Ryan Paradise finished his Emmaus High School athletic career as a well-rounded student-athlete, starring in three different sports. But coming into the fall of 2015, that was not the plan for his senior year. Paradise seriously considered dropping one of the three to focus on the other two.

“I actually wasn’t going to play soccer last year,” Paradise said. “I was just going to run cross country and focus on that. But I knew it was my last year and I wanted to end my career at Emmaus with my teammates that I spent the last three years with.”

That decision paid off well for the recent Emmaus graduate. On November 5, the Green Hornets won the District 11 championship 2-0 over rival Parkland. It was an exciting time, and a feeling of relief for the senior class, which came up just short in two previous district finals the two seasons prior. They finished the year 20-3-1.

“It meant a lot to be successful, especially as a senior,” said Paradise. “Going out and winning the district title with my classmates was something special. Coming up short in the previous years, we really wanted it bad this year. It was a great season.”

Paradise was a three-year starter and two-year captain in the center of the defense for the Hornets. He was named to the All-Eastern Pennsylvania Conference and All-District 11 teams in both his junior and senior years. As a senior he played in 22 of the Hornets 24 games, scoring a goal and adding an assist.

“It was an honor to be recognized on those teams,” Paradise said. “But my success as an individual was because of my teammates around me on the field. It’s a team game and there are 10 other players out on the field. We have to all play together to be successful. And we did that.”

Not only did Emmaus sports fans see Paradise on the soccer pitch, but he balanced that out with running cross country in the fall. He finished 12th in the EPC Championships, seventh at districts and 109th at states.

But he may have made most of his noise on the track.

Individually, Paradise competed in the 1600-meter run, where he placed fifth at leagues and fourth at the district meet. He also participated in the 4x8 relay with Jacob Feiertag, Greg Jaindl, and Kyle Kleinberg. That team broke the school record time for the 4x800 in 2014, but fell just short this year. They finished second in the EPC and District 11 meets en route to a berth in the state meet.

“It was a really good season for us,” stated Paradise. “There were rough patches for me with some injuries, but I was fortunate enough to get healthy in time for the big meets at the end of the year. Our main goal was to get to states, and it was great we accomplished that goal.”

When a standout athlete has success at multiple sports, they will have some choices to make when it comes to continuing their athletic careers in college. This one wasn’t an easy one for Paradise.

“A lot went into my decision, it was very tough,” said Paradise, who committed to Lehigh University for track and cross country. “I started out the process earlier with soccer. But when I narrowed it down to wanting to run track in college, I looked at a few schools that had good programs and a good engineering school.

“Bucknell and Penn State were at the top of my board, but Lehigh was above and beyond what I wanted. Their campus is beautiful, and it is close to home. Coach Todd [Etters] is a great guy and I got along with the players. So that made the decision easier.”

The plan is for Paradise to come to campus in late August and begin training for the track season, running indoor/outdoor in the winter. He won’t roster in cross country his freshman year, but is expected to be a contributor in the coming years.

While he trains this summer, the former Saint Thomas Moore Red Raider can reflect on a successful career.

“I loved Emmaus, and miss it already,” said Paradise. “I met a lot of friends while I was there, and a lot of great people. My teachers and coaches were so helpful and really inspired me to be the best that I could be. They set me up for what’s next.”