A Fuller Christmas For Everyone!

 Our William and Mary Connection and State College native, Brian Mount picked up this item from the Cumberland Valley Race Series last week. It's a great start to the Winter for the PSU Track Alumni Golfing Community.  Total domination at both distances!

10K:

      1st    32:55  Brian Fuller
      7th    36:34  Mary Fuller
     14th   42:05  Emily Fuller 
5K:

      1st    16:10  Mark Fuller 
      2nd   16:30  Kevin Fuller 
      9th    19:36  Katie Fuller

The Older We Get, The Faster We Used To Be

Our William and Mary connection, Brian Mount, sent along this news clipping from the days of yore.  This was probably results from the 1985 or 1986 White Rose 5-Miler.  I ran the flat and fast version of this in the 70's, but was already retired by the time this version came around. This is a deep field that would hold up well in any major race today!

There are a few PSU athletes listed, including brother-in-law Gary Black.  I never knew he ran in York! Some of my high school running partners ran too, including the incredible York College Grad Gary Townsend in 7th place (24:34).  He was a big part of the 1977 winning team at the Runner's World 24-Hour Relay at Fort Meade.  Mike McAndrews (25:18) was also a high school competitor.  Notice Shippensburg Coach Steve Spence (23:47) and  Inside Track running store owner Mark Amway(23:52) too!  Winner Kevin McGarry (23:35) is the brother of Nittany Lion Rick McGarry.

Penn State Track Alumni Golfers among the leaders were "Noisy" Jim Clelland (25:01), Robert "Snid" Snyder (25:13), and Gary Black (26:26).  And I've heard rumors that Zeb Stewart was there too!

A Hat-Tip To Coach Groves: Penn State Track And Field Alumni Golfers Make Great Coaches: Part 2

It was a bang up day again across the fruited plain for Coach Harry Groves' coached athletes.  Honestly, I think this has a little to do with Coach Groves himself.  He instilled a love of the sport(s) in each and every one of us.  He taught us values, organization, goal-setting, and hard work, even when we disagreed and b*tched about it among ourselves.  All of us came out of it much better off than when we entered his domain.  (Even prodigal sons are welcomed with open arms to our Group!) Here are a few of the recent coaches achieving great things on cross country courses with a little help from Coach's past tutelage:

• Coach Mark Haywood's Class A Camp Hill boys won the PIAA State title for the first time in school history. Here's his wife's thoughts on this.  I was at their wedding and did I mention it was a great affair?

  

  Mark Haywood, right.

• Coach Jayson Jackson's St. Joseph's Academy won the PIAA Class A girls title.  Jayson is another Nittany Lion I have had the pleasure to meet because of my efforts at herding cats to our Reunion and golf outing.  You should think of attending too so you can realize just how great members of our Group are! Absolutely everyone is invited to join.

  

  Jayson Jackson's St. Joseph Academy victors.

• Matt Lincoln's Chandler Wolves won the Arizona Division 1 title.  A Canadian in Arizona via Happy Valley!

  

  Matt Lincoln, right.

• The State College boys were 9th in the PIAA Class AAA race.  Coaches Steve Shisler, Dave Felice and Nick K. keep the Little Lions near the top of the game!

  

  Dave Felice, Steve Shisler and Nick K., right.

• The State College girls were 5th in the PIAA Class AAA race with Artie Gilkes and Rebecca Donaghue guiding them.

  

  Artie Gilkes, Rebecca Donaghue, left.

• Dominic Hockenberry repeated as Class A Champion and will be headed to Syracuse in the Fall.  Dominic was is coached by Bill Kvashay until his retirement this year.

  

  Bill Kvashay, left.

• Gettysburg's lone runner placed 10th in the PIAA Class AA race.  He is coached by Group Friend and William and Mary liaison Brian Mount.

  

  Brian Mount, center.

• I'm sure I missed some.  Let me know!
• John Mahoney, Assistant Coach of Central Bucks West, helped his team to 3rd in the PIAA AAA race.  (Thanks to Beth Shisler for the update!) 
• Here's an update from Tom Rapp on his season: 
  

  Hey!

   

  I wanted to bring you up to speed on our recently-concluded season. After winning the state meet last year, we stepped into this year knowing we were a bit depleted by graduation. Add in a couple of injuries and illness and basically we lost numbers 1,2 5, 6 and 7 from last year. Still we had a very successful season winning our league, district and regional (SW Ohio - one fourth of the state) meets. We scored the second lowest total ever at regionals - 35 points.

   

  We finished runner up at state to Cleveland St. Ignatius, a perennial power currently ranked #10 in the country. We actually scored 25 points less than our championship team last year but couldn't quite match St. Ignatius. In Ohio, only two teams make the podium and receive medals and trophies. We were thrilled to be one of the two. We have been on the podium three out of the last four years. I feel like this might have been my best team ever, but part of winning a championship is picking the right year to be good. Guess we didn't quite do that. We lacked a solid number one and had four different guys at that spot this year. However, our 1-5 split was usually between 15 and 25 seconds. Lots of pack running which made it fun, but sometimes hard to coach during a race because they would all zoom by at the same time - tough to give individual instructions like that.

   

  Anyway, thanks for reading.

   

  Run Happy!

   

  Tom

More Coach Jackson Horner Goodness With Strong PSU Track Alumni Ties

I especially like Coach Horner's pants...  Takes me back to smiling memories.  I once fell off a pair of platform shoes when I tripped on my bell-bottoms.

This is a photo of the 1978 PIAA Cross Country Champions.  Note the PSU Track Alumni (Golfers) connections here.

Without help, I identify Coach Horner (1950's PSU captain), Nick K. (who still is running fast miles!), Dan Draper (where is he now?), Randy Moore (of 7:11.17 4 x 800 fame!), Brian Mount (our W & M connection and honorary Track Alumni Golfer), Bob Hudson (still with ginger locks!) and last but not least, Hugh Hamill (my foursome partner at last year's tourney!)

Others include John Dixon, John Coyle and Steve Phillips.

Drip, Drip, Drip...

Fellow Alumni Golfers Brian Mount and Bill Malchano have alerted me to the abrupt elimination of the Men's and Women's Track programs, and the Men's Cross Country program at the University of North Carolina Wilmington.  Brian went to William and Mary, a fellow school in the Colonial Athletic Conference.  Bill lives in Wilmington.

Apparently, the school will keep only Women's Cross Country and add a Sand Volleyball program to come to compliance with Title IX.  Yeah, you read that right.  Track and Field is being replaced in its entirety at a Division I school by Sand Volleyball.

And I doubt this will be the last we hear of similar "decisions". And you all know I don't consider sand volleyball a sport.

It's Mega-Submission Sunday! Our Members Are the Best

As our ranks have grown, along with the enthusiasm for our purpose, I have been receiving more and more submissions for posts.  I can't tell you how great I find all of them.  I truly appreciate each and every idea, even the nasty ones that occasionally come in.

Rather than space them out and make my week's posts easier than ever, I'm going to present them all at once, like the Idiot I am.  We are truly gaining momentum and will surely have the largest and most active Track and Field Alumni Group in the World shortly.

First, let's pat ourselves on the back a little bit.  When Director of Youth Development Artie Gilkes alerted me to Elizabeth Herndon's victory and world record at the recent First Annual Beer Mile World Championships, we scooped everyone with the knowledge that she was a Penn State Track and Field Alumni (Golfer).  That's despite the fact that I couldn't immediately get a post up due to the constraints of an unfair world.  So thanks, Artie.  A job well done.  Burrrrp...

Second, our Tennessee connection, or should I say one of our Tennessee connections, Dick Geiger, brings us word that Joe Kovacs has won USATF's Al Oerter Award as Thrower of the Year!



Third, with Christmas coming there had to be some Holiday-themed runs, and our William and Mary link Brian Mount happened to be a course marshall at the Chambersburg Christmas Dash For Cash when all 3 Fullers dashed by at the front of the pack at 3 miles.  I have somehow misplaced the actual results he sent me, but will be reporting them in an addendum when I can find them.  I think he said Brian Fuller was in the lead as he blurred past.

The Winning Team, full of Fullers.

Fourth, PSU is 800 U's Steve Black finished filming an appearance as Officer Charlie in the Destination America Network presentation of "The Mill Race Monster", part of its Monsters and Mysteries Series. This will air in the Spring of 2015.  Steve has other appearances coming:

• AMC's "The Turn" episode 4.
• "Liberty or Death"  -300 appearances.

And I haven't even gotten to all of them!  Next up, A true Rusty Boots story.

Group Members Shine At PIAA District 3 Championships

Mark Haywood, now the Head Coach of the Camp Hill Cross Country teams led his team to the Boy's Team Title in the A Division.  Congrats to all!

Coach Haywood, top right.

Honorary member and William and Mary conduit Brian Mount had his Gettysburg team improve this year to 9th place, with his first boy taking second place overall.

Gettysburg XC

And Daughter the Younger's York Suburban team placed first in the Boys and Girls AA team races.  The boys dominated with a total spread of just 41 seconds.  The girls did quite well considering they were without their top runner and had 3 Freshman, 1 Sophomore and a Junior scoring.

I'll Bet Matt Will Post About the PSU NCAA Qualifiers!

But I have some exclusive pics from our friends from William and Mary of the early 1500M action. All photos of Brannon Kidder by Tim O'Dowd via Brian Mount.  Thanks, guys!

A Roundup of PSU Track Alumni News, Plus A Physics Board Game!

As a catch-up for plenty of submissions from astute readers of the blog, lurkers and other assorted miscreants, here is a mish mash of items.

First up is from Brian Mount, our William and Mary Roving Coorespondent, who "ran into" some Fuller Brothers in a race in Chambersburg.  As he put it, "The Glass was 2/3 Fuller" with Brian placing third in 31:31 and Kevin 8th in 34:07 for the 10K race.  Alas, no Alumni Singlet sightings as they are apparently sponsored now by an underwater treadmill company or stole some uniforms. Hee hee hee

Next, Phil Caraher has opened a new Fitness Enterprise in the Wonderland that is North Carolina.  I wish him the best of luck. Triangle Sports Performance Center is in good hands.

Speaking of North Carolina, Alan Scharsu recently moved from San Diego to North Carolina.  Those of you nearby need to get a hold of him and let him know he's welcome! And he promises it's close enough to make it to the Coach Groves Golf Tourney!

Tyler McCandless recently was interviewed for a Podcast about his eccentric pro running career.  Check it out here.

And as promised, here's Physics in a Board Game!  Although for most of us, it's probably just a bored game.

And don't forget to vote in the Semi-Finals of the Performance of the Year.  You must go to the full web site to see the poll on the left side-bar.  Vote for three.  The next Semi-Final will be next week and the Finals will be between Christmas and New Year.  So bookmark the site and return often!

A Steeplechasing Zombie!

There's no hope of getting away from this zombie.  She isn't the classical "slow" type of zombie, for sure!  And even if you run away over barriers and jump water hazards, she'll still catch you.  Your grandparents probably already told you that life isn't fair.

Bridget Franek for, I assume, Halloween!

Thanks to W and M's Brian Mount for the link!

Another Gem From the Past

Our William and Mary (and State College High!) connection Brian Mount sends us this great photo from the 1967 PSU Cross country Team just prior to the IC4A Meet.

Coach Lucas and the 1967 Squad.

Included in the photo is Jim Dixon (kneeling on the left) and Steve Gentry (kneeling on the right).  I especially like the Coach Lucas' Spy vs. Spy look!

More Photos Stolen From the Internet: With a Recipe to Boot

 Photo stolen from Cody Edling.  Riding a balloon is another one of those things that isn't on my "Bucket List". 

Photo stolen from Clay Shaw, who takes some of the best running photos in the world.  Let's make him an honorary Penn State Track Alumni Golfer for this one showing Kara Milhouse winning the Race for the Diamonds in Berwick on Thanksgiving Day. Check the previous post's comments for some additional Lions who own a diamond!

Clay has run a marathon on every continent and is currently completing the second marathon in every state!

And this one is for the Birthday Boy Ron Moore, who will become our group's co-Physicist when he golfs with us at this year's reunion. (?)  Photo stolen from W&M friend Brian Mount.

And here's another stolen from Brian:

But I'm from Dover Area High School, so I don't know about the evolution thing!  Just kidding people, but 1/2 my high school friends would be offended by this one.

And here's a recipe for making an Egg McMuffin at home. 

This is a photo I took myself!  It shows an actual mug given away the very first day that McDonalds sold an Egg McMuffin in 1972.*

*Invented in the late 60's by the McDonalds immortal Herb Peterson, the sandwich went nationwide in 1972.

Turkey Trots are Everywhere

(Thanks to Group Friend and W+M Alum Brian Mount for the photo!)

My family is off to the York Turkey Trot.  This year they will have more than 4,000 (4,126 to be exact.)  runners in downtown York, a place where other races are lucky to get a couple hundred.  There is something about running on Thanksgiving morning that appeals to people who normally don't think about running at all. I'll be on the treadmill again while they are out there (to the chagrin of noted New England Physicists!) keeping The Streak alive.  I have been retired from all racing since 1997, at least!  (There will be more on The Streak in the next 2 weeks.)

My finest run ever was at a Turkey Trot in Millersville in 1976.  This was a 10-miler and at the 5 mile mark I felt better than I ever had (and I suppose since!) so I picked up the pace appreciably.  I finished behind 3 others just ahead of me. 51:11 barely edges out my best 10K at PSU, where I was lapped twice by my idol Greg Fredericks.  I couldn't quite catch them in 1976 either , although I was gaining.  It turned out great anyway when I won a turkey afterward.

Other great Thanksgiving Day events are held just about everywhere.  None is better than the Run for the Diamonds in Berwick PA.  Past winners include Hannes Kolehmainen and Jim Thorpe.  Many PSU Track Alumni Golfers have won diamonds at the event.  Are you one of them?  Let us know in the comments.

Greg also shows up on the greatest Berwick Marathon of all-time! It was a duel with Pete Pfitzinger.  Greg ended up in 2nd, but it was the second fastest ever finish at the event.

  Pfitz vs. Fredericks: In Berwick’s version of Smokin’ Joe Frazier vs. Ali, the 1980 Berwick race attracted former Penn State star Greg Fredericks who had once set an American record for 10,000 meters and up-and-coming Cornell grad Pete Pfitzinger. Pfitzinger (who went on to represent the U.S. in two Olympic marathons) hammered the climb to Summer Hill (a 5:36 mile from two to three!), with Fredericks attempting to stay close. “I made a move just when a helicopter was close overhead and I could not hear Greg,” Pfitzinger remembers. “But I just kept pushing as hard as I could…” Pfitzinger’s incredible time of 43 minutes, 21 seconds was the end result. It is still the course record, with Fredericks’s 43:41 holding steady as the second-best Berwick blast in history.

And let's not forget PSU Track Alumni Great Horace Ashenfelter III's Thanksgiving Day 8K Classic in Glen Ridge NJ. Anyone ever run this one too?

Addendum: Kara Milhouse won a diamond today in Berwick! (Next step: Get her to golf with us!)

 

Here's another one!

 

Check-Ins From Our Expanding World

We've had many people check in with us recently, and I would be remiss if I didn't acknowledge some of them.  Our world is getting bigger and bigger as we attempt to garner the interest of all 1,500 living members of the Penn State Track and Field and Cross Country universe.  That's second only to the living members of the Football Team.  So it is easily in our grasp to attain our goal of the largest and most active track alumni group in the world.

First up is the beautiful set of twins Ian McCann happens to be friends with.  Dog Friends are the best friends anyone could ask for.  Ian likely won't be able to attend our Reunion in May 2012, but sends his regards to Coach Groves and adds his dogs to our Dog Slide Show on the right sidebar.  Remember, I'm always looking for more dogs.  (The occasional cat and chicken has also made the grade.)  I failed to find out the dogs' names, but I will update them when available.  Update:  The dogs are Gizmo and Gnomes.  Welcome to the wonderful, wacky world of PSU Track Alumni Golf!

We also had a check-in from our friends at William and Mary.  State College native and WaM Track alum Brian Mount posed with fellow podiatrist and WaM Track alum Ira Meyers before the recent Rock-N-Roll Half Marathon in Philly.  That's them on the "Rocky" steps.  I'll attempt to get Brian to return for next year's golf outing and bring some WaM alums with him to join Coach Steve Walsh in attempting to get their name on the Harry Groves Memorial Cup.  I'm pretty sure it pleases Coach Groves immensely when William and Mary remembers him fondly.

Catching Up on Submissions

I have been remiss in keeping up with submissions from my "tens" of readers!  (Actually we achieved 100 readers a day last month, and have soared to the top 100 web sites in Central Pennsylvania!)

Recent Hall of Honor inductee and Morale Officer Larry Mangan brings us this great news from The Bahamas.  It seems that the presidency of Mike Sands has propelled Bahamas Track and Field to historic levels.  Mike is on a short list of PSU stars that we desire to entice to our Golf Tourney.  We also would love to visit him at his home for a Winter "practice" tourney.

My sister Susan brings us this great Wrist Band Photo from the recent Arts Festival Weekend.

And speaking of Wrist Bands, here's a great one from honorary member Brian Mount, mixing our 2010 version with a new William and Mary wrist band.  With W and M's Head Coach Stephen Walsh joining us the past two years, we must have Brian bring a few friends along for next year's tourney to trade wrist bands.