Some Notes On The Early Indoor Season Happenings

 I haven't been able to get to any meets yet this year, but there are some interesting things happening already with the teams and alums.

• Women's 800M - Freshman Allison Johnson ranks #1 in the early season with her 2:04.03 and Senior Victoria Tachinski right behind her in 6th with 2:04.68
• Rachel Gearing and Victoria Vanriele add 21st and 23rd rankings in the 800M which makes for a very robust 4 x 800M relay squad.
• Allison Johnson backs up her 800M with an additional #1 ranking in the 1000M and a #17 in the Mile!
  
• The Men have 2 Freshman 800M runners with 1:49 times in their young seasons, Olivier Desmeules and Darius Smallwood.
• Evan Dorenkamp won a highly contested 1 Mile with the nation's #14 time with a Nittany Lion #3 all-time of 3:57.15. He also has the nation's #2 time in the 1000M!
• Freshman Korbin Martino blistered a 46.57 400M for an 11th NCAA best.
• Alum Colin Abert ran a 7 second PR in the 3000M, dipping under 8:00 for the first time.
  

Updates From All Over And A "Save The Date"

First up:

Our Chief Laundry and Morale Officer facilitated reception of the news of another Ohio Big School XC title for Coach Tom Rapp's team.

That's 3 titles for teammate and classmate Tom, 2008. 2014, 2021!

And I can deduce that each and every "kid" who Tom coaches is much better off for his tutelage. From the initial meeting and run we had together, it was obvious he had great things ahead of him. Despite having a personality not completely in line with Coach Groves, the no-nonsense old school methods molded Tom and the rest of us into people able to handle most every situation ahead of us.  

This year's high school team probably garnered extra rewards of wisdom from Tom, as he describes them as a unit of good, solid runners, no superstars.  The top two finished 19th and 20th. But they had by far the best 4th and 5th men. They had a 1-5 spread of 28 seconds, with the 6th man 2 seconds behind that.

All in all,  it was a great lesson for the kids on how to win as a team. Society will see dividends in the years ahead!

 https://www.cincinnati.com/story/sports/high-school/high-school-sports/2021/11/11/ohsaa-cross-country-healthy-mason-boys-team-wins-state-2021/6382136001/

Second:

Colin Abert toed the line at the Road US Championship 5k in NYC the day before the NYC Marathon. He came in 22nd overall with a time of 14:18.

And SAVE THE DATE! 

The Executive Committee meeting of the Officers of the Group convened and chose the dates for the 2022 Reunion and Coach Groves Golf Tournament.  This will be the 20th anniversary of the formulation of this whole shebang, and you better SAVE THE DATE!!

So set aside May 13th and 14th, 2022. (Each year will alternate between May and August)

We will be going all out for this event and you won't want to miss it.  Adult beverages, camaraderie with old and new friends, mediocre golf, AND LIVE MUSIC FROM PROFESSIONALS!  Stay tuned... 

Championship Season Is Here

Kevin Kelly O'Brien has a lot of time on his hands following his complete body transplant. (I suppose it only feels like that, Kelly?)  So he did the work of all 5 Basement Interns and came up with the complete list of PSU qualifiers for the upcoming USATF Olympic Trials in the refurbished Hayward Field. 

That is, of course, subject to change.  Please chime in with any updates or changes!

First, Morgan Shigo (6) in the Hammer. Then, 2 in the 800M, Isaiah Harris (5) and Brannon Kidder (7). Third, 2 more in the Javelin, Mark Porter (7) and returning Champion Michael Shuey (1).  Finally, two more in the Shot Put, Diamond League Champion Darrell Hill (4)and World Champion Joe Kovacs (2).

And last week, the USATF Road Mile Championships were held, with Colin Abert finishing in 6th place with 4:00.7. 

2021 Results - USATF 1 Mile Road Championships presented by Toyota

• Eric Avila. 3:59.0.
• Craig Engels. 3:59.2.
• Clayton Murphy. 3:59.5.
• Abe Alvarado. 4:00.4.
• Daniel Herrera. 4:00.5.
• Colin Abert. 4:00.7.
• Brett Meyer. 4:01.1.
• Clayton Young. 4:02.8.

The final 600 M were on the track!
 And he backed it up today at the Drake Relays with a Mile PR in 4:00.65 after a warm-up 1500M yesterday 3:41.73 to pace the college division.

Additional Entries via Flotrack:

 Rachel Fatherly has qualified in the Shot Put!

SP

9

18.44

Rachel Fatherly

AUTO (17.70)

Evonne Britton in the 100H!

100H

18

12.81

Evonne Britton

AUTO (12.84)

(Transfer) Kiah Seymour in the 400H!

400H

8

55.41

Kiah Seymour

AUTO (56.50)

(Transfer) Byron Robinson in the 400IH

400H

10

49.09

Byron Robinson

AUTO (49.50)

Brannon Kidder in the 1500M!

1500

6

3:35.27

Brannon Kidder

AUTO (3:37.50)

Tori Gerlach in the 3000SC!

3K SC

22

9:51.31

Tori Gerlach

FILL THE FIELD (24)

This Is Refreshing To See

Like the days of yore, 1970s to 1980s, there were a whole lot of distance runners in a race this past weekend.  Times have changed, but back in the day, Coach Groves was willing to work with anyone with the desire.  He had very large numbers of distance runners at any one time.  Walk-ons vastly outnumbered the recruited ranks.  So,often in early season meets especially, there would be 10 or more PSU-clad runners in any race.  Often all the races had that many Lions participating.

With budget constraints, lawyerly constraints and Title IX constraints, many distance races nowadays have no Nittany Lions in them.

But not this past weekend!  There were 11 Lions in the 1500M at the Bucknell Meet.  With some rather good times, considering we have to call it an early season meet.  Six Lions finished with times the equivalent of 4:02 to 4:06!  Colin Abert led the pack with a second place finish in 3:44.72.


2 Abert, Colin Penn State 3:44.72I 4 
3 Maher, Drew Penn State 3:44.88I 4  
5 Abrahams, James Penn State 3:45.71I 4 
9 Wing, Owen Penn State 3:46.18I 4  
10 Hontz, Brandon Penn State 3:46.54I 4  
13 Claiborne, Isaiah Penn State 3:47.88I 3
34 McDevitt, Billy Penn State 3:52.49I 4
53 Claiborne, Elijah Penn State 3:56.65 2 
55 Barton, Ryan Penn State 3:57.07 3
-- Ashenfelter, William Penn State DNF 4  
-- Delisle, Hudson Penn State DNF 3 

And I made it to my Daughter the Younger's meet in upstate New York over the weekend.  She has dabbled in the Steeplechase so far and continues her PR in every race she has run this year!  Her hurdling was the very finest of all the competitors and the water jump hasn't flummoxed her yet. This was her worst effort of the 7!

PSU Is 800U In Florida

At the Florida Relays, Penn State threw down some fine early season times in the 800M!

• Danae Rivers won the 800M with a nation's #1 time of 2:03.63
• Domenic Perretta ran the 800M in 1:47.75 for the #2 NCAA time

AND:

• Billy McDevitt, Colin Apert, Gary Ross and Domenic Peretta won the 4 x 800M in 7:19.50

Meanwhile in Frozen Head State Park, Ron Moore waits patiently in camp as rain, thunderstorms, sleet and snow blankets the area ONLY in the Park confines.  The poor bastards out in the elements have little chance of finishing this year at the Barkley Marathons.

Ron Moore represents us at the Start/Finish gate.

The Interns Reshuffled The PSU Sub-4 Listing Chronologically!

Now I owe them time and a half and all my leftover Kung Pao Chicken...  But it was worth it!  The effort is always appreciated.

Greg Fredericks          Reading AA                3:59.7      State College            8/05/78

Larry Mangan             Penn State                   3:58.4      University Park        5/16/80

Mike Wyatt                 Philly Pioneers            3:58.0      Philadelphia             5/18/80

Matt Lincoln               PSU Alum                   3:59.39i    University Park          1/27/07

Ryan Foster                 Penn State                   3:58.49i    University Park        1/29/11

Robby Creese              Penn State                   3:59.52i    Seattle                      2/11/12

Brannon Kidder          Penn State                   3:59.48i   University Park        1/26/13

Owen Dawson             PSU Alum                   3:59.74     Philadelphia             4/27/13

Colin Abert                 Penn State                   3:59.51i    University Park        2/03/18

* Someone chime in and let us know the location of Matt's sub-4!  Matt himself and Ryan Foster have chimed in via our Facebook site and corrected this "corrected" version again.  My interns are the greatest!

And Now There Are Nine!

Colin Abert won the Mile at yesterday's Sykes and Sabock Challenge Cup at the Ashenfelter Track.  With his 3:59.51 time, he has become the ninth Nittany Lion and Alums to break the 4-Minute barrier for the imperial distance.  Congrats Colin!

Colin Abert.

He joins 6 other Americans and 2 Alums from foreign lands.  I include Matt Lincoln and Ryan Foster as honorary Americans for several reasons:

• Matt is from Canada.  The English speaking part!  I have always said that Canada is like America's Attic.  We rarely go up there, but when we do we discover that it is filled with wondrous things and we can't wait to come back again.  He also coaches American high school students well enough for National Honors!
• Ryan comes from Australia, which also is predominantly English-speaking.  With a cool accent. Even bettrer, he is from Tasmania.  He has also never had a single Foster's Lager, which he says is only sent to America! He has also golfed in our Tournament and performed a "Happy Gilmore" drive.  He has rejuvinated the XC/Track program at Division II Edinboro University.
• Both have married Americans. And any of us male reprobates who are married realize that all of us "marry up".

Penn State Athletes and Alumni Breaking the 4-Minute Mile:

Greg Fredericks (Reading AA)

3:59.7 (2)

University Park

August 05, 1978

Larry Mangan (Penn St)

3:58.4

University Park

May 16, 1980

Mike Wyatt (Philly Pioneers)

3:58.0

Philadelphia

May 18, 1980

Robby Creese (Penn St)

3:59.52(i)

Seattle

February 11, 2012

Brannon Kidder (Penn State)

3:59.48(i)

University Park

January 26, 2013

Owen Dawson* (unattached)

3:59.74

Philadelphia

April 27, 2013

Colin Abert (Penn State)  3:59.51   University Park  February 3, 2018

Canada      Matt Lincoln 3:59.39(i)  2007
Australia   Ryan Foster (Penn State)  3:58.49(i)   University Park  January, 2011

* Owen Dawson became the first ever to run a sub-4 minute mile wearing a Penn State Track Alumni Singlet.  He will forever be enshrined as a barrier-breaker of the first order.

Owen Dawson Sub-4 Penn Relays 2013. Photo by Matt Groves.

Here's a great map showing where athlete's first ever sub-4 were run. The dot at State College just got a little larger!

Exclusive Pics From The NCAA Regionals

Thanks to Frit Cooper, we have these pics from the NCAA Regional XC Meet.  The Womens team won for the 3rd straight year (with 2 of their top runners scratched for the season!) and the Men placed 2 in the top 10, sending Timothy McGowan and Colin Abert to Nationals in addition to the 7 women.

Pos.	Penn State Women	Time
2	Jillian Hunsberger	20:05.4
5	Alison Willingmyre	20:15.1
6	Kathryn Munks	20:15.8
8	Danae Rivers	20:17.6
10	Greta Lindsley	20:21.6
1st	Penn State	31
Pos.	Penn State Men	Time
6	Timothy McGowan	30:40.1
9	Colin Abert	30:43.5
20	John McGowan	30:52.6
43	Andrew Sell	31:21.8
53	Bobby Hill	31:33.8
5th	Penn State	131

Final Results For PSU At The NCAA Regionals

Women 

  1 Penn State               36    1    3    4   12   16   60   80    20:32    1:06
  2 Villanova                93    7    8   17   22   39   40   43    21:05    1:04
  3 Penn                     99    6   10   20   28   35   56   69    21:06    1:08
  4 West Virginia           112    2   11   21   37   41   47   82    21:07    1:36
  5 Georgetown              141   15   24   26   30   46   74   83    21:25    0:47
  6 Bucknell                174    9   19   33   42   71   73  111    21:30    1:26

1. Penn State
    1  Tessa Barrett, So          20:00    5:22
    3  Elizabeth Chikotas, Jr     20:17    5:26
    4  Jillian Hunsberger, Jr     20:23    5:28
   12  Kathryn Munks, Fr          20:53    5:36
   16  Greta Lindsley, So         21:06    5:39
   60  Victoria Crawford, So      22:03    5:54
   80  Julie Kocjancic, Sr        22:19    5:59
Total Time = 1:42:39     Total Places = 36

 Men

  1 Georgetown               66    2    7   11   16   30   35   46    31:06   0:45
  2 Navy                     74    8   12   14   19   21   23   33    31:10    0:17
  3 Princeton                97    3    9   18   22   45   58   74    31:13    0:55
  4 Penn                    111    6   10   28   29   38   55   68    31:18    0:39
  5 Penn State              190   15   27   32   49   67   79  109    31:37    0:56
  6 Bucknell                193   20   39   42   44   48   50   63    31:36    0:29

5. Penn State
   15  Timothy McGowan, Jr        31:13    5:02
   27  Colin Abert, So            31:24    5:04
   32  John McGowan, So           31:29    5:05
   49  Brandon Tubby, Fr          31:47    5:07
   67  Billy McDevitt, Fr         32:08    5:11
   79  Conrad Lippert, Sr         32:21    5:13
  109  Bobby Hill, Jr             33:15    5:22
Total Time = 2:38:01     Total Places = 190
 

Distance Night Performances

Here's all the PSU related distance results from the 2016 Penn Relays by place (just to mess with your mind).

• Tessa Barrett                  2nd place   5000M        16:08.11
• Jillian Hunsberger          4th place  5000M    16:27.39
• Brian Fuller (Alumni)    7th place  5000M    14:38.25
• Colin Abert                     9th place   5000M         14:10.66
• Ean Disilvio                    9th place   3000M SC    9:06.25
• Timothy McGowan       11th place   5000M      14:10.94
• John Dugan                    13th place  3000M SC    9:13.90
• Kyle Dawson (Alumni) 14th place   5000M  14:46.33
• John McGowan             20th place   5000M     14:23.09
• Wade Endress                24th place   5000M     14:28.83

And a special note for Don Skerpon's daughter Elyse Skerpon, who was 2nd in her heat of the 400M H!

• Elyse Skerpon                32nd place  400M H     1:03.53
• Rachel DeCecco             44th place   400M H     1:04.89

The NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships Aren't Easy

With only the top 16 making any of the events, there isn't any lee-way in performance. It wasn't the best of days for PSU, but Brannon Kidder is well placed to medal in the 800M finals today, and Rachel Fatherly and Danielle Gibson have their events today also.

Isaiah Harris was in the same heat of the 800M as Brannon, and never seemed to find his stride.  He finished in eleventh overall with a 1:49.08.  And that's Second Team All-American in his true Freshman year.  Congrats Isaiah!

Also never seeming to find their stride were Tessa Barrett and Tori Gerlach in the Women's 5000M. The relentless pace of Notre Dame's Molly Seidel made many in the field fade.  Tessa Barrett finished in eleventh place with a time of 16:25.94.  Another Freshman Second Team All-American!  Senior Tori Gerlach also made second team with her 13th place time of 16:45.56.

Neither Brannon or Isaiah doubled back in the Distance Medley Relay.  The team of Jordan Makins, Robert Rhodes, Alex Shisler and Colin Abert finished in 9:50.64 for ninth place.

The final day of the Championships can be streamed live starting at 4:55PM (Eastern) on ESPN3.

The 800M Was The Highlight Again! PSU Is 8.....

I had the pleasure of watching the B1G Ten Indoor Track and Field Championships from the Spire Institute in Ohio on BTN2GO, the mobile app for the B1G Ten Network!  I actually negotiated all the pitfalls of the technology to stream the event in fabulous high definition on my big screen TV utilizing Chromecast via my phone.  I can't believe I actually got it all to work.*

There were quite a few highlights for Dear Ole State thrown into the mix on the event's second day.

• Brannon Kidder (Brandon according to the experts at the B1G Ten Network. Hope they correct that in post production.) won the Mens Mile, leading the entire way.  He was also on the winning Distance Medley Relay on Friday night.
• Freshman Colin Abert ran a brave race and dug deep in the Mile also and passed two near the finish to gain another team point in eighth. Julie Kocjancic also placed eighth in the Mile for the Women. 
• The Men scored significant points in the sprints (60M and 200M) for the first time in a while.  Xavier Smith placed 5th in the 60M and Malik Moffett joined him in the 200M where they finished in 3rd and 4th. 
• Tori Gerlach and Tessa Barrett repeated their 2nd and 3rd place finishes in the 3000M on Friday with the same places on the 5000M Saturday.  The duo accounted for 28 points in just those two events.  Tessa impressed me again by running with the leader for the first half of the race before fading back to the trailing pack, including teammate Tori.  Just when you thought she was fading out of the scoring places, she rallied to place just behind her Senior teammate.  A gutsy performance by someone learning to race with the Big Guns!
• But again, the highlight for many of us was the 800M.  Not only did all 3 runners in the Finals run PRs, but the Mens leader impressed everyone with a facility, B1G Ten and School Record.  The previous 2 record holders, Ryan Foster and Casimir Loxsom were both impressed via Twitter with Freshman Isaiah Harris's 1:46.24 victory in the event. Ryan's fellow Aussie Jordan Makins and Sarah Jane Underwood also set PRs with 4th place finishes for both.

  

  Isaiah Harris, on top.

Congrats @cazzylox @Iharris33 that is really FRolling!!!!

— The FRoller® (@thefroller) February 27, 2016

.@cazzylox life is tough when you work hard to set records and stud frosh show up and wreck them!

— Ryan Foster (@RunFosterRun) February 27, 2016

* I actually was on the treadmill for my usual "spirited" 3 miles during the 800M. My heart rate elevated to near max during the finish. Pretty cool to see that reaction recorded for posterity. And I was still only doing my usual 11:00/mile pace at the time.

It's Going To Be A Super Stupendous Year!

The Track Season has really gotten off to a tremendous start for the Penn State Family.  And it promises to be even better in the coming months.

Here's just some of the evidence:

• Robby Creese bettered his PR and American Collegiate Record (2012-2014)  in the 1000M at the Nittany Lion Challenge and placed second to Brannon Kidder!  Brannon's new PR is 2:18.26 (his first ever dabble in the event!) and is the overall Collegiate (NCAA) Record.  Robby, running unattached this Indoor Season, ran 2:21.89.

Incidentally, there are now 6 active NCAA athletes, including Brannon, with 800M times under 1:46.00!  Donavan Brazier, Texas A&M Freshman, ran 1:45.93 in his first ever collegiate 800M.  "Watson, the 800 game is afoot."

• Rachel Fatherly continues PSU's Shot Put tradition by winning the event by more than 3 feet with a heave of 56' 0.50".
• PSU Men have a very good sprinter in Xavier Smith, 6.69 School Record for 60M!
• The Pole Vault is well represented by both the Men and Women.
• Tori Gerlach warmed the crowd up for Brannon's effort with her own School Record in the 1000M in 2:43.15.
• Transfer Timothy McGowan (welcome BTW!) won the 3000M in 8:08.24 with Alum Owen Dawson placing second in 8:16.39 and FR Colin Abert in third, 8:19.00.
• Down Under's Jordan Makins won the Mile in 4:06.86 after rabbiting Brannon to his historic 1000M.
• Alex Shisler, progeny of PSU Greats Beth and Steve Shisler, continues his incredible career, dropping down from his usual 400M to place second in the 200M with 21:45.

Remember, there are plenty of opportunities to meet and interact with the PSU Team this year. Show your support for the program and help us make Oregon jealous!  There will be a Dinner at Rotelli's this Winter with the coaches (highly recommended!), an Alumni Reception at the Penn Relays, and our Alumni Reunion and Coach Groves Golf Tourney in May (20-21).  Be sure to stay tuned for all of these great events.  Our Alumni Efforts really do make a difference.  If you can't participate, there are numerous ways to give financial help to the Program, even by donating right here on the Right Sidebar.

Also, don't forget to click on the ads on our site occasionally (or often!) to help defray the increasing costs of blogging in this dangerous world. Some costs for photo storage, form security and procurement of Awards are becoming higher and higher. This lowly blogger is finding it harder and harder to afford the quality of Interns you are used to.  "Sharing" and reposting all of our content really helps also. My blog adheres to the International Creative Commons Non-commercial 4.0 Standard. That makes it really easy to repost, share and even add to my content to spread the word far-and-wide.