Brave Souls Put It All Out On The Track

These guys all braved the 48,000 spectators with each of them nursing the minor injuries that life brings.  The Penn Relays Masters 40 and Over 4 x 400M relay!



They are looking for more runners for next year's race in order to field 2 teams.  Time to start training.  And there are 50 and Over and 60 and Over divisions as well.  Just in case...

It was a tough day.  Windy and we all limped to the starting line.  Lots of excuses, but I will tell you this.  It is absolutely awesome to run around the track at the Penn Relays.  Even with my hammy screaming the entire 60 seconds, it was just good to be out there.  Attendance on Saturday was 48,000.  We can get multiple teams in there so if anyone is interested in racing next year, let me know.  You have a year.

Goal time next year is 3:50 or bust.

Coop

More Scenes From Franklin Field

Morgan Shigo, winner Hammer Throw.

RB Caldwell, Jake Bartholomy, Che Aresomena, Ken Cooper.

Bob Beamon and Tim Johnson.

Only Walt "Clyde" Frazier could outshine that oufit!

Wheel(ie) Awesome!

A Sprint Medley Relay Championship of America for the Penn State Women at Penn!

Penn State

3:45.25

Brooke-Lynn Williams, Kiara Lester, Alexis Holmes (53.0), Danae Rivers (2:04.71)

Happy 89th Birthday, Coach Groves

It is fitting that Coach Groves' birthday this year cooresponds to the starting day of the Penn Relays!
Let us honor Coach Groves by all of us doing something awesome for another person today.

Let us know what awesome thing you did via our Facebook Page or in the comments below.

Running In The Rain

Spent last weekend in Cortland NY for Daughter the Younger's track meet.  Her event was the last on the schedule and the rain held off until just as the event was to start.  During the 3rd leg, the sky opened up and poured rain like I have never seen before.  Meanwhile, Daughter the Younger was handed the baton.  The next several minutes were the definition of "deluge".

The only 2 teams who were left at the stadium were Daughter the Younger's  Hartwick Hawks and the powerful St. Lawrence team coached by Kate Curran.  Weird how circumstances still permit frequent meetings of Penn State Track Alumni (Golfers)!

Kate Curran with backpack and umbrella.

It is especially weird that 3 of the 4 owners of PSU Track Alumni rainjackets were at the meet.  Me, Gary Black and Kate Curran.

800U?

I just watched 4 heats of the Women's 800M at the SUNY Cortland track and watched 8 runners from Cornell break 2:20.  The ninth runner won the slow heat in 2:25!

Some of the Cornell women

I Was Wrong When I Said That Hazing Never Happened In PSU Track And XC!

I was always pleased that there was never hazing while I was a member of the PSU Track and XC family.  There certainly was back in 1968, though.  The shorts that the Freshman team had to endure that year for the team photo definitely qualify...

Greg Fredericks will have to chime in here, as the captions were cut off, and all I recognize is him, Coach Groves and Coach Dolan...

Memory Lane: Part 2: Coach Groves And Greg Fredericks!

So, once Coach Groves settled in and began his second XC season at PSU, he finally had Greg Fredericks as a full-fledged runner and not just a "Freshman"!

My notes:

• Father Matt Chadwick OFM Conv. in the back row!
• Coach Groves still serious
• Greg Fredericks finally a full team member!
• Friend Steve Miller (back row) from the same high school as Dick Geiger (front row)!
• Jim Dixon, from a long line of State College Dixons.
• Jim Allahand and Bruce McLanahan  RIP (Dick Geiger relates that Ralph Kissel also recently passed away.)
  

Memory Lane: Part 1

Thanks to our Course Marshall, we have pics of every Coach Groves' Cross Country team through the ages.  And since I have been posting sparsely this year, it seems that they would make an easy post that everyone will enjoy.

So here's Coach Groves' very first Cross Country team in 1968!

My notes: (please add your own!)

• Great benefactor and York County native Dick Geiger looking good!
• Coach Groves looking youthful, but serious.
• Steve Gentry with a mischevious grin!
• Long-time Lock Haven Coach Jim Dolan as Assistant Coach (Freshman Coach)
• Assistant Coach Warren Coleman (PSU's first ever African American Coach!) 
• I didn't see group member Phil Peterson at first!!  Sorry about that.

This Is Refreshing To See

Like the days of yore, 1970s to 1980s, there were a whole lot of distance runners in a race this past weekend.  Times have changed, but back in the day, Coach Groves was willing to work with anyone with the desire.  He had very large numbers of distance runners at any one time.  Walk-ons vastly outnumbered the recruited ranks.  So,often in early season meets especially, there would be 10 or more PSU-clad runners in any race.  Often all the races had that many Lions participating.

With budget constraints, lawyerly constraints and Title IX constraints, many distance races nowadays have no Nittany Lions in them.

But not this past weekend!  There were 11 Lions in the 1500M at the Bucknell Meet.  With some rather good times, considering we have to call it an early season meet.  Six Lions finished with times the equivalent of 4:02 to 4:06!  Colin Abert led the pack with a second place finish in 3:44.72.


2 Abert, Colin Penn State 3:44.72I 4 
3 Maher, Drew Penn State 3:44.88I 4  
5 Abrahams, James Penn State 3:45.71I 4 
9 Wing, Owen Penn State 3:46.18I 4  
10 Hontz, Brandon Penn State 3:46.54I 4  
13 Claiborne, Isaiah Penn State 3:47.88I 3
34 McDevitt, Billy Penn State 3:52.49I 4
53 Claiborne, Elijah Penn State 3:56.65 2 
55 Barton, Ryan Penn State 3:57.07 3
-- Ashenfelter, William Penn State DNF 4  
-- Delisle, Hudson Penn State DNF 3 

And I made it to my Daughter the Younger's meet in upstate New York over the weekend.  She has dabbled in the Steeplechase so far and continues her PR in every race she has run this year!  Her hurdling was the very finest of all the competitors and the water jump hasn't flummoxed her yet. This was her worst effort of the 7!

A Nice Poem About Coach Groves

Poems from Life with Juniper Village is a project developed in partnership between the Pennsylvania Center for the Book and Juniper Village Senior Living at Brookline to share and celebrate the lives of Juniper residents with original, individualized poems presented by local poets.

And you thought the only poem involving Coach Groves would be a limerick!

Thanks to our Course Marshall, here is the first peek at this year's entry for Coach Groves written by Mary Rohrer Dann.  She seems to have gotten things right.

Time To Get Those Clubs Out Of The Garage!

Every year there is another problem when I try to locate my golf clubs in the garage for my one yearly thrashing of the old Elks Club Course in State College.  The 18th Annual Track/XC Reunion and Coach Groves Tourney is only 1 month away!

• One year the bag was filled with Stink Bugs.
• Another year the bag had deteriorated into nothingness.
• And still worse, a bird had built a nest in it, with all the accompanying mess.

So go check yours out!  We need you on the course this year.  Especially those of you in the younger set.  (Those who can actually still golf!)

All the Information Here

The King Is Dethroned Again

But a Penn State Track and Field Alumni (Golf) Big-Wig did make it to the podium this year.
Ricardo Hall won the overall title and the accolades from 207 players.  Our very own Larry Mangan was third overall and represented the Officers of the Group well.  Joe Clinton also snuck into the top 10.  Kay Warfel also performed well in 12th place.  And Mark Hawkins can take solace in the knowledge that he was able to outperform all but 1 Animal!

Thank you. Thank you, very much.

In the all important Animal division, Spott Moskowitz was again dragged down from behind by Thomas Roth Bernard.  He takes the second place with dignity and aplomb.  He almost had enough points built up to make the Final game meaningless.

Overall Top 25:

1	Dynamite, Black	148
2	Wingo, Trey	138
3	Mangan, Larry	132
4	Pritchard, Simon	129
5	Hoover, Douglas	128
6	Crescenzi, Noah	128
7	Clinton, Joe	128
8	Oliver, Ryan	124
9	Brothers, Ellie	123
10	Riter, Tony	121
11	Oliver, Emily	117
12	Warfel, Kay	117
13	Cole, Connor	115
14	Oliver, Abby	114
15	Novak, Jay	113
16	Roth, Thomas Bernard	113
17	Oliver, Steve	111
18	Hawkins, Mark	110
19	Morse, Hallie	107
20	Cole, Braden	105
21	Moskowitz, Spott	104
22	McCarthy, Dennis	103
23	Pritchard, Jonathan	103
24	Haushalter, David	102
25	Patrick, Dan	101

Elvis Never Left The Building

While we wait for the results of the Battle of the Bayou in Baton Rouge and even my Daughter the Younger's first steeplechase in upstate NY, my quest for Elvis in Las Vegas came to a glorious conclusion!

I finally met The King at the Denny's on Fremont Street in downtown Las Vegas.  And The King delivered far more than I had ever hoped for.

I had actually arranged a renewal of vows with Elvis himself as the Minister, and decided that Denny's completed the package as an All-American affair.

I cannot overstate how tremendous the whole thing was.  Spouse the Better even agreed to keep me as her Husband the Inept after 30.80 years of wedded bliss.  The fact that Elvis was there was a thrill for all of us, even Daughter the Elder, who loves Elvis because of the movie Lilo and Stitch.

I lucked into obtaining the 2018 Las Vegas Wedding Minister of the Year!  Roland August does weddings with and without his Elvis persona.  He delivered a personalized ceremony with amazing attention to detail, fabulous singing of 5 Elvis classics and entertaining poses for all the pics.  Anyone looking for a similar ceremony should definitely arrange it with the best at wwwDOTthemobileministerDOTcom.

It turns out that Spouse the Better emailed numerous friends in the past days the Katy Perry video "Waking Up in Vegas".  When our Elvis found this out, he laughed and couldn't believe it. Then he told us that he was the Elvis in that video!

And just an hour before our ceremony, way on the other end of the Strip, Jimmy Kimmel was filming a surprise wedding segment involving David Spade and Celine Dion.  Our Elvis was the minister at that ceremony seen on the show last night!  And he wasn't in his Elvis persona!

It's A Dry Heat: In Search Of Elvis

As the outdoor season progresses, it;s time to renew your vows to the team and program that helped make you the great person you have become.  You can do that by coming to the 2019 Penn State Track and Field Alumni Reunion, and even participate in the Coach Harry Groves Golf Tournament!

Great things are happening in Track and Field/XC in Happy Valley.  We need your help in augmenting the energy that is accelerating these great things.  You can find out all about it by reading this post and sending your entry fees in to Harry Smith.

Reunion and Golf Tourney Info

I already have my entry in, so I figured I would do something I have never done before.  So I cancelled a few days of work and booked a trip to Las Vegas to look for Elvis.  He hasn't called me back yet, but I hope to meet him at Denny's downtown.  I will keep you updated with the quest.