Monday, September 30, 2019
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!
Labels:
Brannon Kidder
Friday, September 27, 2019
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.
Labels:
Clark Haley,
Gary Black
Tuesday, September 24, 2019
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
Labels:
Brannon Kidder,
Darrell Hill,
Joe Kovacs,
Michael Shuey
Tuesday, September 17, 2019
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!
Labels:
John Evans
Monday, September 16, 2019
Sunday, September 15, 2019
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
The principle scoring runners were a powerful collection of all American born and raised, regional talent.
Friday, September 13, 2019
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 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
Wednesday, September 11, 2019
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
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
Labels:
Darrell Hill,
James Carney,
Joe Kovacs,
Michael Shuey
Monday, September 9, 2019
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....
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. |
Labels:
Bob Hudson,
Robby Creese
Friday, September 6, 2019
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!
Tuesday, September 3, 2019
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.
Labels:
Karl Tewold,
Mike Sands
Monday, September 2, 2019
Penn State Track Alumni Road Records
* Marathon 2:12:23 George Malley(77) 1981?
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