Penn State Is 800U - Penn Relays 2022 Edition

 

Penn State showed up in fine shape for the return of the Penn Relays 4 x 800M Championships of America.  The Women showed everyone what they can do at the big meets by winning the race in splendid fashion.  Ohio State put up a good fight, but the deep Lady Lions prevailed in 8:24.49.  I am trying to verify the actual order of athletes, but Rachel Gearing, Allison Johnson, Victoria Tachinski and Victoria Vanrielle  Victoria Vanriele (2:08.37), Rachel Gearing (2:04.27), Madaline Ullom (2:06.92), and Victoria Tachinski (2:04.95)were listed.  This was PSU's second wheel of the meet! (with the Sprint Medley Relay on Friday, another fine performance for 800U)  Madeline Ullom is an Ohio hs star coached by teammate Tom Rapp!

Splits in reverse order were: 2:08.37 / 2:04.27 / 2:06.92 / 2:04.95

The Men followed that up with a second place finish to the overwhelming favorite Ole Miss. They were rumored to be eyeing the Penn Relays Record of 7:11.17 of the 1985 Penn State squad, but came up short.  Two members of that 85 squad were in the stands enjoying the Carnival; Steve Shisler and  Vance Watson.  PSU ran to a fine 7:17.86 time, a time that has won quite a few Championships in the past.  Listed as running were Olivier Desmeules, Darius Smallwood, Evan Dorenkamp, and Domenic Perretta. Yukichi Ishii, Olivier Desmeules, Darius Smallwood and Domenic Perretta

Splits in reverse order were:   1:48.85 / 1:49.98 / 1:48.67 / 1:50.37

It Was A Banner Weekend For 800U

 

Wow.  There was finally a lot going on.  There was a School Record in the Pole Vault and a second place finish at the Big Ten Indoor Championships.  Luke Knipe scaled the heights to 17' 4.5"!!!  Sincere Rhea leaned better than all the rest to snag the 60HH Championship.  Whoa.

There were a few other finishes for the scaled-down teams sent to Geneva, Ohio.  But mostly, the 800U dominance continued for the Men and Women.

• Dom Perretta overcame injuries, Covid, surgeries and his recent 300-game bowling incident to return to the top of the Podium in the 800M .  He did it in a fashion favored by Yevgeni Arzhanov in the 1972 Olympic Finals.  Only this time Yevgeni holds on!  I have been thinking that this would happen each of the last 100 times I have watched that race, but here it is many years later with one of our own striking gold.  (12 of the last 14, and 5 in-a-row B1G)
  
• The dual Victorias medaled in the Womens 800M.  Not to be outdone by Dom, Victoria Vanriele channeled Dave Wottle instead and caught everyone at the tape.  Victoria Tachinski held on for 3rd.(5 in-a-row B1G titles)
  

 

 

https://twitter.com/i/status/1365704786625105926

Still, the Alumni provided even more 800U goodness.

• Instead of racing, Danae Rivers danced for the duration in the Dance Marathon to benefit the Four Diamonds Fund.
• Isaiah Harris bounced back from his disappointing opening season race to win the 800 in Autin, Texas  with a 1:46 and change.  He says he is confident on 1:43 when the time comes at the Olympic Trials...

Tim McGowan, Billy Cvecko and Isaiah Harris in Texas.

 

PSU is 300U!

I came across this video of the 1987 Penn Relays 4x800M Championship of America posted by Mike Anderson honoring Chris Mill's third Penn Relays watch!  Good stuff.

 

But then, I saw another member of 800U dominating in another sport.  Imagine the 800M/Bowling biathlon with Dom Perretta on the line! 

 Dom Perretta 300!

 

Two Meets In A Row! (But The Next One Postponed...)

 

The February 6 meet at the new facility in Michigan has been postponed indefinitely due to the Pandemic. But for the second week in a row, Maryland, Ohio State and Rutgers joined the fun at the Horace Ashenfelter III complex.   

Results

Highlights included Breanna Gambrell winning both horizontal jumps including an effort of 20 feet 8 inches in the long jump (#8 in NCAA, #1 B1G).

And 800U reappeared with Victoria Tachinski (2:06.71) and Victoria Vanriele (2:08.45) placing 1,2 in the 800 M and setting PRs in the process. Tachinski's time currently ranks No. 6 in the NCAA and No. 2 in the Big Ten. Vanriele is close behind, ranking No. 13 in the NCAA and No. 3 in the Big Ten. 

For the Men's 800U contingent, Will Ashenfelter ran a PR 1:51.00 800M and Dom Perretta won the Mile in 4:11.61.

Let's Let Two Of Our Esteemed Honorary Members Introduce This Year's Track Season!

 

 1972 Olympic Gold and Silver Medalists Dave Wottle and Yevgeni Arzhanov struck up a nice friendship following their incredible race.  My hopes for America's future can be symbolized with this photo. Photo thanks to Yevgeni.

And right on cue, the most notable result from the opening meet of 2021 was Evan Dorenkamp's superb Mile in 4:01.91.  He was paced by fellow 800U runners Dominic Perretta (1:59.53 809M) and Will Ashenfelter (3:05.10 1209M).  He followed them and accelerated to the win for a 7 second PR.

Back On The Track For Two 2-Lappers And A Little Farm To Table

Two qualified 800M specialists made a return to the track this weekend, with one being our very own Isaiah Harris!

Isaiah Harris ran his first 800M in  1:49.49, 11 months after his last race with another Nittany Lion in very close pursuit.  Isaiah nipped Domenic Perretta by .05 seconds in Philadelphia.

And Duane Solomon ran his first 800M in more than 2 years, coming in last with 1:55.04 at the Music City Distance Carnival.  Duane was not unhappy, just pleased to be back on the Mondo.

Me, well, I jogged a couple of miles on my treadmill and made a Key Lime Pie with limes from my very own tree.

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.

Onward To Nationals!

Six Nittany Lions made it to the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships.  Remember, only the top sixteen individuals and the top 12 Relays can make it.  That's one of the hardest "makes" in all of track and field.

Women:

• Alexis Holmes   400M   
• Danae Rivers      800M
• Maddie Holmberg     Pentathlon

Men:

• Domenic Perretta     800M
• Morgan Shigo          Weight Throw
• David Lucas             Weight Throw 

PSU Is 800U: Keep On Truckin'

The Middle Distance Nittany Lions kept the tradition going strong at the 2019 Big Ten Indoor Championships in Ann Arbor. 

In the Womens event,  Danae Rivers made it three in a row of 800M indoor triumphs with a record run of 2:03.45.

“We asked her to run the 800 and both relays this weekend; she was really aggressive today and got the meet record." -Coach John Gondak.

In the Mens event, Dom Perretta sorta kinda took the baton from Isaiah Harris in a figurative sense (three time repeat winner), stood tall, and finished in a fine 1:48.24 in a very strong field.  That made 4 in a row and 10 of the last 12 800M titles for PSU!

From one champion to another!

Isaiah Harris NCAA Champion!

I can’t wait to talk to the alumni as they’ve been so supportive of us over the years.”

Isaiah Harris. 

The retro Singlet is always appreciated!

Another B1G Win!

Isaiah Harris runs a Personal Best of 1:44.76 to take down the collegiate record holder in the 800m! pic.twitter.com/dzuLbN8pwN

— NCAA Track & Field (@NCAATrackField) June 9, 2018

There has been a long line of excellent Penn State "2-lappers" who have paved the road that we affectionately call 800U.  And never mind that there are hundreds of others that weren't 800M runners among our group that have also helped cement that moniker even into the national Press.

The 800M is my favorite race to watch and I really enjoyed running it in high school. I just didn't have the talent to pull it off on a bigger stage.  But I consider myself fairly knowledgable on the event.  Watching Penn State half-milers over the last 20 years has been really fun.

Some notable PSU 800M runners I have had the pleasure to watch in the last 18 years

• Brannon Kidder
• Casimir Loxsom
• Domenic Perretta
• Matt Lincoln
• Owen Dawson
• Robby Creese
• Ryan Foster
• Sam Borchers

Add these guys to the other generations of middle distance specialists in the preceding generations all the way back to Alan Helffrich (1922-1923 800M NCAA Champion!) and you have 800U!

But all we were missing was another NCAA Champion in modern times.  And it hasn't been easy.  In the last several years there have been overwhelming dominant winners from domestic and afar.  Were we again to be satisfied with an incredible performance only to be celebrating another second place NCAA finish? (Brannon Kidder 2015, Casimir Loxsom 2013, Isaiah Harris 2017)

Very few had Isaiah Harris being able to slay the returning winner and NCAA record-holder Michael Saruni.  Very few except Isaiah and his coach, John Gondak.  They had a plan, and they had a program.  Us lucky Alumni who visited them a few weeks ago got to see that up close and personal.  And many of us started to believe.

The race was run to precision by Isaiah.  He demonstrated his intellect and wisdom at every stage. The fast opening lap of 51.x or so (rough guess) putting him in 5th place right near Saruni. It wasn't anything he hasn't done many times before.  He didn't panic, and held steady until the middle of the backstretch of the second lap.  Anticipating the surge of Saruni, Isaiah gently eased into the lead monentarily before Saruni rushed past, gaining a two-stride lead at the finish of the last turn.  He didn't panic, as Isaiah said he "saw blood" at that point, and knew that Saruni had used too much getting to where he was.

The last 100 meters was what all of us Alumni (Golfers) have been waiting for for "a few" years now. As Isaiah slipped by the defending champion, you could sense that the drought was finally over!

Isaiah eased a tad at the finish, possibly giving up another School Record, but nobody, including him, seems to care. Penn State was on the top of the podium!

Just last week I complimented Isaiah by noting that he has excelled in the classroom also, making all of us proud.  He also demonstrated his humility in post race interviews by including the Alumni in his thoughts.  I think he realizes how much we support the program's success in every aspect.  Any future 800 specialists out there have a role model and a college destination being represented with the highest recommendation posssible.

 

Did you miss the final of the men's 800-meter run from Friday? Well, we won't spoil who wins. 😏 #WeAre #PSUTF pic.twitter.com/vWbT7O6CP9

— Penn State Track & Field/Cross Country (@PennStateTFXC) June 9, 2018

PSU is 800U: Some Home Town Press For Another 2-Lapper And Possibly A Stolen Singlet?

Domenic Perretta got a little Press from a home town paper yesterday.  I hope to josh him a bit about it after he is done racing Saturday.

“I feel a lot stronger this year. I don’t know where my speed is right now, but I definitely feel a lot stronger. And it’s the beginning of the season, so I think I’m in a good spot.”

Perretta Starts Fast

And the promotions for this weekend's 800M brouhaha at the Armory features a pic of Casimir Loxsom in a Brooks Singlet even though he no longers runs for the company.

Meanwhile a great workout pic of current Brooks Beast Brannon Kidder shows him without a Singlet at all!

Putting 2 and 2 together in my FBI-inspired mind, I figure Casimir is on the lam to the Big Apple for stealing his former roommate's shirt! 

And I hope to present Isaiah Harris with a replacement wristband this weekend.  I have cleared all of it with the NCAA.

A Site For Real 800M Fans! PSU is 800U

I came across this great web site celebrating the 800M in an obsessive and glorious fashion.  There is enough here to peruse for many hours, and it is updated nearly daily!

The 800M Home Page

The listing of the fastest 800M runnuers of all-time has 2 Nittany Lions in the top 300.

• 193

  Isaiah Harris

  (18-10-1996)

  1.44.53

  Sacramento

  25-06-2017

• 289

  Casimir Loxsom

  (17-03-1991)

  1.44.92

  Eugene

  26-06-2015

The listing for top performances for this year has 4 Nittany Lions:

7

Isaiah Harris

1.44.53

25-06-2017

Sacramento

78

Cas Loxsom

1.46.13i

18-02-2017

Birmingham

 161  Domenic Perretta   1.47.29  21-04-2017   Charlottesville
 175   Brannon Kidder   1.47.36  8-06-2017   Vancouver

USATF Championships 2017

Isaiah Harris, Dom Perretta and Casimir Loxsom represented Penn State in the 800M opening round yesterday in steamy California.  Isaiah won his rather slow heat by closing with a relish to move on to tomorrow's semi-finals.  although Dom and Casimir failed to advance, Cas certainly put a smile on my face by donning his Alumni Singlet at the Championship level!  Cas has also announced a return to State College next year for training.  

Also, Morgan Shigo placed 11th in the Hammer Throw, capping off a stellar season.  Tori Gerlach also finished her tremendous season and PSU career with a 15th place finish in the Steeplechase.

How Did The Men Do At The NCAA Championships?

 "It was a fun race."

-Isaiah Harris, runner-up in the 800M.

(And let's not forget this previous tweet from Isaiah!)

"Light yourself on fire and then roll in broken glass to put out the fire!" -from Isaiah Harris's Twitter Feed, explaining how to replicate the feeling after an 800M race.

The big answer is, tied for 20th in the team standings.  For the third straight year in the top 20!  Congrats to the coaches and all the athletes (and not just the ones who scored!).  Coach Gondak related his happiness and the hunger for more!

Coach Gondak and Isaiah Harris.

Isaiah Harris closed out the NCAA Championships with a very smart race, finishing second to the heavy favorite, UTEP's Emmanuel Korir.*  Isaiah stayed back early and ran relatively even splits (52.32 and 53.09).  That kept him out of trouble when the 2 UTEP runners tangled and Michael Saruni went down with 200M to go.  Many thought Korir could have been disqualified for the trip, but judges eventually ruled it out.

Isaiah Harris represents the 7th All-American performance in the 800M since 2009 and ties both Brannon Kidder and Casimir Loxsom with the highest finish in the event at the Championship level.

All the participants in the NCAA Championships: 

• Javelin - Michael Shuey   3rd   250' 9"
• Javelin - Ryan Kerr       9th     232' 0"
• Javelin - Michael Biddle   18th   219' 8"
• Long Jump -  Malik Moffett       18th   24' 1/4"
• Shot Put - Jon Yohman    11th      62'   1/2"
• 4 x 100M - Karson Kowalchuk, Dan Chisena, Xavier Smith, Malik Moffett  13th  39.15
• 4 x 400M - Dan Chisena, Xavier Smith, Tyreek Mathis, Isaiah Harris  9th   3:04.17
• 800M - Isaiah Harris   2nd    1:45.40
• 800M - Domenic Perretta   21st   1:49.14
• 200M - Malik Moffett   22nd   20.93
• Discus - David Lucas    9th  190' 3"
• Triple Jump - Bryce Williams  17th  51' 1 3/4" 

* Even better, Isaiah wore his "Alumni-like Singlet" in the Final.

PSU Is 800U: Double School Record Day

Even Flo Track refers to "800U" or sometimes "Middle Distance U" which shortchanges the many other events which Nittany Lions are excelling in.  Like Shot Put, Javelin, and now Sprinting!  But yesterday's 800M races in Virginia again brings another post about the "half mile".

Danae Rivers demolished the school record in the women’s 800-meters with her time of 2:02.53, erasing the old mark of 2:03.09 set by Rebekka Simko back in 2012, finishing second in the event trailing only Virginia Tech’s Hanna Green (2:02.17). Rivers now owns both the indoor and outdoor 800-meter records in only her freshman campaign and has now been involved in five school records combined.

Isaiah Harris asserted himself as the best half-miler in school history as the sophomore All-American crossed the line in 1:45.12 to win the race and set the school record. The three-time reigning Big Ten Champion in the event spilt 52.57 on the opening lap and followed it up with an almost even 52.56 to close over the final 400-meters outlasting Florida’s Andres Arroyo who ran 1:45.75 for second. Harris erased the old school record of 1:45.28 set by Casimir Loxsom in 2011.

Harris was followed by teammate Domenic Perretta who ran a personal best of 1:47.29 that is the No. 10 time in program history.

PSU Is 800U: Early Spring 1983 Edition

From State College Emmaus* native Paul McGlauglin comes this great photo of an 800M workout early in the Spring of 1983.  It shows most of the group that went on to win the Championship of America 4x800M at the Penn Relays later in April, Coach Groves' first ever.

That's Paul McGlauglin leading the troops, with Mike Cook, Ken Wynn and Tom Walchuck right behind.

How many of us remember those early season workouts buffeted by the winds that the 2-foot high pine trees couldn't quite block on the backstretch?

Addendum:  The 2017 edition of early season 800U News: Dom Perretta won his first outdoor 800M in Arizona at the Big Ten/Pac 12 Challenge!   Way to go Dom! 

*Errors in fact are a feature, not a bug of our site.  So,  shut up!  hee hee hee  (Thanks to Paul for the correction.)

Wow! What A Weekend For The Middle Distances

From coast to coast, current and former Nittany Lions dominated the middle distance races this weekend.

From the Husky Classic in Seattle:

• Danae Rivers continues her record setting Freshman season with another School Record in the Mile, with the #1 time in the nation so far! 

 Rivers, Danae     Penn State     4:32.55

From the Spire Institute and home of the Big Ten Indoor Championships:

•  Isaiah Harris led Dominic Perretta to a first and second place finish in the 800M.

Isaiah Harris            1:48.03

Dominic Perretta     1:48.17

From the Armory in NYC and the Millrose Games:

• Casimir Loxsom couldn't catch Brannon Kidder in the 1000M. 

Brannon Kidder 2:19.92 (58.44, 1:53.16) Casimir Loxsom 2:21.06 (58.61, 1:53.36)

Brannon Kidder's fine Pro Debut!

And I forgot the super effort of Tori Gerlach (who will be back for Outdoor Season!) in the Millrose 3000M. She finished third with a 16 second PR of 8:53.48.

Musings From The Penn State National

First, let's get the two Performances of the Week out of the way.

In order to not incur the wrath of Group Officers, the Interns have been banned from giving their opinion this week.  And despite the duo of Malik Moffett and Xavier Smith going first and second in the 200M AGAIN (21.06 and 21.26 with Dan Chisema in third!), they are just among the rest of the honorable mentions this week!

• A World Record absolutely deserves top mention, right?  Well, when 2 members of our group happen to dip UNDER the existing world record, even the Interns would have to pick that event, right?  So indeed, Casimir Loxsom's new world record 600M tops our list for the week.  Only the second runner to dip under the 1:15.00 barrier all-time (1:14.91), he was followed extremely closely by Sophomore Isaiah Harris* in 1:14.96!

A half of a victory lap!

I had the pleasure to speak with Casimir after the race and can offer this exclusive quote, "That was fun."  He was thrilled that efforts to erase his record just two hours later fell apart for Duane Solomon in Boston.  He also confirms he will participate with my 10 Questions about 800M running for a future post with 800M legend Dave Wottle (Honorary member of 800U) and other PSU standouts.

Le faucon d'orange with Casimir Loxsom.

• And next up is the third School Record in a row by Freshman Danae Rivers!!!, this time in the Mile.  She demolished the existing record with a dominating 4:34.87. She followed that up with a leg of the 4x400M relay!  Her range is astounding.

Both Danae and Casimir attended the same high school, Wilbur Cross HS in Derby, CT.  Whatever is in the water there, we need some more of it here. Or maybe it's the pizza there. I hear it's the best in the world?

I had the pleasure to speak with several members of 800U during the meet.  Michael Slagowski had just made his debut in the 1000M, so I didn't bother him (much!).  Domenic Perretta* was in a good mood after his very fine 1200M performance on Friday and went on to win the 800M Invitational in 1:50.33, just off his PR.  He seems to be adjusting to the rigors of University well!

Dom Perretta winning the 800M.

Robbie Creese returned to the ranks of fresh sub-4 Milers with a splendid 3:59.73 and family members are interested in finally getting him the Alumni Singlet he deserves. Mark Hawkins (who ran the Open Mile on Friday!) actually has an extra Medium version with blank year space for any emergencies.  Let us know! (The next order may coincide with the Alumni Reunion/Coach Groves Golf Tourney and Big Ten Championships! Stay tuned to the blog with it all.)  Robbie followed that up with the finest rabbiting of the day in the 3000M. (Where were the Fullers when they were needed?)  Owen Dawson mixed it up with the runners in the 3000M, so wasn't able to rabbit any of the other events either.

Another School Record fell with the 9:07.22 3000M efforts of Tessa Barrett, fastest in the NCAA so far this year.  Right behind her was graduate Tori Gerlach in 9:10.09 who has outdoor eligibility remaining.

Others in attendance were Jess Riden and Bridget Franek in their new roles for Stanford and Akron respectively.  Sorry I missed both of you.

All in all, it was a great afternoon spent with friends both old (you know who you are!) and new.

And after all of this, I got to celebrate Chinese New Year with Daughter the Elder and Daughter the Younger at the Golden Wok in State College.  An excellent version of Kung Pao Chicken was had containing actual lip-numbing  szechuan peppercorns! These were banned in the US for many years.

* It is remotely possible that the "Lion Pride" Alumni Wrist Bands I presented to Isaiah and Dom had a bit to do with their excellent performances later in the afternoon.  Isaiah actually wore his during his Collegiate Record 600M!  And I am scouring all the crevices in my house to find a "800U" version for both of them.

My Choices Of Performance Of The Meet Nittany Lion Challenge

I watched a fair amount of the meet via Flo Track Pro, but of course I missed these two performances.  I would relish any arguments on this.

• Bryce Williams, 51' 8.25" in the Triple Jump, a year after an ACL injury.
• Danae Rivers, 1:29.06 School Record in the 600M.

The eagerly anticipated 1000M race was a very good one, but Isaiah Harris just couldn't get past the eventual winner Joseph White of Georgetown in 2:22.14 (to 2:21.96).  A note of impending goodness for PSU was Dom Perretta in third with 2:23.06!  PSU is 800U

Former Lion Robby Creese won the Mile in 4:06.29 and doubled back to place 5th in the 1000M in 2:25.08!  Robby probably already knows that he needs an Alumni Singlet for races like these, but if not, someone get him one!

Danae Rivers.

Dom Perretta, a generically shirted Robby Creese and Jordan Makins.

Days of Our Lives: 800U Division

• Isaiah Harris qualified for the NCAA Championships with a controlled race and the 2nd fastest qualifying time at the Regionals in the 800M.

•  Brannon Kidder also coasted just a little bit and qualified in the 1500M (after last year's runner-up finish in the 800M).

•  Next year's Nittany Lion Domenic Perretta finished off his high school career with his third straight 800M/1600M double in the PIAA Championships!
• And his future teammate Michael Slagowski became only the second third high schooler to run a second sub-4 mile in the same Outdoor season indoor/outdoor season (Jim Ryun and Drew Hunter). Thanks to our Laundry and Morale Officer/Blog Laureate for the correction of the interns facts!

Michael Slagowski and Domenic Perretta at Indoor Nationals.

Michael Slagowski lining up with the pros.

And to top it off, past middle distance star Mike Pfaff appeared on Days of Our Lives on Friday! Thanks to Matt Hutzelmann for the screen grab!

Mike Pfaff on Days of Our Lives, left.