UT mourns loss of cross country athlete killed during robbery

The North Boulevard Bridge was familiar terrain to Ryan McCall, who jogged on the span regularly when he trained with the University of Tampa cross country team.

Early this morning, the senior exercise science major crossed the bridge a final time during the pre-dawn darkness as he headed toward a bad part of town.

McCall, 21, was killed when he and a friend, Michael Harahan, was robbed about 3 a.m. by an unidentified assailant. Harahan, 21, of Philadelphia, managed to run away and call for help. Tampa police officers found McCall's body at the northern foot of the bridge that arches over the Hillsborough River.

"We're torn apart," said McCall's coach, Jarrett Slaven. "He's everything you'd want as a son."

McCall and Harahan had just celebrated a friend's birthday at the Retreat Bar on South Park Avenue, teammates said. The pair took North Boulevard to get to McCall's home, but the route took them through an area north of the university that police say is known for violent crime.

McCall and Harahan were just walking from the bar and weren't doing anything illegal, Tampa police spokeswoman Andrea Davis said. The robbery appears to be random, she said.

Police continue to search for the suspect, a black man in his mid-20s to 30s, about 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighing 180 pounds. He had short cropped hair, possible facial hair and a husky build. He was wearing a white T-shirt and was armed with a handgun, Davis said.

McCall's older brother, Kevin, said at a news conference today that his family plans "to do everything we can to cooperate with law enforcement agencies to find this killer who took this amazing young man out of this world, and out of all of our lives."

Ryan McCall is a native of Downingtown, Pa. He is a three-year member of the cross country team and participated in 11 races, according to the university's Web site. McCall had a 3.67 GPA and served as a volunteer coach at Tampa Preparatory School.

"I think he probably would have gone into coaching and education," Slaven, the cross country coach, said.

Runners called Slaven throughout the morning.

"They can't believe it. They're very upset, very emotional," he said. "They just want to talk to somebody."

The team comes back for practice Monday, and the university will have grief counselors on hand.

Slaven said McCall's funeral will be in Philadelphia, but a date has not been set. A memorial will be held at UT after the funeral, he said.

Slaven said he's used the North Boulevard Bridge as a training route for 10 years. He said he's changing the route because of the emotions associated with the place where McCall was killed.
"I myself could not run there," he said.

Teammate Chris Catanach said he was shaken at the senselessness of his friend's death.

"All the people, all the lives he's touched," Catanach said, "to just have that disappear, face-first in the grass like that, it's just really a shame."

Catanach recalled McCall's dynamic personality which would draw people "like moths to light."

"He had a big personality in a really good way," Catanach said. "His aura, his laugh, his charisma . . . just incredible. It's an enormous loss for me, for my team, for this university and for anybody who knew this kid."

McCall's loss leaves the team "feeling really small in the end," he said.

Catanach said he was at the Retreat Bar too but left early, walking the same route over the North Boulevard Bridge that McCall would take hours later. Catanach said he had a bad feeling going through the area and added he could've easily been a victim too.

"You've got to be smart about where and when you're walking," he said.

McCall died several blocks from the home on Ridgewood Avenue he rented with other UT students and about a mile from the university and the 24-hour campus security it provides.

Safety is a huge priority at UT, university spokesman Eric Cardenas said, and while a lot of the security office's resources are focused on campus, students are reminded to travel in groups away from school grounds.

"Our location is a big plus," Cardenas said. "But it has its negative sides also. It's fair to say there will be an extra focus on security during orientation next week."

UT graduate Jen Miller said the news of McCall's death chilled her. Miller said she was mugged in 2000 near the same area where McCall was killed.

"My heart just stopped," she said. "I always felt safe on campus, but when I stepped off, I started to worry."

Tampa police say they have investigated six homicides in the first six months of this year. McCall's death marks the sixth slaying since July 1.