Benedictine to add seven to Athletic Hall of Fame

Bob Urda ’48

As a senior pitcher, Urda helped the Bengals reach Columbus for the first time in school history in 1948. Urda pitched all the key games in that stretch, which included a three-hit victory over the defending state champions.  He also pitched the Bengals to their second consecutive Cleveland City Championship when he threw a four-hitter in a 7-1 win over Holy Name. Urda was also a top running back for the 1947 Bengals and was listed among the area’s leading scorers as a senior. Later, he played at baseball Western Michigan University and then was in the Brooklyn Dodgers organization.

Charley Reynolds ’56

A three-sport star, Reynolds graduated as the leading scorer in the school’s basketball history. As a receiver, Reynolds helped the Bengals to the Cleveland football city title with a convincing and record-setting 47-6 win over St. Ignatius in the first Charity Game played on Thanksgiving morning in 1955. As a senior pitcher, Reynolds compiled a 4-0 record. He combined with another pitcher on a no-hitter. He also pitched a solo one-hitter, where he retired the first 17 batters he faced. That season, the Bengals compiled a 19-1 season record as Cleveland City champs but lost in the state finals. After an injury-shortened career at Purdue University, he returned to Benedictine as a teacher and coach at Benedictine in the 1960’s. Later in the 1990’s Reynolds came back as the school’s principal.

Sal Collura ’63

Collura was voted as the Most Valuable Player of the East Senate as a senior running back in 1962 as he helped the Bengals to another league title on their way to a 9-2 season record. In a key East Senate game against arch-rival Cathedral Latin, Collura caught an 11-yard pass with just 36 seconds left for the only points in the contest. Collura was the team’s leading rusher averaging six yards per carry. He was also selected by the Catholic Universe Bulletin to its All-Catholic team. Collura played in the annual Ohio North-South All-Star football game and still remains in the top 30 all-time scorers in Benedictine history with 114 points. As a senior outfielder, Collura helped the Bengals to a school record 26 wins in the 1963 baseball season that included the Cleveland City title. Collura also played in the annual Cuyahoga County East-West all-star baseball game.

Dave Petschauer ’67

Petschauer was a three-sport star who earned Plain Dealer All-Scholastic honors in baseball as a shortstop. He was one of the leading hitters in the Cleveland area with a batting average of exactly .500. In basketball, he was third in scoring as a junior in the always-tough East Senate. He had a career high 30 points in a win over Collinwood. He still ranks in the top 30 in school history for career points. As a wide-receiver for the Cleveland City champion Bengals football team, Petschauer was the leading pass catcher for the 9-1 Bengals, who defeated South High 32-6 in front of a crowd of 35,327 at old Cleveland Stadium. He was named to the All-East Senate team and to the Catholic Universe Bulletin’s All-Catholic team in football.

Rick Switalski ’73

Switalski was a two-year letterman in football and record-holder in the shot put with a throw of 58-1.  That record was one of the longest-held records in school track history. It wasn’t until two decades later that it was finally broken. As a senior, he won the Bellaire Relays shot put title and was sixth in the Class AAA shot put state finals. Switalski was a starting tackle on the Bengals last Cleveland City championship football team in 1971 and on the first independent season in 1972. Switalski later played on the offensive line at the University of Virginia and was twice named All-Academic All-Atlantic Coast Conference. Later he was signed as a free agent by the Baltimore Colts.  

Jim Lasher ’81

A quarterback and defensive back, Lasher was a key member of the Benedictine 1980 Division III state championship football team. His interception return of 47 yards to the 10-yard line led to the Bengals only touchdown in the 9-3 state championship victory over Hamilton Badin.  Lasher won the school’s prestigious Fr. Florian Award as a senior. In baseball, he led the Bengals to a 20-5 record as he finished with a 7-1 pitching record and was listed as one of the top hitters in the area with a batting average of .511. Lasher helped the Bengals defeat St. Ignatius in the best-of-three series to win the Cleveland Area Baseball Conference title. He was the winning pitcher in Coach Augie Bossu’s 490^th baseball win and added two hits in Bossu’s 500^th all-time baseball win. He was voted by the students as “Mr. Benedictine.”

Dan Carcelli ’91

Considered as the greatest wrestler in Benedictine history, Carcelli is the school’s two-time state wrestling champion. As a junior he finished with a 29-3 record on his way to the state 130-pound title. He closed out a perfect senior season with a 36-0 record by winning the state 135-pound title. He was the Most Valuable Wrestler in the three invitationals that he wrestled as a senior:  Richmond Heights, Berea and the Ohio Catholic. He earned a place on the Plain Dealer Cuyahoga County All-Scholastic wrestling team.  Later he wrestled at Cleveland State where he was an All-American at 142 pounds in 1995.  Carcelli also was a four-time winner of the Most Outstanding Wrestler award at CSU.

He holds CSU records for most career wins with 60 and a record 35 straight dual meet wins.

Prepared by Wally Mieskoski ’71