RHS Athletic Hall of Fame
Members of the Ridgewood High School Athletic Hall of Fame are those that have made a lasting impact on the school’s sports program as either student players, coaches, or supporters. Often the student players have continued to influence their chosen sports after high school by ongoing participation in athletics.
Chris Rae 2020 Inductee
A sound mind in a sound body is the English translation of a famous quotation by the pre-Socratic Greek philosopher Thales (Miletus, 624-546 BC). It is an often used reference in our modern society for one who has achieved high levels of success both athletically and academically. If one was to recognize a prime example of this current definition, one might point to Ridgewood High School Athletic Hall Of Fame inductee Chris Rae.
Beyond Chris’s outstanding athletic credentials, Chris was recognized by the Bergen County YMCAs as one of its top student athletes in 1987. Chris was not only setting records on the tracks around the state, but also showed great academic performance ranked 6th in his class of 445 students at the highly regarded Ridgewood High School. Chris was a National Merit Scholar who went on to attend Stanford University 1987-1992. He earned both Bachelors and Master of Arts degrees in philosophy at Stanford while competing as a track team member that he helped Captain in 1992.
Working in the business world for a number of years Chris returned to school 1997-2001 at Duke University where he completed an MBA from the Fuqua School of Business while also completing his Juris Doctorate (JD) from the Duke University Law School.
Athletically, Chris was a force on the county, state and national level while a student athlete at RHS. Besides being named to numerous NNJIL All League Teams for both winter and spring track seasons, Chris was named to the All Bergen County First Team three times for both winter and spring track for the 800 and 1600. In 1986 Chris won the West Point 800 meter indoor title and the next week won the NJ state Group IV championship. It was only the second time an RHS runner had won an individual Group IV championship. He also set the meet record of 2:20.5 at the NJ Spiked Shoe meet. Chris suffered a stress fracture that impacted his spring season in 1986, but he came back with a vengeance in 1987.
Chris won the 1987 NJ indoor Group IV 800 championship. During the spring season he ran a state best time of 1:51.6 in the 800 meter setting a school record that would stand for thirteen years. Chris won the NJ State Meet of Champion’s title race in a time of 1:52.0. In addition Chris ran a 1200 meter leg of the distance medley at the Penn Relays helping RHS to a coveted fourth place finish. He won the Eastern States mile in a time of 4:13.6. Chris ran in the Golden State meet in Sacramento, California competing in the 800 meter. The Newark Star Ledger named Chris to their First Team All Groups All State Team for the spring of 1987 for the 800 meter.
At Stanford and running distances during his four year track career for the Cardinals, Chris earned a fifth place in the 1991 Pac Ten Championships in the 1500 meter with a time of 3:46. Today Chris is a successful businessman in Park City, Utah and can also claim membership to the Ridgewood High School Athletic Hall of Fame.
Download: 2020 Banquet Book!
2022
Patti Auger, Eric Benedict, Eunae Jo, Peter McGinley, Karla Mixon, Clair Nowakowski, 1983 Softball Team, Joe Pedone, Julia Rappa
2020
Carlos Peay, Louis Edward “Eddie” Peay, Kelly Conheeney, Samantha Cermack, Chris Rae, Chelsea Steinberg, Mark Strittmatter, Andrew Clarke, Jim Dee, Phil Ross Sr.
2018
2016
Maureen Greico, Larry Coyle, Jacob Brown, Richard Bennett, Toshiko D’Elia
2014
John Marshall, Jim Bruni, Mark Romeo, Jean Hughes, Chris Van Note, Nancy Hogan, RHS Football Team 1913, Don Taylor, Rachel Grygiel, John Cerf, Paul Tornatore, Michele Marangi, RHS Boys’ Lacrosse 1990-92
2012
Craig Halyard, Tom Flatt, Tricia Pappalardo, Mike Henderson, Kandie Latham, Leigh Jester, Tom Dusel, Roger Sweeney, Linda Zabielski, Patty Capasso, Dennis Sullivan, Nick & Dottie Capasso, Track and Field (Bain-Daley-Oliver Era)
2010
Primo “Duke” DeRochi, Debbie Paul, George Monro, Bill Dunne, Amy Lyons, James Sullivan, Michael Culver, Keith O’Connor, Josh Kauke, Patti Mileski, Mary Ellen Mileski
2008
Kitty Batterson, Henry Blauvelt, Frank L. Bradley, Jr., Lucia Cancelmo, Chris DuFlocq, Renee DuFlon, RHS Girls’ Basketball 1922-1923, Harry Grundy, Jim Jones, Joe LeMay, Jen McDermott, Shannon McGarrigle, Tony Napier, Margaret Niemann, Vince Robertiello (Jamie Roberts), Damian Ross, Mike Springer
2006
Mario Ferraro, Paul Ferraro, Don Haldane, Wendy Hartwig, Tom Hopper, Bob Keino, Frank Mozeleski, Tim Mullen, Jenna Rogers, Donna O’Connell, Carin Cone, Charles Yennie
2004
Paul Arrigoni, Pete Campbell, Doug Cook, Becky Deetz, Otis Grendler, Jodi Hartwig, Gene Links, Debbie O’Connell, Aimee McGuire, Walt Perdue, Tom Simos, Kazbek Tambi, Jack Van Yperen, Bob Whitaker, Margaret Scutro