By Kim J. Harmon

Kate Ryan was there – right there – for one of the most memorable moments in the history of Newtown High School sports. She was the one, with 7.4 seconds left to play in the game, who canned the basket that lifted the girls’ basketball team to its first conference championship in more than 50 years.

That one moment, though, is certainly not all there is to the career of this young woman who – through four years of swimming, three years of basketball and two years of lacrosse at the varsity level – not only forged an impressive resume, but set the standard for those athletes who do not often bask in the glow of the spotlight.

Kate Ryan is an Unsung Hero.

More often than not, Kate was overlooked. In the fall, she swam on a team that boasted enormous talents like Jaime Ryan (her sister), Becky Crane, Kari Fisher, and Stephanie Nickse (who own or share about 15 school records between them). In the winter, she played on a basketball team that had one of the most dominating centers in the league one year and then, the next, on a team that introduced a young squadron of sophomores who took the league by storm. And in the spring, she played on a lacrosse team that had Caitlin Collier and Sarah O’Sullivan, two of the most prolific scorers in Newtown High School history (combining for 232 goals).

If was a life spent performing in the shadows, but an accomplished life nevertheless.

Fall

Kate began swimming back when she was two, when the Ryan family was living in Essex, Vermont. She actually started swimming competitively when she was four, already adept at the various strokes (butterfly probably being her best). When Kate was in fourth grade, the family moved to Newtown and almost before they unpacked, she had signed up with FAST (Fairfield Area Swim Team).

“I started losing interest when it got so intense,” she admitted, “but at the time I was also playing softball and basketball. It took so much of my time and was so hard, but when I was little I was good at it and I didn’t want to stop.”

For four years – while so many others took those first-place finishes and set those records – Kate became a solid, dependable second-, third- and fourth-place point scorer. She one of those versatile swimmers that her coaches (Joanne Johnson from 1996-1998, and Dave McCrodden in 1999) could use almost anywhere, but she shined more often than not in the 200 individual medley and 100 backstroke. She also did a bit of butterfly and relay work, as well.

“The strength of our team for a while has been our depth,” she said. “Swimming is so much of an individual sport, it’s hard to think about what my role was. But I wanted to make the state finals every year.”

The ‘Hawks never won a South-West Conference title, but Kate’s four years in the pool were all successful ones and she capped a nice career this past fall by captaining the team with Beth Winton.

“It would have been cool if I was really good,” she admitted, “but I had a good time and got out of it what I wanted to get out of it.”

Winter

In some ways, it was a tough winter for Kate and it started when her friend and fellow co-captain, Amanda Marsilio, suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament during the pre-season. It got a little bit tougher when the sophomores who had to step in blossomed so quickly they all but took over the team.

“It is hard to see kids younger than you doing so well,” Kate said, “especially when you’re a senior and you think this is going to be your team. But we became more of a team this year than we ever have before. I was glad the way it turned out.”

 As a sophomore, Kate saw some time and scored 83 points – but it was a team that lived on the slashing of guards Heather Gunn and Carissa Rotas and the work of the budding freshman, Marsilio. As a junior, Kate figured more into the offense and scored 135 points – but Marsilio still commanded most of the attention (and rightfully so, scoring 239 points).

And even while players like Lori Iwanicki, Jayme Beckham, Lisa Masella, Ally Gellert and Morgan Haines seemed to command all the attention this past winter, Ryan had her best year yet, scoring 188 points (7.5 a game, personal high of 15) with 76 field goals, three three-pointers, and another brilliant year at the foul line (73.3 percent on 33-of-45 shooting).

And, of course, there was that dramatic shot with 7.4 seconds left to play against New Fairfield in the South-West Conference championship game. That was a moment no one – not the coaches, not the players, not the fans – will likely soon forget.

“I had a good year,” she said. “Basketball has always been one of my favorite sports and I had a lot of fun.”

Spring

It took a little while for Kate to take a look at lacrosse – but thanks to her father (who played in college), thanks to her younger brother (who was just getting started), thanks to her friends (who were playing) and thanks to the one flaw of high level softball (which often turns into a game of catch between the pitcher and catcher) she finally did.

Kate played softball through middle school and even played freshman and jayvee softball at Newtown High. But because of the lack of action that can often envelop a game, she started looking around for something else to do in the spring.

“I thought about running track,” she said, “and then I thought not.”

But since her dad had played and since a lot of her friends played, she decided to try lacrosse. As a sophomore, she played on the junior varsity team but, as a junior under coach Joanne Johnson, she quickly developed into excellent midfield player.

And, as if the ‘Hawks needed another scorer, Kate became a real threat on attack in 2000.

“My favorite thing is being able to run so much and the thrill, I think, of having the ball,” said Kate, who doesn’t feel her 32 goals (third on the team) was her main contribution. “Making connections was what I contributed to the team.”

But the truth of the matter was, if Caitlin Collier (60 goals) or Sarah O’Sullivan (54 goals) was somehow being held off by the defense, Kate was there – often coming off the bench – with the ability to put a ball in the back of the net.

So whether or not she spent her four years largely in the shadows, Kate – now heading on to Virginia Tech – has swum with one of the great swimmers the school has ever seen, played basketball with some of the best young players the school has ever seen, and played lacrosse with the most amazing scorers the school will ever know and still has that one incredible, unforgettable shot to remember over and over and over again.

Nope, not a bad career at all.