Previous Performance of the Year Winners

Don't forget to vote in this year's version of the Performance of the Year Poll on the left side of the full web site!

This marks the 6th year of the poll.  I'm not sure why it took me 3 years until I started doing it.

• 2011 - Caitlin Lane - Big Ten Cross Country victory.
• 2012 - Bridget Franek - Finals of the Olympic 3000M Steeplechase.
• 2013 - Penn Relays Distance Medley Relay Championship of America.  (Brannon Kidder, Brandon Bennett-Green, Casimir Loxsom, Robbie Creese)
• 2014 - Brannon Kidder - School Record 1500M.
• 2015 - Joe Kovacs - Shot Put World Championship.

First Annual Tracktown Series A Modest Success

The team concept of the event (San Fransisco, New York, Portland and Philadelphia) was unique and fun for the athletes, but only 3,000 or so fans showed up.  ESPN covered the competition, but because of the time difference, it was on too late for me.

Penn State was represented by Casimir Loxsom running the 800M for the New York team and Bridget Franek running the 3000M Steeple for the Portland faction.  Although Darrell Hill was drafted by Philadelphia, his Olympic berth apparently interfered.

Next year, organizer Vin Lananna hopes the "Series" will hold dual meets in the various cities (including Franklin Field in Philly!) and culminate with another Final in Eugene.  I'm not sure how the refurbishment of Hayward Field will affect that.

1	Erik Sowinski		San Francisco	1:45.38
2	Duane Solomon		Portland	1:45.66
3	Harun Abda		San Francisco	1:45.77
4	Matthew Centrowitz		New York	1:47.17
5	Casimir Loxsom		New York	1:48.17

1	Stephanie Garcia		New York	9:39.81
2	Ashley Higginson		New York	9:42.52
3	Shalaya Kipp		Philadelphia	9:45.05
4	Bridget Franek		Portland	9:45.99

Creese Advances: Five Lions In Action In Eugene

There were Nittany Lions on the track and in the field yesterday at the USATF Olympic Trials.

• Rachel Fatherly - 22nd in the Shot Put  (50' 8")
• Brian Leap - 15th in the Triple Jump  (52' 6 1/2")
• Bridget Franek - 6th in the 3000M Steeplechase  (9:33.51)
• Robby Creese - advanced to 1500M Semi-finals  (3:42.89) (7:12PM ET) 
• Evonne Britton - 22nd in the 100M Hurdles (13.13)

Steeplers In The News

Jayson Jackson reminded me of the great article in The Penn Stater magazine about Horace Ashenfelter III. Thanks, Jayson!  I know we have featured Horace many times, and even included video of his 1952 gold medal race, but the link gave us a short clip of his last barrier leap before crossing the finish line. And his clearance of the barrier would not earn a gold medal for style, but once over it, it no longer mattered!

 “He almost forgot to jump over it,” remembers his wife, Lillian.

Today's steeple finals will include 2012 Olympic finalist Bridget Franek, attempting to complete her "comeback".   10:48PM (ET)

And here's a pic of former PSU Rugby's Dane Rauschenberg (and honorary member!) wearing his Alumni Singlet for the first time in a Half Marathon!   He is a great ambassador for our sport and Penn State!

Back On The Track With Barriers

Bridget Franek stepped back on the track for the first time in the steeplechase this year at the Valley Royals T & F Club in Vancouver and came away with the victory (9:49.37).

A Day For Blogging, And A Little Podiatry Thrown In

With the monumental snow still snarling most of York, I am here at "work" mostly twiddling my thumbs and waiting for the occasional patient.  This gives me time for what I really enjoy... Blogging about Track and Field and motivating other alums into attending our Reunion and Golf Tourney.

Efforts are already underway to expand upon the 800U meme that has acquainted us with Olympic Silver Medalist Yevgeni Arzhanov.  Phil Passen's embrace of "the beautiful sport" led him to Yevgeni and Phil is efforting to expand upon his brief reply to our questions previously posted!

And the string of Phil to Yevgeni has extended further, with Once Upon a Time In the Vest's George Brose getting me in touch with Sid Sink, All-American Steeplechaser and roommate of Dave Wottle at Bowling Green University.  I am about to message Dave in hopes he will also accept an honorary membership in our Alumni Group with Sid, as Bowling Green no longer even has a team!  This could lead to some great discussion on training and its changes over the years and hopefully more.  Keep your fingers crossed!

It turns out that Sid Sink was the coach of both of Bridget Franek's parents (Tom & Rosalie Franek) at Bowling Green.  It is no wonder that he describes her parents as "very good distance runners". Here's a couple of articles about Sid (and Dave Wottle), our latest Honorary Member!

Retired coach was world-class runner at BGSU

The Age of Innocence 

Murph Byrne, Bob McComber, Sid Sink, Rick Schnittker, Dave Wottle & Steve Danforth

 

 

Chief Laundry and Morale Officer Larry Mangan also is quite pleased with our latest couple of posts.  He relates that news of Yevgeni completes a weird trifecta involving him and each of the 1972 Olympic 800M medalists.  He was recruited by Dave Wottle at Walsh College and had the pleasure of occasional distance runs with Mike Boit while in Eugene, Oregon. 

I am literally astounded how almost every one of us is linked to each other in this glorious world of Track and Field, despite many miles and even time itself!

The Final Listing Of The Greatest Penn State Womens Cross Country Runners Of All Time, Just In Time For Christmas Unwrapping

With the combination of the AIAW results from 1975-1980 and the NCAA results from 1981 to the present, we finally have complete results of the Womens Collegiate Championships.  Those who finished in the top 50 of any of those Championships are included in the rankings.  A complex, flawed and arbitrary method was used to rank them according to my whim and mood.  I was persistent to find all these results so that I could include some friends I have actually run some miles with.  Merry Christmas to Patty, Mary, Kathy, Liz, Kris and Heather.

1. Kathy Mills Parker - 3rd 1976, 1st 1977, 3rd 1978, 4th 1979 for 179.6 points.
2. Liz Berry Larsen - - 15th 1975, 11th 1976 and 16th 1977 for 97.3 points. 
3. Kris Bankes - 3rd 1975, 43rd 1976, 15th 1977 for 79.6 points. 
4. Heather Carmichael - 8th 1979, 24th 1980, 31st 1981, 43rd 1983 for 77.6 points. 
5. Bridget Franek - 23rd 2008, 26th 2009 for 52.8 points.
6. Susanne Heyer - 14th 2000 for 36.7 points.
7. Caitlin Lane - 16th 2011 for 35.0 points.
8. Liz Cunningham Kisenwether - 12th 1975 for 33.5 points.
9. Stacia Prey - 23rd 1985, 41st 1987, 31st 1988 for 30.1 points. 
10. Kimberly Kelly Segiel - 27th 1992, 35th 1994 for 28.4 points.
11. Patty Murnane Nosack - 24th 1979 for 26.4 points.
12. Mary Rawe Rapp - 26th 1980 for 20.1 points.
13. Kimberly McGreevy - 28th in 1996 for 19.4 points. 
14. Donna Gardner - 34th 1976 for 13.1 points.
15. Tessa Barrett - 38th 2015 for 13.0 points. 
16. Doreen Startare McCoubrie - 28th in 1982 for 12.0 points.
17. Kelli Hunt - 42nd 1992, 44th 1993 for 11.4 points. 
18. Colleen Glyde - 41st 1992 for 7.1 points. 
19. Wendy Nelson - 43rd 1990 for 5.6 points.
20. Eileen Meenan - 45th 1975 for 5.2 points.
21. Torri Perri - 47th 2012 for 4.0 points. 
22. Erin St. John - 46th 1994 for 3.6 points. 
23. Jennifer Weaver - 46th 1993 for 3.6 points. 
24. Meredith White - 45th 1984 for 2.6 points. 

Just Because Indoor Season Has Started, We Shouldn't Forget About Cross Country Yet!

The Penn State Team had its first of the year Indoor Meet, the Blue-White Warmup Meet before Finals and heading home for the holidays.  But there still were some Penn State Alumni running over hill and dale  at the USATF Club Cross Country Championships in San Francisco.  Bridget Franek placed 16th in the Womens 6K in 20:31.  Matt Fischer and Nick Scarpello ran fine races in 40th and 50th place in the Mens 10K.  Casimir Loxsom ran with his Brooks Beast team in a fine tune up for his upcoming Olympic push.

Bridget Franek, 16th.

Cas Loxsom, rear.

275

Casimir Loxsom

24

M

BROOKS Beasts TC-A

34:07

(10K) 5:30

40

Matt Fischer

23

M

Boston Athletic Association-A

30:37

(10K) 4:56

50

Nicholas Scarpello

23

M

Prado Racing Team-A

30:53

(10K) 4:59

16

Bridget Franek

28

F

Team Run Eugene-A

20:31

(6K) 5:31

Top Penn State (NCAA-Era) Womens Cross Country Runners Of All-Time

The Math Intern is redeemed and was finally allowed out of the basement when he finished the calculations for the Womens version of the All-Time Best list.

The criteria for the Womens list are similar to those used for the Men.  The main difference is that runners in the top-50 of any NCAA Championships were included. (Sorry Patty Murnane, 51st in 1978!)  This also excludes PSU greats like Kathy Mills, Peggy Cleary and Liz Berry who ran before the NCAA included women.  Hey, hey, hey! We don't want to exclude the AIAW Women.  We would love to merge those results into the NCAA results.  If anyone has access to full results from the AIAW years, please let us know!!!!  Let's keep the Intern busy.

The Criteria:

1. All PSU runners finishing in the top 50 of an NCAA Championship Meet are included.
2. Points are awarded in a reverse order of their finish.  A 50th place finish is worth 1 point and a first place finish is worth 50 points.  This skews the results toward those that run in multiple NCAA Championships. But placing high still means the most.
3. Tiebreakers: a) # of appearances in NCAAs top 50 and  b) most recent to oldest.

• Each year's finishing point total from earlier is multiplied by a factor defined as:

# of Finishers in Race Year (x)

# of Finishers in 2009 (254) 

The Top Penn State Women NCAA Cross Country Runners Of All-Time:

1. Bridget Franek - 23rd 2008, 26th 2009 for 52.8 points.
2. Susanne Heyer - 14th 2000 for 36.7 points.
3. Caitlin Lane - 16th 2011 for 35.0 points.
4. Stacia Perry - 23rd 1985, 41st 1987, 31st 1988 for 30.1 points.
5. Kimberly Kelly - 27th 1992, 35th 1994 for 28.4 points.
6. Kimberly McGreevy - 28th in 1996 for 19.4 points.
7. Heather Carmichael - 31st 1981, 43rd 1983 for 13.1 points.
8. Doreen Startare - 28th in 1982 for 12.0 points.
9. Kelli Hunt - 42nd 1992, 44th 1993 for 11.4 points.
10. Colleen Glyde - 41st 1992 for 7.1 points.
11. Wendy Nelson - 43rd 1990 for 5.6 points.
12. Torri Perri - 47th 2012 for 4.0 points.
13. Erin St. John - 46th 1994 for 3.6 points.
14. Jennifer Weaver - 46th 1993 for 3.6 points.
15. Meredith White - 45th 1984 for 2.6 points.  

Torri Perri, 2012.

Doreen Startare, left, 1982.

Caitlin Lane, 2011.

Bridget Franek, 2008, 2009.

Kathy Mills, pre-NCAA Legend.

Heather Carmichael, front, training with Arthur Lydiard.

Who Knew There Was Money In Mud?

Well, apparently Bridget Franek did.  And took advantage of it at the Warrior Dash World Championship where she placed first overall, garnering one of those big checks like on Let's Make a Deal.  And that's more money than I made in my first year of my day job!

This Steeplechaser Started Early, And This Middle Distance Star Is Still Working Out!

Apparently, starting early helps!  I stole this pic from Bridget Franek's FB.  She's running in a street mile in Pittsburgh this weekend. I never started until I was 15... (bangs head on desk...)

And here's a pic I took of Coach Groves the last time we talked!

Some Flotrack Videos of Nittany Lions In Europe

 

Kovacs commanding in shot put

After losing out to Germany’s in-form David Storl at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Lausanne on Thursday, shot put world leader Joe Kovacs bounced back quickly with a 21.22m (69 ', 7 1/4") fifth attempt in Madrid.
 
Watch more videos on Flotrack


Watch more videos on Flotrack

Diamond League Update

The latest Diamond League Track and Field Meet was in Lausanne, CH (Switzerland), a place I have actually been!  Several Nittany Lions were there.

Bridget Franek was 10th in the 3000M SC in 9:40.53

Joe Kovacs was second in the Shot Put with 21.71M (71 feet, 2 3/4 inch)
Ryan Whiting was sixth in the Shot Put with 20.83M (68 feet, 1/8 inch)

Penn State So Far At The USATF Championships, With A Big Day Today

So far, the top finish for PSU has been Karlee McQuillen's 6th in the Javelin.Here's the list, so far.  Today, top seed Casimir Loxsom and Joe Kovacs join Darrell Hill and Ryan Whiting in trying to do even better!

6        Karlee McQuillen        Javelin         56.76m (186-3)

8        Bridget Franek             300M SC     9:47.81
14       Brannon Kidder           800M         1:48.26

15       Evonne Britton            100M H      13.18

17       Robby Creese              1500M        3:47.12

17       Rachel Fatherly           Shot Put      16.49 (54-1 1/4)

17       Tori Gerlach                3000M SC   10:12.8

18       Kiah Seymour             400M H      58.66

The Right Coast Had A Big Track Meet Too

With all the attention on Eugene and the NCAA Championships (PSU Men = 10th!) it was easy to forget the Diamond League Meet in NYC.

But PSU was there too!  A couple of the Big Men were represented in the Shot Put:

Joe Kovacs wins the Diamond League Shot Put at NYC.

1.	Joe KOVACS	USA	89	21.67  (71' 1.15")
2.	Jordan CLARKE	USA	90	21.34
3.	Tom WALSH	NZL	92	21.16
4.	O'Dayne RICHARDS	JAM	88	21.00
5.	Reese HOFFA	USA	77	20.85
6.	Ryan WHITING	USA	86	20.15  (66' 1.30")

And Bridget Franek had a Season Best Steeple also:

1.	Hiwot AYALEW	ETH	90	9:25.26
2.	Ashley HIGGINSON	USA	89	9:31.32
3.	Sviatlana KUDZELICH	BLR	87	9:31.70
4.	Genevieve LACAZE	AUS	89	9:35.17
5.	Geneviève LALONDE	CAN	91	9:35.69
6.	Bridget FRANEK	USA	87	9:36.88

And Shana Cox was 2nd in the 400M!

1.	DeeDee TROTTER	USA	82	51.96
2.	Shana COX	GBR	85	52.62

There Sure Has Been A Lot Of Steeplechase Stuff This Year

And it continues, with Bridget Franek returning to the track in Oregon with a victory and an early season good time of 9:51.56

Three Track Meets And A Renaissance

It was pretty difficult keeping up with the PSU Track Team this week, as they split into 3 squads and headed for the far reaches of the United States.

The closest squad competed at the Spire Institute in Geneva, Ohio. A second set traveled to The Tyson Invite in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The third group traveled to The Husky Classic in Seattle, Washington.  That'a a lot of miles, for sure.

Highlights:

• Spire Institute:    Za'von Watkins  1:50.68  800M, Luke Pease  4,364 points, Heptatlon
• Tyson Invite:  Darrell Hill 67' 2.75" SP, Womens 4 x 400  3:34.90, Brian Leap 51-9.25 TJ, Steve Waithe 51-7.25 TJ
• Husky Classic:  Robby Creese 7:50.36, 3000M (School Record), Brannon Kidder 3:57.13 Mile (0.02 off Robby Creese's School Record)

That makes 2 sub-3:58 milers on the Penn State Squad!  And yet they have plenty of competition.  Yesterday 4 Georgetown runners ran under 4:00 for the mile in the same race in Boston.  And Oklahoma State had 3 runners under the mark yesterday.  It truly is a Renaissance for middle distance running in America. A total of 19 college athletes ran under 4:00 for the mile yesterday across the nation.

At the Valentine's Invitational in Boston, the third heat was rather remarkable!
                                        1 Bartelsmeyer, Amos Georgetown 3:58.45
                                        2 Bile, Ahmed Georgetown 3:58.54
                                        3 Manahan, Ryan Georgetown 3:58.57
                                        4 Lederhouse, Michael Georgetown 3:59.54

Bridget Franek greets Nittany Lions.

Photo by Paul Merca.

In other PSU Alumni action, Cas Loxsom won the 800 M at the Husky Classic with a very fine lean at the tape and a 1:47.81.  And Bridget Franek jumped back into action in the 3000 M with a 9:14.05.

Bridget Franek No Longer With OTC

Via her blog

"Recently, I found out that I will no longer be receiving financial support from the Oregon Track Club Elite.

To be honest, I kind of expected it after how the last few years have gone for me. Last year was a choice I consciously made to take the summer off. I stand by that decision as something that needed to happen for me, Bridget Franek, the person and I truly believe that it provided me with the motivation and drive that I will be needing to carry me through 2016. This year, I really wanted to be racing but was sidelined by an unfortunately frustrating injury, which I had no control over..........."

We wish Bridget the best as she still plans to take advantage of the prime of her career and compete at the 2016 Olympics in Rio. At the very worst she can always compete in an alumni singlet. Maybe we'll waive her fee for the reunion and golf outing as a means of payment for that.

USATF Day 2

I'll keep short and sweet today. Yesterday was a solid day for the Alumni competing at the USATF Outdoor Championships. In the men's 800 meters Cas Loxsom advanced out of the first round coming second in his heat with a 1:47.92. The semi-finals are tonight at 11:26 EST and can viewed on USATF.tv.

 

Bridget Franek won her heat of the steeple prelims in 9:39.56 to auto qualify for the final on Saturday.

 

 

Kara Foster competed in the 10,000 meter final and took 10th in 33:11.18.



 And probably the biggest headline of day 2 was Alysia Montano, who is 8 months pregnant, running the 800. She came last in her heat in 2:22.13, which is about 35 seconds slower than her PR but still faster than what the average non-pregnant person can run for a half mile.

Penn State At The 2014 USATF Championships

A bunch of PSU Track Alumni* have qualified (or nearly qualified) for the National Championships  on June 26-29 in Sacramento, CA. Here's a complete** rundown:

                                Event               Mark        Status

Casimir Loxsom 800M 01:46.8 qualified Brannon Kidder 800M 01:46.9 qualified Brannon Kidder 1500M 03:38.8 qualified Joseph Kovacs Shot Put 21.52m qualified Darrell Hill Shot Put 20.57 qualified Ryan Whiting Shot Put 22.11 qualified Michael Shuey Javelin 72.69 accepted Rob Cardina Decathlon 7,508 not qualified Mahagony Jones 100M 11.29 accepted Mahagony Jones 200M 22.97 qualified Kara Foster 10000M 32:37.2 qualified Evonne Britton 100M H 13.09 qualified Evonne Britton 400M H 57.41 not qualified Kiah Seymour 400M H 55.88 qualified Tori Gerlach 3000M SC 10:03.5 not qualified Bridget Franek 3000M SC 09:41.2 qualified Brittney Howell Long Jump 6.37 not qualified Laura Loht Javelin 54.41 qualified Karlee McQuillen Javelin 53.59 qualified Brittney Howell Heptathlon 5,625 not qualified *Utilizing the all-inclusive definition of anyone having matriculated at a particular school, not just male graduates!       **Go ahead, be a jerk and point out the ones I've missed! I won't mind. Those in red have scratched or just missed qualifying.