The
Ritan
Vol. 79 No. 4 St. Rita High School, Chicago, IL 60620 Monday, April 7, 2008
New Augustinian Academy to Expand
Student Academic Opportunities
BY DAN MOORE
St. Rita High School’s academic program is a well-oiled
machine. A key component of that machine is an efficient
schedule. Have you ever wondered how your own schedule
is made? Well, it is a complex process; indeed, Principal Mrs.
Sally Deenihan compares it to “a giant jigsaw puzzle.”
First, a gigantic framework schedule is constructed. This
framework includes all required and elective courses. The in-
dividual student’s course requests (as per surveys and registra-
tion forms) are then compared to the framework. Mrs. Deeni-
han then goes through and creates a daily schedule.
When students have registered for courses that will, in the-
ory, occur during the same period in the day, the schedule is
rearranged so that the smallest number of students is inconve-
nienced. In the case of seniors, a personal phone call is made
to them asking for a decision between their two choices. “The
goal behind this system,” Mrs. Deenihan says, “is to serve as
many of our students as best as possible. Conflicts inevitably
arise, but we are prepared to deal with them.”
The scheduling process, though, is about to become a lot
more complicated. Last summer, President Fr. Tom McCarthy,
the academic division heads, and Mrs. Deenihan met to discuss
the expansion of St. Rita’s honors program. This new program
has been dubbed “the Augustinian Academy.”
The Augustinian Academy has mainly been directed towards
expanding St. Rita’s Advanced Placement (AP) program.
Many of these courses are already available including AP Art,
AP Calculus, AP Chemistry, AP Computer Science, AP Eng-
Hockey Beats Fenwick to Claim Kennedy Cup
The Mustangs celebrate their victory with the Kennedy Cup
Inside the Ritan
School News & Events.......1-3
Features/Opinions..............4-6
Sports...................................7-8
“Veritas, Unitas, Caritas”
lish Literature, AP French, AP Latin, AP Spanish, and AP U.S.
History, but several new ones will be offered in the near future,
specifically AP Music Theory, AP Psychology, AP Statistics,
and AP World History.
Why focus on the AP program though? The College Board,
headquarters of the program, recently sent out a request asking
schools to expand their AP selections. “We want to offer more
variety in our program. We would like to serve our students’
needs in areas that they are interested in, and in which they
excel, in addition to responding to the call from the College
Board,” Mrs. Deenihan added.
St. Rita is also open to the idea of eventually participating
in what is called a “virtual high school.” Students who are
extremely qualified to take certain courses not offered directly
through St. Rita may get the opportunity to take these courses
via computer at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
How will this new program affect scheduling? Sophomores
enrolled in the Augustinian Academy will get the opportunity
to expand their daily schedule from six to seven courses. This
means they will take a class during Zero Hour to accommodate
a new Introduction to Arts and Music course. Mrs. Deenihan
commented, “This will not only allow for our students to com-
plete their required credits at an accelerated level, but will also
allow them to explore other interests that they may choose to
pursue at the AP level later should they choose to do so.”
Time constraints hinder even more expansion at the moment,
but there are plans to develop even more courses eventually.
-Full Coverage on Back Page
All photos for this article courtesy of Mr. Scott Allen
Seniors Brian Basic and team captain Kevin McGovern
2 News The Ritan • Monday, April 7, 2008
Matman Majka to Become a Midshipman
By Luke Bentley cool and the school teams were very
Senior wrestler was really nice. It successful.
John Majka was ac- was a great oppor- LB: Were you
cepted to the Naval tunity that I didn’t pleased with the
Academy with a want to pass up. team’s success this
full scholarship, LB: Were you year?
worth $300,000, surprised that you JM: We came a
this year. John will received the schol- long way since the
be attending the arship? beginning of the
Academy in the JM: Everyone who season. Our team
fall of 2008. He sat is accepted to the was pretty young,
down with me and Naval Academy with the exception
answered a few receives the same of our seniors.
questions. scholarship. I knew John is a four year
Luke Bentley: I was going to be varsity starter and
How long have you accepted because I placed in state his
been wrestling? had already talked junior and senior
John Majka: I to the wrestling years. He also is
have been wrestling coach. on the Gold Honor
for 13 years. LB: What is your Roll and is a mem-
LB: What made greatest memory ber of the National
you decide to pick here at St. Rita? Honor Society. He
the Naval Acad- JM: I would will continue his
emy? say being on the wrestling career for
JM: I thought the wrestling team all the Midshipmen
coach was really four years. All four next season.

The March 6th blood drive was a great success with over 140 people giving blood. LEFT: Tom Harney seems unfazed while giving blood. RIGHT:
Sam Charles in the “Recovery” Room. Photos by Mozar Jerome.
3 News The Ritan • Monday, April 7, 2008
St. Rita Shaves for Children’s Cancer Students Enjoy Matzo and Maror at Seder Meal

Rabbi Larry Edwards leads a Passover Seder meal with about 25 stu-
Jaime Viramontes with a dubious look on his face as he is getting dents and faculty in the school dining hall last month. The Seder meal
shaved. St. Rita had over 100 shavees, who so far have raised over celebrates the Jewish people’s escape from slavery in Egypt.
$30,000 for children’s cancer research.

Mr. Allocca with a “painful” look on his face as he gets shaved Rita Men partaking in the Seder meal with Rabbi Edwards.
for St. Baldrick’s; Mr. Partacz seems unperturbed.

Dan Dillon (10’) getting interviewed by Fox Chicago’s Patrick

Elwood.
4 Opinions The Ritan • Monday, April 7, 2008
How Much Does It Really Cost? Mexican Duo Reinventing Music
$500,000,000,000, (500 billion dollars). That’s approximately By Mike Herbst very successful, album. off Gabriela’s unique,
how much money the United States has spent on the Iraq War Do you think the only Rodrigo Y Gabriela percussive and sometimes
since May 1, 2003. Five years ago, President Bush stood on the way to make music with is their self-titled fourth violent-sounding playing
deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln and proclaimed major combat a guitar is by using the album. Right from the style.
operations in Iraq would be ending soon. Interestingly enough,
strings? Well then, go on get-go, the speed, rhythm, One thing that is a down-
banners on the ship read “Mission Accomplished.” Since then,
billions of dollars have been spent, approximately $275 million
You Tube and watch Rodri- and intricacy of the songs side to the album, like most
a day; and more importantly, almost 4,000 US soldiers have been go Y Gabriela perform live. blow you away. The album instrumental albums, is that
killed, with approximately 60,000 wounded. Rodrigo Y Gabriela is a includes two great cov- some of the songs sound
So, hypothetically speaking, let’s say that the war had indeed duo from Mexico City who ers; one of Led Zeppelin’s very similar. Also, the
wrapped up soon after the “Mission Accomplished,” speech. play instrumental, acoustic “Stairway to Heaven,” and fantastic energy of their live
What else could the United States have spent $500 billion dollars music that fuses Spanish the other of Metallica’s performances is lost in the
on? Let’s start with something very ambitious, such as fighting guitar, flamenco and classic “Orion.” The “Stairway to recording studio. There are
world hunger. According to the World Food Programme, a UN
rock. For percussion, the Heaven,” cover captures all a few times where they re-
organization, it costs $1.50 a week to feed a child three meals a
day. That means that since 2003, 130 million children could be
two guitarists bang on the the elements that make the ally get at it on their guitars,
living a happy, healthy life. front of their guitars while original great while putting but sometimes the music
How about preventing malaria outbreaks in Africa? Each year strumming, creating a one- a great rhythmic twist on it. sounds a little stale.
over 1 million kids die after being bitten in their sleep by mosqui- of-a-kind sound. At almost eight minutes, the However, this is not
toes carrying malaria. Nothing But Nets is a charitable organiza- The two musicians “Orion” cover takes a while enough to take away from
tion that got its start in 2006 after then-Sports Illustrated colum- started out as guitarists in a to get going, but when it the great music produced
nist Rick Reilly wrote about the malaria problem in Africa and Mexican heavy metal band. does, the duo’s heavy metal on this album. At only nine
how readers could help. A $10 donation to the foundation buys a
After the band broke up, the roots appear. songs, Rodrigo Y Gabri-
mosquito net that is then sent to Africa for distribution in villages
where inhabitants are at risk of being infected with malaria. $10
two moved to Ireland and Most of the other songs ela leaves you begging for
billion could buy one net for each person on the continent, leaving started performing acous- on the album sound more more. The best attribute of
plenty of money left over for other use. tic songs on the streets of traditional than the two cov- this album is that no matter
How about using the money left over from stopping malaria Dublin. They went around ers. “Tamacun,” “Ixtapa,” how many times you hear
to help end the transmission of HIV/AIDS from mothers to their Europe, trying to make a “Juan Loco,” and “PPA,” a certain song, you’re still
newborn children? A $4 immunization can prevent the disease living while honing their are all tracks that showcase bound to discover another
from being transmitted from a mother to her newborn baby. Last skills. During this time, Rodrigo’s ability to play aspect about it that grabs
year, UNICEF estimates 2.1 million children under the age of fif-
they both developed their very technical at a high your attention and makes
teen were living with HIV or AIDS. With an estimated 30 million
births per year in Africa, $1.2 billion could immunize each child,
unique style. After being speed. The other tracks, you wonder, “How do they
saving hundreds of thousands of lives in the process. invited to play at Ireland’s “Diablo Rojo,” “Viking- do that?” 4 out of 5 stars
Now that we’ve solved some of the world’s major problems, Oxegen Music Festival, man,” and “Satori,” are
let’s try and fix the major issues in the United States. It’s been a they released their first, and heavy and fast, and show-
little more than two years since Hurricane Katrina destroyed much
of the Gulf Coast. The rebuilding process has been painstakingly
slow, with much of New Orleans still covered with debris. An
estimated 200,000 homes were destroyed after the storm. Habitat
for Humanity builds homes for an average cost of $60,000, mean-
ing that a $12 billion donation from the U.S. government could
replace every home destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. That would
leave plenty of money to cover the estimated $90 billion in dam-
ages caused by the storm and re-build the infrastructure of the
Gulf Coast.
In the near future, most of us will bear the burden of financing a
college education. In 2005, the US Census Bureau estimated that
17 million people attend college. Of those students, 5.5 million of
them received a federal Pell Grant (a.k.a. financial aid). The U.S
spent $12 billion on Pell Grants in ‘05, with an average grant be-
ing worth about $2,500 dollars. If every single student attending
college received twice that amount, the U.S. would spend $85 bil-
lion, giving more people the opportunity to make college afford-
able and become more productive members of society.
Finally, with gas prices reaching $3.50 a gallon, it might be
a good time to end our dependence on foreign oil. Despite all
the promises that much time and effort is being spent on alterna- Rodrigo Y Gabriela playing at a Concert in Amsterdam
tive fuel development, $258 million dollars were spent on such
research. According to www.opensecrets.org, that’s $100 million By Augusine Esterham- the guitars while playing. flows well. The next two
less than members of Congress spend each year stuffing our mail- mer-Fic The tone is great too—it songs are the covers. The
boxes with those annoying “I’m so-and-so, vote for me,” flyers. A A few weeks ago, I seems like the guitarists are “Stairway to Heaven” cover
couple billion dollars might jumpstart methods to wean ourselves listened to a copy of the right in the room…that is if works really well despite,
off of oil and onto more efficient, eco-friendly fuels. Mexican guitar duo Rodrigo you lived in a big room with or maybe because of, the
With the national debt approaching $10 trillion, yes, TRILLION Y Gabriela’s appropriately really great acoustics. The lack of vocals (you just can’t
dollars, the U.S, should be less concerned with helping a country named album Rodrigo Y Ga- songs average about 4-5 imitate Robert Plant). The
that doesn’t seem able to help itself. If we must be in Iraq, than
briela. I really had no idea minutes each, and there are next cover of “Orion” has
the soldiers there deserve nothing but the best equipment to help
what to expect because I had no vocals, so it might not a spacey, open feel with a
them get the job done. But when our reasons for staying become
less and less clear each day, maybe we should consider how much never heard of them. The be your kind of music, but lot of reverb, and it sounds
this war is affecting the United States’ ability to assist those who track list included covers of the lead guitar seems almost great. The last two on the
desperately need it the most. “Stairway to Heaven” (by like a vocal line itself, and album sound more like the
Led Zeppelin) and “Orion” works great with the style of first couple, which, like I
The Ritan (by Metallica), however, so I the rhythm guitar. said, is good if you appreci-
was curious. Now on to the songs them- ate that kind of music, and
Published by the students of St. Rita High School, 7740 S. West-
I usually don’t listen to selves. First of all, there are more of the same if you find
ern Ave., Chicago, IL. 60620. Phone: (773) 925-6600.
Senior Editors: Juan Barrios, Joe Carey, Mike Herbst classical guitar, so I was a nine. It starts off with a song it boring.
Editors: Marty Malone, Dan Moore, Dave Schrader little apprehensive, but the called “Tamacun,” and in the All in all, though, I really
Writers: Chris Adams, Juan Barrios, Luke Bentley, Brian Boyd, music is actually really com- first four songs the duo re- like this album for its unique
Joe Cahill, Joe Carey, Mike Herbst, David Huang, Miek Ken- pelling. As former members ally shows of their rhythmic, mix of classical tone and
nedy, Marty Malone, Mike McArdle, Dan Moore, Dan Moriarty, of a metal band, the acoustic Mexican-influenced sound. metal-inspired structure.
Brandon Parkison, Dave Schrader, Jason Torres, Joe Zabicki duo’s music sounded more The fifth song, “Ixtapa,” is I would definitely recom-
Photographers: Juan Barrios, Matt Bokoski, Brandyn Cheath- like rock than classical. It my favorite on the album. mend it, but I’d also say you
am, Brandon Cross, Ted Haras, Mozar Jerome, Kyle Sheehan, has a very unique sound— With a really eerie bridge in should find a sample before
Michael Allocca
very fast, with interesting the middle, followed by a buying it. 5 out of 5 stars
Moderator: Mr. Michael Allocca
percussion done by tapping violin solo, the song really
 The Ritan • Monday, April 7, 2008 Entertainment 5
Academy Awards Recap
BY JUAN BARRIOS
This year the Academy Awards celebrated its 80th year honoring this
past year’s greatest actors, directors, film editing, original songs and more.
Many people were relieved that the Academy was able to host the show
after the writer’s strike was over. Writers managed to write a script in only
12 days; some people had their doubts, but the Academy managed to host a
great evening in Hollywood’s Kodak Theater, with many highlight reels of
former winners and classic films.
For his second time hosting the Oscars, Jon Stewart did an amazing job
of giving laughter to the crowd, even though he kept his sarcasm to a mini-
mum. The entertainment was very baffling as three numbers were from the
movie Enchanted. Most of the big Oscar nominees this year were uniquely
American –No Country for Old Men, There Will Be Blood, Michael Clay-
ton, even Juno. But it was the Europeans who dominated the evening: Brit-
ain’s Daniel Day-Lewis (Best Actor), France’s Marion Cotillard (Best Ac-
tress), Spain’s Javier Bardem (Best Supporting Actor), and Britain’s Tilda
Swinton (Best Supporting Actress).
After a long wait for the strike to be over, many actors were anxious to
show off a fabulous ensemble on the red carpet. This year there was a great
sea of red. What a powerful color as Ann Hathaway wore a Marchesa gown
that showed off a very feminine side of her. Last year’s Best Actress winner
Helen Mirren wore a stunning red gown with sheer bejeweled sleeves, Best
actress Marion Cotillard wore a mermaid dress that showed a form-fitting
scaled body, and the pregnant Jessica Alba wore a dazzling plum Marchesa
gown decorated with the evening’s other big trend, feathers. This night was
a great night to sit back to enjoy and appreciate last year’s great produc-
tions.

Grammys Offer Up a Few Surprises

BY JUAN BARRIOS

The Superbowl of music celebrated 50 years of great singers. This year

was one of the best shows ever. One highlight was seeing Britain’s Amy
Winehouse win 5 Grammys including Best New Artist, writing and record-
ing for the single “Rehab,” best female pop vocal performance for “Rehab”
and best pop vocal album for her CD “Back to Black.”
Many great performances were shown by bringing some classic sounds
with a new twist from country to rap, including Beyonce paring up with
Tina Turner to sing “Proud Mary,” and Alicia Keys performing a classic
song by Frank Sinatra. Josh Groban joined Andrea Bocelli in a tribute to
Luciano Pavarotti who passed away in 2007.
As far as fashion, what better award show is there to have fun on the red Photos from mtv.com
John Mayer
carpet? The Disney star Hannah Montana (Miley Cyris) looked all grown
up in her white sequined Celine dress and Sergio Rossi heels and clutch.
As we saw at the Oscars the color was red, the Grammys’ color was blue.
The “Umbrella” nominee stuck to her edgy and cool style in a ruffled and
feathered cobalt blue Zac Posen and Chopard jewels. With her unique hair
inspired by a Mohawk, Alicia Keys walked down the red carpet in a cus-
tom Giorgio Armani Privé sapphire duchess satin gown and Diamond in
the Rough earrings. And the rap mogul Ludacris was in head-to-toe Giorgio
Armani, and explained on the carpet that he “just came back from Milan,
Italy.” All in all the 2008 Grammy awards show was very entertaining. The
performances included a variety of artists from every genre, something for
everyone to enjoy.

Beyonce takes the stage with Tina Turner

6 Opinion The Ritan • Monday, April 7, 2008
MLB Preview
BY JOE CAREY
The Chicago White Sox entered the 2008 MLB
off-season with an ambitious plan to acquire two
new superstars. The plan was to sign free agent
center fielder Torii Hunter to a long-term deal and
trade for young third baseman Miguel Cabrera. Sox
GM Kenny Williams even traded one of the Sox’s
best pitchers in the last few years, John Garland,
to the Los Angeles Angels for shortstop Orlando
Cabrera in order to obtain money to acquire Hunter
and Miguel Cabrera.
On Thanksgiving Day 2007, there were reports
that the Sox had agreed in principle to a contract
with Hunter and he would be in a Sox uniform in
a matter of days. But the L.A. Angels came out of
nowhere and signed Hunter to a five-year, 90-mil-
lion-dollar contract.
With Hunter out of the picture, the Sox turned
their attention to trading with the Florida Marlins
for Miguel Cabrera. However, the Marlins’ asking
price was too high for the Sox, and division rival
Detroit Tigers traded a cache of young talent for
Miguel Cabrera along with star pitcher Dontrelle
Willis.
This trade made the Tigers the team to beat in the
AL central and sent the Sox on a desperate search
for a star player. The Sox never did acquire a new
star player, but did manage to improve their team
with center fielder Nick Swisher, shortstop Orlando
Cabrera, and relief pitchers Octavio Dotel and
Scott Linebrink.
The Chicago Cubs won the NL central division
last year in a dramatic, year- long fight with the
Milwaukee Brewers. The Cubs had a relatively qui-
et off-season this year because of the huge amount
of money they spent in 2007, the impending sale
of the Cubs to a new owner, and the fact that NL
central is the weakest division in baseball.
The Cubs did make one major acquisition this
off-season, though. Japanese league star Kosuke
Fukudome signed a four-year, 48-million-dollar
contract with the Cubs and will be their starting
right fielder. The Cubs also released injury-prone
starting pitcher Mark Prior, who was once pre-
dicted to lead the Cubs to a World Series champi-
onship. If the Cubs stay healthy, and that is a big if,
they should win the division.
PREDICTIONS FOR DIVISION WINNERS
NL West: Dodgers: Most competitive division in base-
ball, four teams could easily win it. The Dodgers prevail
because of one of the best lineups in the NL.
NL East: Mets: The Mets will jog through the NL East
because of their offseason acquisition of Johan Santana.
NL Central: Cubs: Worst division in baseball, Cubs win
by default.
AL West: Angels: Angels are one of the best teams in the
league in a weak division.
AL East: Red Sox: Yankees and Red Sox go back and
forth this year for the division lead, Red Sox win because
of more consistent starters.
AL Central: Tigers: The Tigers are the best team in the
best division in baseball. If the Tigers stay healthy, they
will win.
NL Wildcard: Phillies
AL Wildcard: Indians
10,000 B.C.: Bad Movie-Making on an Epic Scale
BY DAVID SCHRADER
10,000 BC is bad. I’m talk-
ing a fin is coming out of the
water and straight towards
you kind of bad. The entire
thing is a poor man’s Apoca-
lypto, complete with a pow-
erful group (the Egyptians)
attacking and raiding a small
village. The only thing better
is that I didn’t have to read
subtitles in 10,000 BC.
Still, reading subtitles might
have been better than listening
to some of the acting. Every-
one sounded just as I thought
cave men would’ve sounded. I
mean that in the worst sense possible. It takes a special kind of actor to pronounce
English well enough for us to understand, but still sound like the culture would
back then. I mean, you have to change a couple words (like mammoth to man-
nick) and add an accent. That’s tough.
The plot was even worse. A bare-bones idea of trying to save your love by tak-
ing on a powerful enemy is done by about every movie. There were some prophe-
cies to be fulfilled, a scar suddenly appears like the Big Dipper and North Star,
and now slaves revolt to win. It makes sense if you suspend disbelief just enough
to think that a woolly mammoth lives near Egypt. (Hint: They don’t.)
That’s another thing that got me. The factual lies that were perpetrated through-
out the movie are unbelievable. Ancient Egypt never had a telescope. There was
never a 20-foot long Saber-tooth tiger. Ships weren’t invented in 10,000BC, es-
pecially not ones with sails. (These are just a few samples: see the goofs page for
this film at www.imDb.com for a much more extensive list.) It all feels like the
writer never actually bothered with research.
I feel kind of ashamed for actually giving this film my money. I could’ve gone
to see Horton Hears a Who or repeatedly bash my head into things, but instead I
get an equal pain from watching this pile of garbage. The only time you should
ever watch this movie is with the TV turned off. I give it a 0.5 out of 5 stars for
having a cool-looking tiger, and because it ended.
New Super Smash Bros. Crushes Competition
BY DAVID SCHRADER extremely lacking. You can trade friend
Super Smash Bros. Brawl was one of codes with people to unlock the ability
the most highly anticipated games for for matches like you would with your
this generation of consoles. With over buddies in real life. Otherwise, you’re
30 characters and nearly endless hours stuck with two-minute time matches
you can pour into this game, it stands with no items with complete strangers.
up to the hype and slaps it down with a You might as well be beating the com-
fury. The game is worth it. puter.
First and foremost, before getting this For the obsessive-compulsive people
game make sure you have a Gamecube like myself, you can collect stickers,
controller handy, or at the very least a trophies, clear events, and beat the Sub-
Wii Classic Controller. The other two space Emissary (the new single-player
options are utter garbage and only serve mode) to 100%; thus unlocking more
to put you at a disadvantage. With the knick-knacks for you to ogle over. The
Gamecube controller, the game will game even allows you to choose what
play as Melee did, only smoother. songs you want to play on the stages.
Brawl is a fantastic looking game. Super Smash Bros. Brawl is that
For everything they crammed on to justification for the purchase of a Wii.
the disc and all that can go on dur- Get a few friends over and you have
ing a match, the frame rate never dips hours of fun ahead of you; or, you can
and everything stays smooth as butter. hunker down and still have your hunger
Donkey Kong looks extra furry and to beat Mario’s head in with a mallet
even Knuckles in the background of sated. Either way you can’t go wrong
the Green Hill Zone stage looks like his with Brawl’s nearly limitless potential
counterparts fighting. of fun. I give it a 5 out of 5.
Multiplayer is awesome in everything
it does, with one exception: online is

Basketball Looks to Improve on Solid Season
BY MIKE HERBST AND JOE CAHILL
This season, St. Rita basketball continued its
journey to becoming a great basketball program.
Under Coach Rob Sarmiento, the team battled
through injuries and adversity to win 16 games
and beat Marist, Leo and Mt. Carmel, among
others.
After claiming 3rd place in the McGovern
Classic, the Mustangs lost back-to-back games
to Seton and Von Steuben to run their record to
3-3. After going 3-1 in the following games, the
team left for New Jersey where they participat-
ed in the St. Augustine Christmas Shootout. St.
Rita played against Augustinian schools from
Philadelphia, San Diego and New Jersey. In
three games, the Mustangs were 2-1. “It was a
fun, well-fought trip and hopefully we can do it
again next year,” said junior Ryan Demming.
After a tough loss to Fenwick, the Mustangs
went on a four-game winning streak, which
included a pair of conference wins. Back-to-
back close losses at the hands of St. Ignatius
and Loyola ended the team’s hopes of winning
the Catholic League North. The team then went
on to beat neighborhood rival Leo before losing
to Mt. Carmel. A pair of wins set up a rematch
against Mt. Carmel. In one of the best St. Rita
basketball games in recent years, the Mustangs
fought through four overtimes to down an up-
an-coming Caravan squad.
Coming off a great victory over a talented
team, hopes were high for a possible regional
championship for the Mustangs. However,
Morgan Park had other ideas. Their Mustangs
The Ritan • Monday, April 7, 2008 Sports 7
beat our Mustangs 78-69 in the regional semi-
final. Junior Jamere Walton’s season was not
over as he advanced to the next round of the
state 3-Point Shootout. Walton continued to ad-
vance each round and eventually made it down
state where he won the state 3-point shootout
championship for class 4A.
Senior Roshawn Russell and junior Terry
Johnson were nominated for All-Catholic
League and All-Area. Terry led the team in
scoring this season, as he averaged 20.3 points
per game. Coach Sarmiento said of Terry, “He
is only going to get better and with some hard
work this off-season he can be a good leader for
next year’s team.” Roshawn Russell ended his
four-year varsity career averaging 18.9 points
and 4.3 assists per game. “Roshawn has been a
great player here at St. Rita and the hard work
and dedication he and his fellow seniors put into
this season will be the cornerstone for great St.
Rita teams in the future,” said Coach Sarmiento.
Next year the Mustangs will return eight
players, including leading rebounders Ryan
Demming and Marcell Portwood along with
leading scorer Terry Johnson. Coach Sarmiento
is looking to build on the success of his first
two seasons at St. Rita: “We always have high
hopes going into a new season, but we have to
stay healthy and make a commitment to being
a better defensive team if we want to be a top
contender.”
Coach Carroll Caps Off Great Career
With Another Trip Downstate
BY JOE CAREY
Senior Steve Zimmerman has won the individual state champi-
onship for the 152 class. Zimmerman defeated Nick Finkenbind-
er of Belvidere high school in the finals to capture his first state
championship. ‘‘It’s a relief,’’ Zimmerman said. “This is the best
way to go out as a senior.” Coach Carroll had this to say about
Zimmerman’s year, “We’re real happy and proud of Steve, it is
a well deserved honor. Steve worked extremely hard for this, he
placed two times in the state tournament before this. It was espe-
cially impressive because he wrestled through a broken thumb in
the middle part of the season and came back to get the job done.
This is especially fulfilling for Zimmerman because in the
2006 individual state tournament, Zimmerman was hurt by an
illegal move that cost him the tournament. Zimmerman has a full
scholarship to NIU to wrestle next year. Also getting a medal
at this year’s state tournament are seniors Kevin Galeher, who
took second in the 285 class, and Taylor Osborn , who took
third in one of the hardest classes in the state, the 160 class. The
160 class features the number-one rated wrestler in the nation,
Conrad Polz.
The St. Rita wrestling team lost in the quarter finals to Provi-
dence in the 2008 state tournament. It was not the result the
wrestlers would have liked, but many people did not even expect
them to get to the tournament in the first place. The wrestling
team upset Mt. Carmel in an exciting Sectionals final 36-22 to go
downstate. It was the last home wrestling meet for Coach Carrol
who is officially retired from coaching wrestling. “I’m real happy
with the job this wrestling team did this year, we had to work
through a lot of injuries, injuries this team has never had before.
We wrestled great towards the end of the season which ended
with a trip to the state tournament.” Caoch Carroll said.
Coach Carroll is retiring after 18 years of coaching high school
wrestling. He coached 11 years at St. Rita and seven years at
Weber High School. He is widely regarded as one of the best
coaches in Illinois and has won the Illinois coach of the year
twice, in 2003 and 2004. Coach Carroll built the wrestling pro-
gram at St. Rita from the ground up, and St. Rita won two state
titles under him in 2003 and 2004. The wrestling team made the
state tournament seven of the last eight years and has quickly be-
came one of the top programs in the state. Coach Carroll has had
12 individual state tournament winners, 42 wrestlers place in the
state tournament, and 1 person win the individual national cham-
pionship, Albert White last year. Coach Carroll won over 300
matches in his 18 years of coaching high school wrestling. “I’m
real happy with my time here at Rita. There are a lot of emotions
involved with stepping down as Wrestling coach.” Coach Carroll
said, “I just felt that it was time to let a younger man take over.
I’m proud of my work at Rita.
The Wrestling team is going to be taken over by Dan Manzella,
who graduated from St. Rita in 2003. Manzella was on the state
champion 2003 wrestling team and went on to wrestle for the
University of Illinois. “I’m happy the program is being left in
capable hands.” Coach Carroll said, “Dan is a product of our
wrestling program, so I know that he will carry on the tradition
of St. Rita wrestling.” Coach Carroll will be staying at St. Rita to
teach Health 101 and Phys Ed.

Swimmers Hoping For Better Results in Water Polo

BY MIKE MCARDLE
On February 16, 2008 the Swimming Mustangs ended their swim season to the triumphant cries of “Finally, water polo!”
Although the team did not send anyone off to the State Meet this year, they were able to come away with a decisive 5th
place in the Sectional Meet, as well as placing in several events. The closest the Swimming Mustangs came to sending an
individual to the State Meet came in the form of junior sensation Mitchell Condon in the 100 breaststroke. He missed the
1st place finish by less than 7 tenths of a second. In fact, the top 4 finishers all ended the race with a time of 1:06:--.
Other efforts by the team were led by Luke Ginger, who placed 4th in the 100 Backstroke and 5th in the 100 free, Danny
Moore who took 6th in the 200 and 7th in the 500 and Ben Velazquez, who took 7th in both the 50 and 100-yard freestyle.
Although some were happy to see the end of swim season, most of the team will acknowledge that it was a good year. Un-
fortunately the team will be losing a large portion of its numbers as the 8 seniors graduate. However, the team will remain
strong as juniors Mitch Condon and Danny Moore look to take the front.
Water polo pre-season conditioning, to the jubilation of the water polo team, began the following Tuesday. The Mustangs
look to be strong this year, with a killer Senior-Junior starting line that has been playing well with each other for three
years now. Coach Knibbs is cautiously optimistic at what he says could be a “great year.” The Mustangs most serious loss
from last year’s senior class was Jim Mlynarski, the goalie for the Swimming Mustangs. Prospects, however, look good Senior Luke Knibbs stuffing a shot
as Coach Knibbs rotates the field in practice to find the fit. Luke Knibbs will start as the shallow-end goalie, with Mitch
Condon playing deep-end.
The season opened with a long list of games, including the season opener against HF at home. The Mustangs opened
their season with a rough start against HF, losing 13-11 despite Luke Ginger’s 7 goals. The Mustangs, however, came back
hard in the weekend Commander Cup, hosted here at St. Rita. They opened with a 16-2 victory over the Mt. Carmel Cara-
van, led by seniors Mike McArdle (4 goals) and Mike Rimkus (3 goals). Later that night, the Mustangs carried on their
momentum to win a decisive 18-5 victory over Morgan Park, led by Kevin ‘Hat-Trick’ Kordas with three.
The Mustangs faced off against Stagg for the final game of the Commander Cup on Saturday. Although the game was
fiercely fought on both sides, the Mustangs were able to come away with a 20-10 victory over the relentless Stagg team.
The Mustangs carried this momentum forward in their upset of state-ranked St. Patrick.
All in all, the swimming Mustangs are looking forward to a great season on the coattails of a solid, if not overly spectacu-
lar, swim season. Players to watch include Mitchell Condon, Luke Ginger, Ric Rivera, Mike McArdle, Ruben Velazquez
and Luciano Garcia. If you’d like to see a truly exciting water polo match, stop by the pool after school to cheer on our
Swimming Mustangs.
Junior Mitch Condon attempting a pass
8 Sports The Ritan • Monday, April 7, 2008
Hockey Wins First Kennedy Cup Since 1992
Brian Basic attempting a poke check
BY MIKE HERBST AND JASON TORRES
Fenwick’s stranglehold on the Kennedy Cup is now over. The St. Rita
hockey team defeated the Friars 4-2 in Game 3 of the Kennedy Cup
Finals to claim its fourth Kennedy Cup championship in school history.
This game capped off an amazing run through the playoffs that saw the
Mustangs come back from two series deficits of 1-0.
The road to the Kennedy Cup championship started off in the semi-fi-
nals vs. Marist. Coming in, the Mustangs were heavy favorites, as they
had swept the Redhawks during the regular season. The series got off to
a disappointing start after St. Rita surprisingly dropped the first game 3-0
at SIA. Game 2 in Orland Park started off promising, with the Mustangs
scoring first. However, the Redhawks offense could not be stopped, as
they scored 5 goals to make it 5-2 midway through the second period. A
St. Rita goal sparked a furious comeback that saw the Mustangs score 5
unanswered goals and claim a Game 2 victory by a 7-5 score.
An unbelievable atmosphere surrounded Game 3. SIA was crammed
full of fans, leading to many people being turned away at the door (in-
cluding Fr. Tom). Marist jumped out to an early 1-0 lead after a deflect-
ed shot found its way into the net. Unfazed, St. Rita tallied two goals to
re-take the lead. Charlie Longo added an empty-net goal to clinch the
game and the series for the Mustangs.
5-time returning Kennedy Cup champs Fenwick awaited the Mustangs
in the finals. With all three games at SIA, the Mustangs would basically
have home ice for the entire series. Game 1 saw the Mustangs dominate
on offense. However, inability to finish off the Friars came back to bite
the Mustangs. Down 2-1, Fenwick knotted up the score with less than a
minute remaining to send the game to overtime. The Friars pounced on a
missed clear and scored to take Game 1 by a score of 3-2.
Facing another 1-0 deficit, the Mustangs were in another do-or-die
game. St. Rita tallied two quick goals as they jumped out to a 2-0 lead.
Fenwick got on the board to make it 2-1. Senior PJ Gross scored the
Charlie Longo, PJ Gross and Chris Cimoch holding the Kennedy Cup
The team celebrates their Kennedy Cup victory
3rd goal, minutes after receiving a nasty cut to the bridge of his nose,
to make it 3-1. The game ended 4-1, which meant that Game 3 would
decide who would take home the Kennedy Cup.
Game 3 couldn’t have started any better for the Mustangs as they took
an early 2-0 lead. Fenwick finally got on the board late in the 3rd to
make the score 2-1. It was too little too late as the Mustangs finished off
the Friars, as they tallied two late goals to claim the Kennedy Cup by a
4-1 score. This was the first time St. Rita Hockey had won the Kennedy
Cup since 1992. Sophomore Jack McDonnell was named Kennedy Cup
Most Valuable Player.
Running parallel to the Kennedy Cup Playoffs was the Blackhawk
Cup, which pits teams from around the state against each other. This
year the Mustangs made a great run to the semi-finals. A forfeit victory
over Downers Grove South led to a matchup against Nequa Valley. The
Mustangs fought back to win this game 4-2. Next in the quarterfinals
was Stevenson. St. Rita fought through a tough first period and eventu-
ally took control of the game in the 2nd and 3rd. Two goals from Chris
Cimoch and one from Charlie Longo sent the Mustangs to the state semi-
finals by a 3-1 score. Top-ranked Glenbrook North ended the Mustangs
hopes for two titles in one season with a 5-0 victory in Bensenville.
This past season was filled with both team and individual accom-
plishments. Along with the Kennedy Cup, the squad claimed titles in the
Great 8 Tournament and New Trier Invitational. Five Mustangs were
named Chicago Catholic League All-Conference: Ryan Carroll, Chris
Cimoch, PJ Gross, Charlie Longo and Kevin McGovern. Also, Chris
Cimoch and PJ Gross were named to the Illinois All-State Hockey Team,
with Cimoch being named Illinois Player of the Year. Congratulations to
the team on a season no one will forget.
Senior Jake Ulanski scoring against Fenwick