It's a Long Way To Tipperary...

And also California.

Several PSU Track Alums came all the way from the Golden State to reunite and deserve accolades from some us us who complained about a two-hour drive.

Vivian Riddick came from LA and brought the family with her. They even climbed Mt. Nittany with my dog Pooky. (That's Mt. Nittany in the background!)  I'm sure they all had a good time.  She joined other women in welcoming back Coach Gary Schwartz to Happy Valley, who was no slouch in coming all the way from Arkansas!

Coach Groves and Coach Schwartz.  Photo by Mark Hawkins.

And a 50% Reunion of the 1985 Penn Relays 4 x 800 M Relay occurred on Friday at the Reception.  Chris Mills is actually from State College, but still traveled from near Modesto, California to meet up with teammate Steve Shisler and all the rest of us. Chris golfed with us on Saturday and posed in front of the rest of his foursome with Coach Groves.

Coach Kevin Kelly, Bob Gabel, Coach Groves, Che Arosemena with Chris Mills. Photo by Mark Hawkins.

A Rather Fleet Foursome!

Ryan Foster, Larry Mangan, Al Porto and Steve Balkey. Photo by Mark Hawkins.

Three of the four were/are PSU 1500M/Mile Record Holders and the fourth happened to be an NCAA Cross Country Champion in 1949.  And let's not forget that Al Porto happens to have won the Longest Drive competition in our Golf Tournament.

A fifth member of the group showed up at one point.  Happy Gilmore made his appearance and impressed the group with a trademark running shot.  No word on who he later punched.

Happy Gilmore. Photo by Mark Hawkins.

My Foursome: A Gimp, a Limp, a Simp and a......

Mike McCahill, Coach Fritz Spence, Tim Johnson and Your Humble Host being photographed by Digital Archive Goddess Kay Warfel. Photo by Mark Hawkins.

I really do need to take lessons.  This was the worst I have ever played.  With no Mulligans, putting strings or other gimmicks, the scramble format exposed my pink under-belly of golfing talent and led to a frustrating afternoon of thrashing and wailing after little white balls.  I'm happy I pay about 25 cents apiece for the little dimpled orbs, as I left quite a few on the grounds of the Mountain View Country Club (formerly the Elks Club Course).


The greens were fast and somehow tilted more than they used to be.  But it was good to see the course in such good shape otherwise.  At least after you slice your shot 2 fairways to the right, you have a splendid view of either Nittany Mountain or Ski Mont (or whatever they call it nowadays!). I didn't even have any "cheater golf balls" left over from previous years. (These balls are slightly smaller than real ones, and have more dimples.  They supposedly were supposed to give me an extra 10 yards on my 150 yard drives.  As if any would ever notice!). Our group started out with 8 straight bogeys, a feat hard to do in the scramble format.  We were truly horrible at first.  But then, something clicked, and we played the last 10 holes at one-under par, right on pace with the best foursomes in our 9 foursome tourney.

My only good shot was 30 foot putt that I made with a twice-bent blade putter from the 1950s.  Several others may have recognized this club, as it was frequently in the extra bag people needed in previous years.  And it was once left on a green and retrieved by a generous alum who could have easily pitched it into the can as a club no one would ever want. It now has putter cover and has been renamed Billy Berue.

The Limp was Mike McCahill who hurt his calf muscle by picking up a golf ball while practicing putting.  I'm not making that up.  He played well despite the increasing limp during the round and I saved him from next-day incapacity by dispensing him some Celebrex after the round, a drug which gave Ken Brinker the ability to retire early to Florida and enjoy the good life. (You're welcome , Ken!)  Mike is a long-term member of our group.  I think he's only missed one Coach Groves Tournament.

The Gimp was Tim Johnson who suffered a debilitating "groin pull" recently playing ultimate frisbee.  I'm not making that up.  He was hoping continued golfing would improve his condition, which may or may not have happened.  Tim also played well at times, but we could tell the groin was holding him back.  I know the feeling, even after 30 some years. I had a groin-pull from fencing class at PSU gym class.  Yeah, I'm that dumb, which brings us to......

The Simp is me, of course.  As one of only 2 or 3 golfers to have braved this tourney every year, you would think I would learn my lesson and either take lessons or give up the game.  A Simp never learns...

The fourth in our group was Coach Fritz Spence.  He even agreed to be The Wimp to make things somewhat complete, but I don't have the heart to follow through with calling him that.  It doesn't fit at all, and neither does Blimp, Primp or Shrimp.  I was happy to share the cart with him as I set up my 7th grader's PSU Track Camp visit to spend time with him as the Women's Multi-Event Coach.  It was a pleasure to meet him and as a Bahamian who knows Mike Sands, I have hope he can help set up our dream of a Winter Coach Groves Golf Tourney in the Bahamas.  I'll bet we can get at least 2 foursomes for Paradise.

Enthusism Reaches Critical Mass

Future PSU Track Alumni "Golfers"

This weekend's festivities proved beyond doubt that our group's activities matter.  As Ryan Foster put it to me, we have "reached a tipping point."  I've heard the same sentiment from several others, put in slightly different words. During a restless night's slumber it came to me in Physics terms.

Each of our thoughts and actions matter, and using Quantum Mechanics they actually are matter! And the more physical reality we create in our efforts to unite and support Penn State Track/XC, the more people are interested in joining our efforts.  Energy does in fact equal mass according to Einstein's elegant formula.  The constant in the whole equation is the thoughts and actions all of us place toward that goal.  And we may have reached a Critical Mass of sorts considering the interest in those just graduating and even those several years away from graduating.  We welcome our younger counterparts with open arms, both Men and Women, both on the track or in the field or even the hills and dales. Although golf is always optional, we recommend it highly.  (The PSU Golf Alumni never get together in Happy Valley to have a Track Meet after all!)

The weekend's Reunion and Golf Tourney were another resounding success.  Even my dog Pooky ended up climbing Mount Nittany to claim the peak for PSU Track, leaving a little souvenir near the top!  A pair of "rabbits" ended up winning the golf tournament. The Fuller Brothers seem to have talent in dozens of sports.  A kilt was sighted in Happy Valley. Waaaay too much of the kilt was actually sighted! KK O'Brien could not be reached for comment.  A beloved ex-Coach regaled us with "We are....".  Thanks Coach Gary Schwartz.  The world's leading shot putter told us about his 6:00 AM random drug test that morning, commenting that he favors a zero tolerance policy on PEDs.  Refreshing testimony from a soon-to-be father at the top of his game. And he'll be golfing with us in the coming years.  (An apology to Ryan Whiting from the Idiot Officers of the Group.  We had no idea you wanted to golf this year, one week after your world leading 73 foot shot put effort.  My foursome could have really benefited from your talents!)

There's a lot more to say about the whole affair, including a sighting of Happy Gilmore on the links.  I'll try to get the specifics of much more in the coming days. 

Great Turnout and Scandal!

The PSU Track and Field Alumni Reunion got off to a raucous start at everybody's favorite haunt, The Lion's Den last night.  Members came from all over the globe and from 7 decades of excellence, one short of the record. I was happy to meet so many of you.  If we didn't get to meet, make sure to introduce yourself at some point.  I've only bitten one person, and he is in stable condition and visitors are allowed now!

I ended up not even trying the putting contest, as conversation was wide ranging and interesting.  Something this used-to-be hermit isn't necessarily practiced at.  It is good to see the interest in the Program and our group as high as it ever was.  Computer agnostics from the 50's are even aware of our humble blog/web-site (or whatever this is?).  The newest generation is more excited than ever.  There are actually members of the team who can't wait to be a part of our group following graduation.  As Ryan Foster puts it, "We are at a tipping point."  He means our group is set to explode in numbers and activity, something I have been anticipating for 5 years now.  Slow but steady wins the race. He puts it better with that Tasmanian accent of his.

We even have a new contributor lined up following the track season in Sam Masters.  He is as psyched about our group as anyone I've seen and offers a perspective of youth and has experience at a different NCAA institution (Tulsa) with which to compare his PSU career.  I'll sign him up soon, but first he has a little work to do in the NCAA 5000 M Championships.  He already has his PSU Track Alumni Singlet! Inquiries were made for another round of Singlet orders.  We may have a surprise for those wanting in on the action but not wanting to expose the world to your physique in a singlet.  Stay tuned for more.

And scandal has befallen the Coach Harry Groves Golf Tournament!  Accusations of favoritism and malfeasance have tainted the selection of the foursomes for the tourney.  The process was supposed to revert to the old method of random selection involving Physics, chicken entrails, EtOH and tarot.  I will not get involved in the matter any further as I'm very happy with my draw and fear Founder Clark Haley might secretly be working for the IRS or the CIA.  I have even thought about changing the name of our group to the Green-Wind Solar Cooperative and Humanistic Society so as to throw the IRS off our scent.  I will keep everyone informed concerning our tax-exempt status.*

*Everything I said there was made up.  Taxes are not required of an entity that generates $0 annually although the IRS has tried more than once to get blood from a stone. Clark assures me that foursomes were random except for him golfing with his father.

There are Many NCAA Qualifiers to Meet at the Reunion

I've made it!  I just took a campus run* and picked up a $25 gift certificate at the Berkey Creamery and The Corner Room for use in the Coach Groves Scholarship Putting Challenge at tonight's Alumni Reunion Reception at the Lion's Den. (7:00 PM) Stop by and meet track alumni and friends from 7 decades of PSU Track excellence.

Some of the athlete's that have qualified for the NCAA First Round Championships will be at the reception and most of them will be at practice on Saturday morning during our Alumni "Run" at the outdoor track.  Meeting them and giving them encouragement can do nothing but promote great performances in the Championships.  Letting them see how they fit into a long tradition of excellence will be like a wind at their backs their competitors won't have.  Stop by at 9:00 AM and join the fun at the track.

There are more than 40 Nittany Lions heading to next week's meet.

*For definition purposes, "running" means less than 3 miles at over 10:00/mile pace.  And those who are laughing, just wait, your time will come!  hee hee hee

I Forgot to Practice

Group Idiot Officers

As always, I have been scrambling like crazy at work to try to get 2 days off so I can enjoy the Track Alumni Weekend festivities.  My golf clubs are still in the garage along with Founder and Keeper of the Beer's second set of clubs from last year.  I notice that my bag has rotted away in the interim and will no longer hold the shoes, tees and "cheater' golf balls I prefer on the links. My first stop on the way to State College today will be to WalMart for an inexpensive golf bag.

So, in other words, I haven't practiced again and haven't touched a golf club since the last hole of last year's tourney. C'est La Vie.  This isn't the first time.  I pity the 3 poor schmucks that will have me assigned to their foursome at the Alumni Reunion on Friday night at the Lion's Den.  But then again, my name is on The Cup once and I do have the most 2nd place appearances at the tourney.

All this is a way of getting a reluctant golfer to join us on the links Saturday.  You really can join us and have the time of your life without being any kind of golfer at all.  The more the merrier.

Here's a video of Beverage Procurement Specialist Steve Balkey, Keeper of the Beer Clark Haley and an unidentified Idiot Officer delivering the beer to the golf course prior to the tourney:

More Errors and a Good Forecast

Dan Martinez points out that Patrick Davey of Tennesee was third in the 1978  NCAA 10000 M. The previous post shows two photos, the first when Patrick made a break for the win near the end.  As I pointed out to Dan, errors are my way of garnering comments!  They are a feature of the blog, not a failure!   hee hee hee

The forecast for the Track Alumni Reunion and Coach Groves Golf Tournament has brightened immensely in the past few days.  Maybe we will have our 12th successful golf tourney in a row!

Friday:   High:  73 degrees
   Chance of rain: 10%

Saturday:  High 69 degrees
   Chance of rain: 20%




You can even just show up at our events without signing up as long as you are willing to undergo scrutiny by the IRS.  Ooops, I meant Hammer Throwers, they are much more brutal.  Seriously, we will accommodate everyone wishing to attend.

 Contact Jess Riden or The Varsity "S" Club to inquire. I hope to see you there.

Photo Submissions and Physics Goodies

Our Oregon/Southern California connection Dan Martinez noticed my earlier photo of Friend of the Group Patrick Davey from a late 70's Dogwood Relays.  He sent along these beauties from the 1978 NCAA 5000 M 10000 M where Pat placed 3rd.

Photo by Bill Killian

Patrick Davey and Joseph Nzau. Photo by Bill Killian.

Then there's this submission from Official Physicist (Nuclear Engineer!) Brian Boyer.  Here's a view from his IAEA workplace in Vienna in 2010. Brian will be attending the Alumni Reunion and will be the starter at the Alumni "Run"  He's coming from New Mexico, what's your excuse?

And here's one from the same window in 2001:

Seems Physics must foot the bill for some extensive building contracts!

And Happy 95th Birthday Richard Feynman.

Women Win B1G Ten Championship

The Men had a rough weekend at the B1G Ten Championships, where a lot of things went awry and they finished in 8th place.  So the Women made up for all of it with a performance that, although not totally unexpected, surpassed most best-case scenarios.  Event after event showcased  Penn State's overall talent.  It reminded me of our teams of old that would have won any dual meet against any competition, including teams with Renaldo Nehemiah or Don Paige as members.  Congrats to the Women's team.  I hope the Prize is on display at this week's Reunion! You can still beg, bribe and cajole entry to the whole event.  We need even horrible golfers too!

Contact Jess Riden or The Varsity "S" Club to inquire. I hope to see you there.