PSU Is 800U: World Championships

Brannon Kidder came oh so close to making the Finals in the 800 in Doha.  His time of  1:45.62 was tenth best in the semi-finals.

He will end up 11th in the overall standings as fellow American and rising star Bryce Hoppel advanced to the 8 man final with a 3rd place finish in his heat with a 1:45.95.

Brannon ends the loooooong season as only one of 4 men to have had qualifying times in both the 800M and 1500M events for the World Championships.  Way to go Brannon!

The Founder Of Our Group Never Even Missed Me

1981 was the first year after my graduation from Dear Ole State, and yet the PSU XC world continued on.

In fact, the future Founder of our Group, Clark Haley, started that year and probably never even heard of me for quite some time.  Gary Black probably let him in on my existence at some point, and he probably promptly forgot about it.

I only became a member of the group at the first ever Alumni Golf Tourney in 2002 because Gary made me go with him.  The rest of the crew were all well known to Clark Haley. Since then we have spread the group to all years and both (should I say all?) genders.

It's Mid-Season For XC, And There Still Is Track!!!

The early cross country season is over.  The tune-up meets and time trials are long gone.  We move on to the meat of the season getting ready for the championship season.

And yet there is still one more Track Meet to go.  The biggest in the world for 2019.   Schedule HERE

And the Nittany Lions have 4 Men representing us in Doha, Qatar starting on Friday:

• Joe Kovacs                Shot Put     Starting Thursday, October 3
• Darrell Hill                Shot Put                       "
• Brannon Kidder        800M        Starting  Saturday, September 28
• Michael Shuey           Javelin      Starting  Saturday, October 5

XC Season/Track Season, Duck Season/Rabbit Season:

 

The Smile Is Infectious!

Calling All Able-Bodied XC Alums!

John Evans has alerted me that entries are being accepted for the 2019 USATF Club XC National meet at Lehigh.  Get a team or two together and represent!

Penn State Track Alums Are Everywhere

A gaggle of Track Alums visit Coach Gondak at Pitt tailgate.

PSU Is 800U at "The Match"

Just About Everyone Other Than Coach Groves Thinks This Was His Best XC Team

Coach Groves had a sweet spot for the 1979 XC team that finished third at the NCAA Championships.  The 1980 XC team also finished third, but was only 1 point out of second.  That was his best XC finish of his 38 year PSU career.

Several Group Officers have come to the conclusion that Coach slightly preferred the 1979 team solely because of the captain that year, "Noisy" Jim Clelland.  I'm not sure about that but we all certainly love Jim. It was great to hear from him recently after a few years and his southern move.

Nearly everyone else feel that this 1980 team was the best team of the Groves era.  I'm not going to argue, as I love both of

those teams. What a wonderful team to be a part of. (sic)

The principle scoring runners were a powerful collection of all American born and raised, regional talent.

Now Let's Rank The Penn State Mens Alumni Road Records *Updated*

There aren't as many events for the road records, so I will attempt to get them done without the Interns.  Again, we will use the IAAF Ranking Tables from the latest addition in 2017.

1.   10 Miles                  Greg Fredericks                 46:10*              1981     1139
      10 Miles                  George Malley                     47:02                1981      1091
2.   Half Marathon        George Malley                  1:01:43               1982     1122
3.   Marathon                 James Carney                   2:12:23              2012     1119 
3.   Marathon                 George Malley                   2:12:23              1985      1119
7.   20K                         George Malley                      58:35              1982      1112
9.   10K                         Tyler McCandless                29:27               2013      1006
       10K                         James Carney                     28:19                2009      1112
8.   15K                         James Carney                       43:31               2009      1101

5.   25K                         Tyler Mc Candless            1:15:24              2018     1088
6.   30K                         John Ziegler                      1:32:17              1980     1085 


10. 30K Race Walk       Steve Hayden                    1:32:06             1970       972
11. 50K Race Walk       Steve Hayden                    4:23:22              1972        943

*  Short Course Trevira Twosome

Additional:
        8K                          James Carney                   22:52                  2008       N/A
       12K                        Alan Scharsu                    34:54                  1985        N/A

Another Intern Has Been Sacked: The Updated Penn State Track and Field Alumni Outdoor Records For Each Event Rated By The IAAF Scoring Tables

Yeah, it was an honest mistake.  The IAAF Scoring Tables are confusing and the Intern forgot that there were both Male and Female Charts.  So when he looked up the 10000M record of James Carney, he somehow used the Female table, giving him many more points.  The time still ranks 4th in the updated standings.  Not too shabby.

The Intern involved has been sacked according to tradition.  But don't fear, he easily found a paid-for gig with the current Administration in Washington.  I think he's in charge of entitlements or something.  No harm, no foul.

That means my suspicion all along was correct.  The shot put mark of Joe Kovacs back in 2017 is the top mark.  At the time, it was the longest throw in many years.  And has been topped only once since then.  We'll see what he can do at the World Championships.  And Darrell Hill's recent throw to win The Match against Europe is only a little behind!  Michael Shuey also moved up with his recnt javelin toss at The Match.




1.  Joe Kovacs            2017 2019       Shot Put       74' 0.25" 75' 2"(22.91M)   1275 1335
2.  Knut Hjeltnes       1985                Discus          228' 5"  (69.62M)      1238
3.  Casimir Loxsom   2015                800M            1:44.92                     1176
4.  James Carney         2007              10000M         27:34.62                   1172
5.  Brannon Kidder    2019                1500M          3:35.27                     1171
6.  Barney Ewell        1948                100M            10.1 (ht)                   1170
7.  Mike Shine           1976                400M IH      49.30                         1159
7.  George Malley     1978                 3000M SC   8:21.72                      1159
8.  Lennart Hedmark  1973                Decathlon     8,188 pts.                 1155
9.  Casimir Loxsom  2013                600M            1:14.84                    1154
10. Mike Shuey         2019                 Javelin          273' 0"  (83.21M)    1147
11.  Mike Sands         1975                200M             20.5                         1141
12.  George Adu        1999                 Long Jump    25' 10.75" (7.89M) 1114
13.  Larry Mangan     1983                Mile               3:56.90                    1113
13.  Alan Scharsu       1985                3000M           7:50.40                    1113
14.  Mike Sands         1976                 400M             46.01                       1111
15.  Mike Shine          1979                110M HH       13.80                      1103
16.  James Carney      2008                5000M           13:31.61                  1097
17.  Casimir Loxsom  2014                1000M           2:19.16                   1092
18.  Ricardo Hall        1995                Triple Jump    53' 7.75" (16.22M) 1082
19.  Dave Kriz            1996                High Jump      7' 0.75" (2.15M)    1046
20.  Dave Masgay       1987                Pole Vault      16' 8.75"                 1021
21.  Alvin Jackson      1979                Hammer         211' 11" (64.60M)   957    

Last Chance to Order An Alumni Singlet or Alumni T-Shirt

Kickoff of the Pitt/Penn State football game on Saturday will conclude this year's Alumni Singlet and T-Shirt sale expertly managed by Mark Hawkins.

You know you need one.  You know you want one.  So, get off the couch and order one....

HERE

Read all about them and then order one to join the 300 or so of us sporting them around the globe!

Robby Creese dons his Singlet and runs with the lead pack at the Dolan Duals!

Bob Hudson sports a fine look for the Buffalo game.

Ranking of All-Time Best Outdoor Performances of Penn State Track Alumni*

* Performances after PSU eligibility has expired.

The IAAF, or whatever they call themselves now, has a ranking system that can be used to gauge performances across Track and Field times and distances.  This system is very useful, but is only one way to interpret Athletic performances across all the disciplines.

While these tables can never be a definitive measurement of the level of performance
considering the differing opinions among sports statisticians concerning their basis and
method of construction, they do allow us to consistently measure and compare athletes and their performances across the rich variety of event disciplines.

So, I combined our previous compilation of the Event Record Holders in each discipline with the IAAF Scoring Tables.  The results are sometimes surprising.

1.  James Carney       2007                10000M       27:34.64                    1386
2.  Joe Kovacs           2017                Shot Put       74' 0.25"  (22.57M)   1275
3.  Knut Hjeltnes       1985                Discus          228' 5"  (69.62M)      1238
4.  Casimir Loxsom   2015                800M            1:44.92                     1176
5.  Brannon Kidder    2019                1500M          3:35.27                     1171
6.  Barney Ewell        1948                100M            10.1 (ht)                   1170
7.  Mike Shine           1976                400M IH      49.30                         1159
7.  George Malley     1978                 3000M SC   8:21.72                      1159
9.  Lennart Hedmark  1973                Decathlon     8,188 pts.                 1155
10.  Casimir Loxsom  2013                600M            1:14.84                    1154
11.  Mike Sands          1975                200M            20.5                         1143
12.  Mike Shuey         2019                 Javelin          271' 10"  (82.85M) 1141
13.  George Adu        1999                 Long Jump    25' 10.75" (7.89M) 1114
14.  Larry Mangan     1983                Mile               3:56.90                    1113
14.  Alan Scharsu       1985                3000M           7:50.40                    1113
16.  Mike Sands         1976                 400M             46.01                       1111
17.  Mike Shine          1979                110M HH       13.80                      1103
18.  James Carney      2008                5000M           13:31.61                  1097
19.  Casimir Loxsom  2014                1000M           2:19.16                   1092
20.  Ricardo Hall        1995                Triple Jump    53' 7.75" (16.22M) 1082
21.  Dave Kriz            1996                High Jump      7' 0.75" (2.15M)    1046
22.  Dave Masgay       1987                Pole Vault      16' 8.75"                 1021
23.  Alvin Jackson      1979                Hammer         211' 11" (64.60M)   957       

Comments appreciated!                       

Mike Sands Is OK!

Well, really, he is great!


Karl Tewold finally received an email from Coach Groves' foster son and PSU Track Alumni Great Mike Sands in the Bahamas.  Many people were quite afraid for Mike, but luckily he is in the relatively less affected Southern Bahamas.

Hey Karl,
It's been awhile. Good to hear from you.
Thanks for reaching out and your expressions of concern.
Except for high winds, rain and intermittent power outages, we here in Nassau have fortunately been spared the brunt of Dorian's compact, for which we are thankful.

Fortunately, the same cannot be said for our sister Islands of Grand Bahama and Abaco, which are the second and third most populous Islands following New Providence(Nassau).
Despite the devastation we, as a faith based country, are thankful and confident that the sun will rise upon The Bahamas, again!!🙏
Please convey my thanks appreciation to all.  

My love and regards to Gwen an all.

Penn State Track Alumni Road Records

Here is the final listing from Matt Groves' research.  As with the Indoor and Outdoor Records, we are looking for any updates that are available!

                                                      *  Marathon         2:12:23         George Malley(77)      1981?