Tuesday, February 28, 2012

How Could Anyone Mistake Renaldo Nehemiah for Don Paige?

Not really!  It was an honest mistake. I confused two unrelated meets in my fetid Freshman mind. I was injured at the time because of a freak fencing accident.  No kidding either.  It was the worst injury of my running career, and I've had them all.  So when I "remembered" the big dual meet with the Villanova Wildcats, it was actually The ACC Champion Maryland Terrapins.  And it wasn't even a dual meet, it was a Tri-meet with the Pittsburgh Panthers too!  (Villanova did visit State College for the Penn State Open also, so I guess that's where I remember Don Paige, Mark Belger and Anthony Tufariello.)

That's Bob Snyder winning the 800 M race, with Mike Wyatt coming in second.  Bob also won the 1500 M just 45 minutes before the 800.  That's PSU Track Alum Golfer Bill Sheskey  in 5th place, but I'll bet he got 4th at the tape!

Renaldo Nehemiah dazzled the crowd in every race he won, but it wasn't enough to keep the more highly ranked Terrapins from losing a tight meet with the gritty Nittany Lions on the "home field" at the Westerly Parkway Junior High School!

It all came down to the pole vault in a light drizzle, and the Maryland vaulters couldn't come near their 17 ft. PR's. The PSU vaulter Bob Hottle, who topped out at his own PR of 15 feet, clinched the meet for the Lions.

Other notable events in the meet were:

  1. Larry Mangan winning the waterless steeplechase in 9:05, with Ray Krombel and Campbell Lovett coming in second and third.
  2. Paul Lankford was a double winner in the 100 M and Mile Relay.
  3. Gary Williky won the Discus and was second in the Shot Put.
  4. Coach Groves was quoted as saying "It was good to beat them."

3 comments:

  1. The McConnellsburg Menace cutting a Coatesville mug!!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. The waterless steeple was scarier than one with water. Because the Jr High didn't have a water jump, the simply put a flight of regular hurdles on the track - backwards. LTM

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  3. I remember that meet as they were building the new stadium......
    Tests the memory of us older folks.....
    later that year we had Al Oerter and Art Swarts compete in a summer meet at that same field.

    WOW great stuff

    ReplyDelete

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