About Town: More Top College-Bound Athletes

With August days dwindling down to a precious few, and the start of the school year right around the corner, one of the greatest graduating athletic classes in Rye High School history will soon be taking their athletic talent to colleges across the land.

Here’s the latest in About Town’s ongoing thanks for the memories columns saluting those seniors for their outstanding play in Fall sports ranging from the league champions in football and girls' cross country to the league and conference championship girls' field hockey team. The boys' soccer team also produced several All League athletes.

How do we love with they did sports-wise? Let us count the ways as we also tell you where they will be heading off for college.

In one of the greatest comebacks in Garnets football history during “The Game” –the 85th traditional rivalry between Rye and Harrison at Nugent Stadium –four seniors played an unforgettable role leading up to “The Drive” that won the game in the last moments.

Three co-captains –Connor Eck, Brian Pickup and Anthony Vitiello, plus their sidekick, Kevin Turco –all played unforgettable roles on their way to a suspense-filled moment when quarterback Eck hit tight end Pickup with a winning touchdown pass in the game’s final seconds.

Eck, whose father Michael played quarterback for the University of Virginia and whose brother Jordan quarterbacked the Garnets for three years (including a state championship), wound up making the All League, All Section and honorable mention on the Westchester “Golden Dozen” team that honors outstanding scholar athletes.

Connor followed in his brother’s cleat steps by also starting at Rye as quarterback for three consecutive years. He will attend Union College (brother Jordan is the starting varsity quarterback at Hamilton).

Pickup, whose father is the Rye City Manager, made the All League, All Section, Golden Dozen and Journal News First Team (offense) and also won the Chris Mello Award (honoring a former Rye grid great lost during the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center ten years ago) as the outstanding Garnets scholar-athlete in the Rye Harrison game who most personified Mello. Brian was also the Lions Club Rye Athlete of the Year as well as the RHS Athletic Department Outstanding Male Athlete of the Year for his prowess in lacrosse, basketball and football.

Pickup will attend Deerfield Academy for additional post-graduate work and has a commitment to play lacrosse for Princeton in 2012.

The hard-hitting Vitiello made the All League team and was honorable mention on the All Section team and will attend Union College with Eck.

Turco, All League running back as well as winner of the annual Garnet & Black Award, will attend Miami University in Oxford, OH.

Kaitlin Campbell, Rachel Chin and Michelle Mulhearn co-captained the League and Conference champion field hockey team. Campbell made the All League and Golden Dozen Team and will attend Boston College.

Chin was selected to the All League, All Elite, All Section and All State teams. She is headed for the University of Pennsylvania.

Mulhearn, also All League, will join Cambell at BC while Laurel Kennedy, who made the All League and All Elite team, will head for Gettysburg. 

All League soccer players Luis DelPezo and Brandon Robinson are also college bound –DelPezo for Dominican College of Blauvelt and Robinson for Middlebury. All League cross-country runner Caitlin Hartnett is off and running for the College of William and Mary.

Each and every one of them had proud Fall seasons. Thanks for the memories, indeed!