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| The top of the podium. |
But Cas's performance was equaled by Brannon Kidder on the Left Coast at the Payton Jordan Invitational in Palo Alto. Brannon snagged the #1 time in the NCAA this year in the 800M with his 1:45.58, making him the #2 PSU performer of the event all-time, passing #3 Randy Moore (1:45.96) and just behind the aforementioned #1 Cas Loxsom (1:45.28).
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| Premiere middle distance coach John Gondak greets Brannon Kidder after the race. |
That wasn't all in the PSU performance category for 5/2/2015 either! Robby Creese just happened to run the #2 performance in the NCAA this year with his 3:39.02 1500M placing him at #3 all-time at PSU with the familiar names of #1 Brannon Kidder (3:38.82), #2 Steve Balkey (3:38.99) and #4 Larry Mangan (3:39.25).
And Tori Gerlach became only the 2nd PSU Woman under 10:00 for the 3000M Steeplechase with her 9:57.47! #6 in the NCAA this year.
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| #2 Tori Gerlach and #1 Bridget Franek. |
Had the chance to see the Jordan meet live in sunny Palo Alto over the weekend. The track was stocked with plenty of talent and the stands were filled with Asics Aggies -young and old. The old guys were around long enough to have been sponsored by Converse then Reebok in their long and storied history. My connection to that group is through my cousin Joe Mangan (2:19 marathoner in the early 80s).
ReplyDeleteWas able to see Tori Gerlach dip under 10 (the second Lady Lion to do so, as has been accurately - miraculously - reported by the head Idiot) in the steeple with an excellent effort that saw her thread her way over barriers and through the field to finish strongly.
Then after a few 800 heats we got to see a barn burner in the final section. Brannon Kidder came off the final turn looking like he was headed for the win but just barely missed as he notched a PSU #2 all-time 800 mark.
In section 2 of the 1500, which turned out to be the fastest heat, Robby Creese stormed to the front to grab the race by the throat and make a bid from slightly more than 400 to go. He had a nice gap coming off the last turn but was edged down the stretch. He also improved on his standing from #5 to #3 on the all-time 1500 list (relegating this poster to #4). A mere three-quarters of a second now separates #1 from #5, so it's some pretty sporty company we're all keeping.
So it was nice to head West and enjoy the weather and the running. It was also a chance to see that Joe Douglas, of SMTC fame, is still attending meets and that U of O track coaches don't become canis lupus under a fool moon! LTM