This was the same event which featured a great duel between Craig Virgin and Nick Rose, with Craig taking the title with a big finish.
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You'll notice that there was a top 5 finish for PSU with a great run by Paul Stemmer in 28:58! In fact, Penn State finished 4th overall in the team standings. Glancing through the results reveals some great names from the past littered throughout:
- Paul Cummings of Brigham Young in 7th 29:02
- David Merrick of Penn in 9th 29:05
- Herb Lindsay of Michigan State, 12th 29:10
- Tony Staynings of Western Kentucky, 13th 29:12
- John Treacy of Providence, 21st 29:19
- Bill Donakowski of Michigan, 23rd, 29:19
- Greg Meyer of Michigan, 29th 29:30
- Niall O'Shaughnessy of Arkansas, 38th 29:39
- Henry Marsh, Brigham Young, 77th 30:05
- Kenneth Wilson, Penn State, 80th 30:08
- George Christopher, Penn State, 125th 30:30 (PSU Marathon Record Holder)
- Craig Masback, Princeton, 143rd 30:40
- Walt Majak, Penn State, 144th 30:41 (fellow podiatrist and PCPM grad.)
- Ronald Secord, Penn State, 222nd, 31:28
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| Craig Virgin, Illinois and Nick Rose, Western Kentucky. |
When I related my PSU (shallow!) roots, he became quite animated and related that the 1975 NCAA XC race was one of his fondest running memories. He really enjoyed his stay at the Nittany Lion Inn and marveled that he was able to wake up early for a shake out run after just crossing Atherton Street to the golf course. Thank goodness he didn't sprain his ankle on the exposed roots!
But what he was most happy about was the reception that Coach Groves gave him during and after the race. Craig related that in all the races he ran all over the world, the only one where he received a gift and hand-written letter afterward was from Coach Groves. Craig framed the letter and has kept the Lion statuette that Coach sent him all these years. (I have lost mine BTW) I'll keep trying to get Craig to attend a Coach Groves Golf Tourney as a surprise for Coach.
Thanks so much for including me in your PSU track/X-C team blog. I do have a fondness for the PSU cross country course and those championships held so many, many years ago... almost another lifetime, it seems. Who wouldn't if it was their only NCAA gold medal... after being the first American in 7 other NCAA races but never winning. I could certainly relate to Chris Derrick's results at Stanford but he will be a "good one" before his career is over, trust me! Does anyone have film, video,or photos from that meet as Coach Groves can't find his? Finally, I will mention that Bruce Springsteen's first album had released that fall....and in 1975 I had a portable 8-track tape player (yes, Martha, I did say 8-track!) with me at the Nittany Lion Inn and blasted that tape endlessly in my room at the Inn before going across the street to the meet. "Born to Run" was my theme song for the day...altho "Thunder Road" was a close 2nd! It worked! Thanks for reawakening all the nice memories. Hard to believe that we are in the same conference, now! Best to all, Craig
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8 Track Tape had the best sound of any recorded medium. Except for the "click" in the middle. (And I have even heard the wax cylinders played on a Victrola from my grandfather's attic.) And my wife and brothers-in-law will both burst into singing mode when "Thunder Road" is played anywhere.
ReplyDeleteSeeing Craig post on here brought back another memory for me from my running days - and just like the Phi Psi, this one is connected with Beer Drinking. This one goes back to 1979 when my good friend, and local State College radio personality, Tod Jeffers, and I would used 10K road races as an excuse to travel a bit. For three years running we headed to Atlanta for the Peachtree Road Race.
ReplyDeleteAs was typical for us, our objective was to have a fun time and not worry too much about the running. So at about 1 am the night before the race, Tod and I found ourselves in a bar called Harrison's, which coincidentally happened to be on Peachtree Street at almost exactly the mid-point of the race. Tod and I struck up a conversation with the bartender - he had noticed our "accents" and asked us what were doing in town. We said we came to run in the race and he looked as us with a bit of skepticism saying "doesn't that start at 8 am tomorrow morning?" We confirmed the start time and then asked if they were open during the race because we liked to stop for beers while we were running. This brought on an even more incredulous look on his face and he replied "I hadn't planned on it, but if you are serious, I'll open just for you." We assured him we were dead serious.
The next morning Tod and I just jogged along at our normal 7 minute pace making sure as we neared Harrison's that we worked our way over to the right side of the street (Peachtree was a six lane road that was absolutely packed shoulder to shoulder with a mob of people since they ahd 50,000 in the race). As we neared the bar, the bartender spotted us, waved and parted the bystanders so we could get off the road, then proceeded to unlock the bar to let us in. Tod and I stepped inside, had a couple of beers as we watched Craig Virgin win the race on TV, then rejoined the masses in time to complete the race and get our tee-shirts.
Scene shifts to one year later when Tod and I return to Atlanta for the 1980 Peachtree. Naturally, we had to Harrison's for some celebrating the night before the race. What do we find? Signs all over the bar announcing that they will be open during the race and will serve nickel beers for runners. LOL. The next day, when we got there during the race, there were about 8-10 runners lined up and the bar enjoying a cold one. Little did we know we were going to start a bit of a Peachtree tradition. Thank you Craig for bringing back those memories.
A bit of a follow-up regarding the 1979 race. The women's winner that year was a then unknown high school runner out of New Zealand who took a bit of a bypass to Atlanta on her way from New Zealand to State College where she would have a successful career running for PSU - Heather Carmichael.
I still have the mittens Heather made for me for Christmas 1979.
ReplyDeleteJust to bring this full circle, Heather wound up living in my buddy's cottage on Locust Lane by Phi Psi, which is where I would stay when I came back for the Phi Psi 500 races.
ReplyDeleteBeing a manager for coach Groves was a tremendous learning experience. Can't tell you how many hours we spent walking that course with a wheel and then getting it ready with stakes , lines and chute !
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