Our First Semi-Final Poll On 2017 Performance Of The Year

2017 was a phenomenal year for the Penn State Track and Field Alumni Universe. there were literally hundreds of great things happening.  This triggered an unprecedented number of nominations to our Performance of the Year Awards.  I have had to combine numerous entries to narrow the field down, there were so many!

Vote for your top three in this semi-final poll on the left sidebar of the full web site! 

Remember, we want to hear from you at any time on submissions for this annual award.  There is a place on the right sidebar of the full web site (not on mobile devices!) to submit anything you find to be worthy at any time. 

Previous winners of the Award:

• 2016 - Joe Kovacs - Silver Medal Olympic Shot Put
• 2015 -  Joe Kovacs - IAFF World Champion Shot Put
• 2014 - Brannon Kidder - School Record 1500M  (3:38.3)
• 2013 - Penn Relays DMR Championship of America (Brannon Kidder, Brandon Bennett-Green, Casimir Loxsom, Robby Creese)
• 2012 - Bridget Franek - Finals of Olympic Steeplechase

Semi-Final 1 Nominations for 2017 Performance of the Year: (Vote for your top three! on the left sidebar)

• Andrew Sell transitions from the Club Team to #3 runner on the XC team at the Big Ten Championships.
• Darrell Hill wins IAFF Diamond League Shot Put Championships.
• Tori Gerlach 3rd at NCAA Steeplechase.
• John Gondak - Mens Big Ten Outdoor Track Coach of the Year.
• Brannon Kidder and Casimir Loxsom - World Champions at IAFF 4 x 800M Relay.
• Danae Rivers - 3rd at NCAA Mile.
• Best ever combined Indoor finish by Mens (2nd) and Womens (1st) teams.
• Danae Rivers and Isaiah Harris - Big Ten 800M Champions Indoor
• World Record and Collegiate Record in 600M by Casimir Loxsom and Isaiah Harris at Penn State National.
• Tessa Barrett School Record 3000M. 
• Michael Shuey 3rd at NCAA and Olympic Trials Javelin.
• Solo Womens DMR results in School Record and NCAA Qualifier.

I Like This F-Troop Success Story Even More Now With The Mention Of Physics!

"I guess initially I applied to Penn State because my physics professor is an alumnus and the application was easy."

-Andrew Sell

Got a little bit of a response from the previous post about the significant contributions to PSU Track and Field/XC that walk-ons have made over the years.  I have told my story briefly before, but may expand upon it for a future post.  But what I'm looking for is stories from everyone else about their walk-on experiences with Coach Groves! Every interaction with Coach is memorable.

Andrew Sell's Story 

Celebrating Walk-Ons Is A Penn State Tradition

In the years prior to my matriculation, they were known as the F-Troop.  But in reality PSU has a long history of walk-ons making a big splash for the team.  Maybe some of you can give our Interns some stories about walk-on successes.

No coach could have been more accepting of walk-ons than Coach Groves himself.  He literally was willing to coach anyone willing to put in the work, regardless of ability.  Probably half of our membership are in this class, and it does nothing but make our Group and the Program better.

With the advent of Title IX restrictions, monetary constraints, legal constraints etc., there are fewer and fewer walk-ons and F-Troop members on the rolls.  The Club Program at PSU is also very strong and filled to the brim with talent.

And I was alerted to this in a comment on the last post...

PSU's third finisher Andrew Sell was unfamiliar to me. I checked the PSU XC roster and he is not listed. A web search indicates that he was a member of PSU's club XC team. Pretty impressive to step up from the club team to the varsity and finish third for the team and 39th overall. I'm surprised that Andrew's performance hasn't received any coverage. Perhaps someone from the PSU XC staff would like to comment.

I tip my PSU XC cap (given to me by our esteemed Golden Putter Attendant!) to Andrew and hope to learn more about this in the coming weeks.