A state championship.  But his accomplishments in the classrooms were even greater, and the hard work and dedication to his studies led Drew to enroll at Cornell University of the Ivy League.

Drew played football all four years, lettering two years as an offensive tackle and guard for the Big Red.  He started six games as a junior before starting every game his senior year.  Drew’s senior leadership enabled the Big Red to improve to a 5-5 record, after posting just four wins combined in the team’s two previous campaigns.

The skills that Drew learned at St. Rita High School allowed for him to have success at Cornell and easily adapt to the rigors of life as a student-athlete at an Ivy League School.

“Time management was one of the things I needed while at Cornell, and I definitely feel I was prepared from my teachers at St. Rita,” McGowan said.

The college life differs greatly from life as a high school student, but the “open-door” policy instituted by St. Rita teachers gave McGowan the confidence to seek out his professors at Cornell and continue to ask questions and seek help, if needed.

“Having that open-door policy at Rita made me feel at ease when I first stepped on campus at Cornell,” McGowan recently remarked.  “I had a great experience with so many teachers in high school, and what I learned from their classes really helped me succeed in the Ivy League.”

After McGowan successfully completes his graduation this May from the Ithaca, New York, campus, he’ll accept a job as a Sales and Trading Analyst with Performance Trust Capital Partners in Chicago.  We are proud of Drew for being able to land a great job so soon after graduation.

About St. Rita High School, Drew stressed the importance of getting involved.

“You need to get involved as much as you can at St. Rita.  It prepares you for college because you learn great time-management skills, among other things.”

Drew comes from a long line of McGowan family members, all with deep roots in the St. Rita Family.

His grandfather, Jack, is an honorary alumnus, while his father, John, is a graduate from the class of 1978.  Drew’s uncles, Steve (1981), and Mark (1984), are joined by Drew’s brother, Ryan, a 2011 alumnus.  Drew has had numerous cousins walk the halls of St. Rita as well, including Steve (2007) and Jake (2013).  The St. Rita connection goes so deep that even Drew’s aunt, Denise McGowan-Rudolph, was a St. Rita cheerleader back in the day.

The family established the Dolores McGowan Scholarship Fund to help aid current Ritamen and their families—a scholarship named in honor of Drew’s grandmother, Dolores.  Like many other families in the St. Rita community, the McGowan’s are an amazing collection of people.

Good luck, Drew, on the next challenging chapters of your life, and congratulations so far on all your accomplishments.  The St. Rita High School Family is very proud of you!

When I say it was supposed to be a fairly mediocre season for Brother Rice baseball, I’m probably being a little too kind.  The Crusaders are on their third coach in three years and their top two pitchers transferred to other schools over the summer.  Did I mention Rice was 14-15 last season with those two pitchers, Arizona recruit Ryan Koziol, now at Providence, and Mike Yacko, now at Oak Lawn?  So how could the Crusaders come close to producing a winning season in 2012?  I’ll tell you: By hiring an energetic, knowledgeable coach who has the players believing in themselves and his formula.  Enter 27-year-old Johnny McCarthy, who succeeded one-and-done Dan Szmergalski and the supremely successful Tim Lyons.  Rice is 14-8, matching its win total from last season. The record includes a victory over archrival Marist on April 17.  The Crusaders are a solid 5-2 in the Catholic League Blue entering Monday’s game against Mount Carmel.  Mighty impressive.  While you and I might be surprised, McCarthy isn’t.  “I expected success,” McCarthy said. “I honestly expected to be about 18-3 at this point.” McCarthy wasn’t laughing when he said that.  That is one of the reasons he was the perfect choice to accelerate the Crusaders’ turnaround.

Even if he is a St. Rita graduate.

Read Full Story Here

Texas has an All-American closer, a third baseman that’s batting over .400 in his last 19 games and two starting pitchers who gave up one run between them in 14-and-two-thirds collective innings during UT’s last series against Oklahoma State.

But the Longhorns’ best player may very well be sophomore right fielder Mark Payton. The 5-foot-8-inch, 165-pounder from Chicago, who has reached base in all of Texas’ 33 games this year, is certainly the team’s pound-for-pound top player. And he proved why in the three-game series against OSU this weekend.

On Saturday, Payton made his presence felt at the plate.

In the second game of the doubleheader, Payton strolled into the batter’s box with one out in the eighth inning and the game tied 2-2. Payton, a left-handed batter, took advantage of a strong wind blowing out toward left field by lifting a pitch from Cowboys hurler Vince Wheeland to the opposite field.

The ball was hit to the same place Payton’s double the night before was hit. But this time it cleared the wall instead of ricocheting off of it. Payton circled the bases after hitting his second home run of the year, giving the Longhorns a 3-2 lead. They won the series finale and rubber match by that score, making it four Big 12 series in a row that Texas has triumphed in.

For Full Story Click Here

On March 27, hundreds of St. Rita students were treated to a presentation from Dr. Audrius Plioplys, a doctor, historian, artist, and scientist—and the valedictorian of St. Rita’s Class of 1968.

Dr. Plioplys, recently named “Man of the Year” by the Balzekas Museum of Lithuanian Culture in Chicago, spoke of his “Hope and Spirit” program at the museum.  Dr. Plioplys educated the St. Rita students on the atrocities committed by Joseph Stalin and the deportation of hundreds of thousands of Europeans and how our world today doesn’t properly appreciate the devastation and terror he fed Europeans in the 1930’s and beyond.

We as a nation know very little about Stalin as compared to that of German leader Adolf Hitler—and that is reflected in the way today’s media operates.  We simply know and recognize Hitler’s evil ways more than Stalin’s.

Dr. Plioplys, however, was quick to point out to the St. Rita community that the two were friends, allies, and even that Hitler modeled many of his “death camps” and strategies from that of Joseph Stalin.

This “historical imbalance” is what drives Dr. Plioplys in his work to educate our community on what really happened to people of European descent.  He stressed to the students that “history repeats itself” and for them to challenge what they know about our world’s history.

Among the shocking details portrayed by Dr. Plioplys were the stories of the cattle trains that were used to deport the victims across the Soviet Union to the slave camps.  The train rides, which took over a month, featured the worst imaginable conditions as the victims were packed inside like sardines and exposed to unsanitary and unhealthy conditions—deaths on the trains were common, as bodies were simply “thrown off” the train.

The St. Rita students listened carefully as Dr. Plioplys spoke of political unrest that still exists today in Europe and China—and how small pockets of “Stalinism” thinking still exist.  It was an eye-opening experience for the students, who, like ourselves, can sometimes take for granted the freedoms and blessings they enjoy as Americans.  Many of them will be headed to colleges soon, but that type of freedom was virtually impossible for many during the era Dr. Plioplys highlighted.

Over 160 viewers from outside St. Rita High School tuned in for the live broadcast as several local grammar schools were invited to watch the presentation online.  The online speech is available at www.ihigh.com/strita/broadcast.

The St. Rita High School family would like to thank Dr. Audrius Plioplys for educating our school on an otherwise unknown, but very dark and evil time, that existed not too long ago in our world.  His words will make a lasting impact on our current Rita men.

The 40-yard dash remains a magic number for scouting football players. And though it should be one of Darius Fleming’s strengths, whether he runs a 4.65 or a 4.72 at the NFL Scouting Combine on Monday, the former St.  Rita and Notre Dame standout doesn’t think it makes a difference in how successful he’ll be in the NFL.

‘‘I really don’t. And I think the teams know it as well,’’ Fleming said. ‘‘It’s something they have to do. It tells you a little bit about how fast a person is. But when it comes down to it, if you know how to play football, you know how to play football.’’

An outside linebacker, Fleming rarely runs 40 yards on a football field. On a rare opportunity, after an interception against Stanford last season, he went 34 yards before being tackled by Coby Fleener. So while he was caught from behind — by a tight end with wide receiver speed who could be a first-round draft pick — he also intercepted a quarterback, Andrew Luck, who is likely to be the No. 1 pick in the draft.

Ultimately, it still comes down to whether you can play football. Or should.

‘‘That’s why my drill work is so important,’’ Fleming said. ‘‘I’m not running a 4.6 in drill work. I’m running at game speed. I think that’s going to play a huge part in how they evaluate me.’’

Fleming has been working six days a week for the last seven weeks to get himself in the best shape of his life in preparation for the combine this weekend. It’s not make-or-break. But for a player projected to be a mid-to-late-round pick such as Fleming, it’s more than perfunctory.

‘‘This is where everybody says you can make your money,’’ said Dave Lee, Fleming’s agent. ‘‘If he does well, he can get drafted higher.’’

That’s why Lee’s agency has invested more than $10,000 in the process. Fleming has been working out in a combine-specific training program at EFT Sports Performance in Highland Park under the tutelage of noted fitness trainer Elias Karras.

It’s up to Karras to get Fleming healthy, get his weight and body fat right and prepare him for not only the 40 but drills and workouts specific to the combine — the short shuttle, the three-cone drill, the long shuttle, the 60-yard shuttle and the vertical and broad jumps, plus positional work.

‘‘I didn’t know what to expect going into it,’’ Fleming said. ‘‘But I don’t worry about it because I have an awesome trainer and I trust everything he does.’’

Karras has been training pro athletes for 10 years. EFT trains more than 30 NFL players, including Devin Hester, Johnny Knox, Tommie Harris, Mark Anderson and Kelvin Hayden.

But it’s his success with draft prospects that has increased business in recent years, including Northern Illinois’ Larry English, Rutgers’ Jason McCourty, South Florida’s Jacquian Williams and Oregon’s Jairus Byrd. McCourty, a cornerback, had a free-agent grade in 2009 but ran a 4.3 in the 40 on his Pro Day and was drafted in the sixth round by the Tennessee Titans. After Byrd ran 4.68 at his Pro Day in 2009, he spent a week with Karras at EFT and ran 4.60 in a private workout. He was drafted in the second round by the Bills.

Karras does his homework, too. He compiles a list of the top five and top 10 marks in position drills from the previous year’s combine and aims to have each athlete hit those marks.

‘‘It’s the numbers and the film,’’ Karras said. ‘‘You want the numbers that pop out so that [the NFL evaluators] can go back to the film. ‘Let me take a look at this kid again. Maybe he’s better than we thought.’ Sometimes a kid doesn’t look fast on film.

‘‘It’s up to Darius to wow ’em in the interview, wow ’em in the film work and chalkboard, shoot for top 10s in all the categories for the combine, and then at the Pro Day kill his skill work. That’s where we really see movement, the skill work.’’

Fleming said he was nervous about the combine at first but is confident after working with Karras that he’s in shape to do well.

‘‘That’s why it’s so exciting,’’ he said. ‘‘As they continue to coach you, you actually see improvement. It makes you want to keep working that much harder.’’

Matt Conrath, Virginia, East, Grade: Round 5

Julian Miller, West Virginia, East, Grade:Round 6-7

Tyrone Crawford, Boise State, West, Grade: Round 6-7

Kentrell Lockett, Mississippi, West, Grade: Round 7 or Undrafted

Justin Francis, Rutgers, West, Grade:Undrafted

Jabaree Tuani, Navy, East, Grade:Undrafted

Arnaud Nadon, Laval, West, Grade:Undrafted

Of the defensive ends in the Shrine Game, the player to watch is Virginia’s Matt Conrath. Conrath played defensive tackle at Virginia and did a terrific job as a gap penetrator. At 6’7’’ and 280 pounds, Conrath does not have the frame to play inside at the next level. However, he has a tremendous frame and is a very good athlete, which should enable him to make the transition to defensive end.

Conrath is an impact player on the defensive line. He led the Cavaliers with 12 tackles for loss this season and was the team’s best player in their defensive front seven. He should be a solid Day Three selection.

Two other playmaking defensive ends playing in this game who should hear their names called in April are West Virginia’s Julian Miller and Boise State’s Tyrone Crawford. Both players were overshadowed in college by the tremendous pass rushers who lined up across from them: West Virginia’s Bruce Irvin and Boise State’s Shea McClellin should both be selected in Round 3 or 4.

While overshadowed, both were very productive for their teams. Miller is not the spectacular pass rusher that Irvin is, but he is a more complete defensive end, a potential rotational lineman worth a selection in the late rounds.

Crawford actually led Boise State with 13.5 tackles for loss this season and had a great senior season. However, it was his first year as a starter, and part of his success must be attributed to the attention drawn by McClellin and defensive tackles Billy Winn and Chase Baker consistently. That does not take away from Crawford as a player, but he is best suited to be a late-round selection as a rotational player.  Read Full Story

by Scott Fredericks Published as part of the December 14, 2011 edition.

Dave Marciano and Tim Ladd were rivals when they were students at St. Christina and St. Cajetan, respectively, and played football in the Southside Catholic Conference.

But then the standouts landed at the same high school, St. Rita, and were a part of one of the state’s most successful programs.

Now in college, Marciano and Ladd are once again making an impact together on the football field.

Marciano, a starting linebacker, and Ladd, the starting right tackle, along with junior center Matt Munizzi, another St. Rita product, are three major reasons the St. Xavier University (SXU) football team will play for the school’s first national championship in any sport in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) title game in Rome, Ga., on Dec. 17.

“Timmy and Matt were typical tough kids out of Rita who the big schools thought were an inch or two too short and 10 or 20 pounds too light. That’s how we got them. They weren’t recruited by the Division-One or 1-AA schools, but they were perfect for us,” said SXU Coach Mike Feminis. “We have a core group of nine or 10 guys who were preferred walk-ons at D-1 schools or partial scholarship athletes at the 1-AA level who are bounce-back guys. Dave is one of those examples who went that route and realized it wasn’t what he thought it would be, so he ended up here. I think we have about a dozen guys who can play at the big state schools, and he’s one of them. Dave is a big-time player.”

Marciano started his collegiate career at Eastern Illinois University before transferring back home to SXU.

It’s been a match made in heaven for him, his former St. Rita teammates and the rest of the Cougars.

“We’ve been through a lot together. A couple of us won a state championship together, and we also won the Prep Bowl when we were at Rita,” said Marciano. “It gives me a comfort level knowing that I’m on a team with people I’ve played with for a while. There’s a big trust factor there.

“There’s always been big pride in your neighborhood in this area. I feel like this is an area all-star team that SXU has formed. Most of us know each other from playing against each other or having mutual friends. It’s great to be a part of something like that.”

Marciano and Munizzi were sophomores on the St. Rita football team that captured the Class 7A state championship in 2006.

Marciano ranks fourth on the SXU team in tackles (67) and second in tackles for loss (8.5). He also forced two fumbles, recovered another and intercepted a pass.

In addition to playing on the same gridiron for several years, Munizzi and Marciano were travel baseball teammates beginning in seventh grade.

“It’s very comforting to have guys like Dave around. When I come off the field, he’s the first one there to pick me up or get me going if something goes wrong,” said Munizzi. “We’ve gone through so much stuff together. It’s great to go through this with the Rita guys and have a little pride in our school and the Catholic League.”

Ladd and Munizzi don’t get the accolades that the skill position players get, but they are still a big reason for the Cougars’ offensive success.

SXU is the highest scoring team in the nation, averaging nearly 46 points per game.

“I love the tempo that we run. Sometimes, I wish it was even quicker. When you get the defense calling timeouts because they are tired, it pumps you up even more,” said Ladd. “It’s nice to get those quick hits on offense.”

The effort of the offensive line hasn’t gone unnoticed by quarterback Jimmy Coy, who has thrown for more than 4,000 yards this season. SXU quarterbacks have been sacked only 27 times in 14 games this year.

“The offensive line has done an unbelievable job,” said Coy. “They probably played their best half of football in the second half [against Marian in a 30-27 victory]. We were able to move the ball because of them. They were dominating up front. When they give us the time they did, we have skill position players who are going to get open and make big plays.”

Ladd, Marciano and Munizzi have plenty of company from other St. Rita products at SXU. Sophomore defensive lineman Tim Beyer, freshman defensive back Jimmy Johnson, freshman offensive lineman Tom Hitz and freshman defensive lineman Tim Berrigan are also on the squad.

The McCarthy Center for Ritamen continues to take shape and is looking more impressive by the minute! The clock is ticking and the excitement building for all members of the St. Rita High School Family as we eagerly wait the unveiling of the new Student Commons Building. The McCarthy Center for Ritamen, named in honor of current St. Rita President and alum, Fr. Tom McCarthy, O.S.A. ’83 and in memory of his parents, Raymond and Mildred, is scheduled to open at some point in mid-January. We hope it will be a beautiful Christmas present for all!

The McCarthy Center for Ritamen broke ground on August 26^th of this past year, and there has been tremendous progress made from the talented and hard-working construction crews ever since. Fighting the hot temperatures of August and September and now battling the chills of November and December, the building has taken shape and you can now enjoy glimpses of what it will look like. The McCarthy Center will feature new, state-of-the-art facilities for our students and alumni.  In addtion it will be equiped with televisions, pool and ping-pong tables, couches and chairs, and, every St. Rita students’ favorite food from Country House Restaurant! St. Rita High School continues its campaign towards “Advancing Excellence and Changing Lives!”

For more information on the Advancing Excellence…Changing Lives campaign please contact Tom Ramsden at (773)925-5029 / tramsden@stritahs.com