University of South Carolina Upstate

2009 XC: Strong runner for the Spartans... Was the second Spartan to cross the finish line at three of themeets ... Recorded season-best time of 26:29 at the Eye Opener(9/5), as he finished 11th ... Finished 15th at the A-SunChampionships (10/31) and earned all-freshman team accolades ...Finished 23rd at the Virginia Tech Alumni Invitational (9/18).

Before USC Upstate: A four-year lettermanin cross country and track and field, earning all-county honors incross country his sophomore, junior and senior seasons ... Won thecounty championships as a senior with a time of 16:04 and helped tolead Niceville to the team title ... Also was the 4A District crosscountry runner-up, the 4A Region cross country runner up, andearned a seventh-place finish at the 4A Florida Cross CountryChampionships with a personal-best time of 15:55 ... Dropped his 5kpersonal best from 17:06 in his junior season to 15:55 in hissenior campaign ... Earned a Florida Athletic Coaches AssociationAll-Star meet selection and finished eighth in the senior race atthe 2008 Footlocker South Regional (16:11) and was a part of theAll-South Senior Team ... Named the 2009 Northwest Florida CrossCountry Athlete of the Year ... Took second in the 3,200-meter runwith a time of 9:41.80 at the Florida Class 4A Track & FieldChampionships.

Personal: Born on April 29, 1991 ... Sonof Christopher and Kathy Ritacco ... Has a sister, Meagan, who is asophomore on West Florida''s cross country team ... A criminaljustice major ... Favorite foods are lasagna and lobster ...Favorite movie is "Tears of the Sun" ... Enjoys swimming, surfing,writing music and playing the guitar ... Admires his mom.