Cross Country Course Renewed

There has been a big push to rejuvenate the Cross Country courses at Fairmount Park's Belmont Plateau.  They have been in use by high schools and colleges since at least the 1960s.

I had the pleasure of running there in 1977 (I think? Help me out Larry and Kelly??).  It was an OK course and more challenging than most courses.  We were up against Villanova and we, of course, beat them if I remember correctly???  My claim to fame (!) was beating both Mark Belger and Don Paige in the race, the only one I ever ran against them.  I met Don last year with Greg Fredericks when he was inspecting the Ashenfelter Indoor Track.  Don's company was in charge of the design and installation of the track, and certainly did a remarkable job.  I pointed out to Don that I was undefeated in my races against him.  It landed with one of the largest thuds ever!  I didn't mean to offend him, but it certainly ended our conversation then and there.  Oh well.....

They are bringing the course back to its glory and looking to attract some big meets to the Philadelphia area.  They recently started a Hall of Fame and had the first annual Hall of Fame Classic.

If you are interested in helping out, join the Belmont Plateau Trails Alliance!

 

How Could Anyone Mistake Renaldo Nehemiah for Don Paige?

Not really!  It was an honest mistake. I confused two unrelated meets in my fetid Freshman mind. I was injured at the time because of a freak fencing accident.  No kidding either.  It was the worst injury of my running career, and I've had them all.  So when I "remembered" the big dual meet with the Villanova Wildcats, it was actually The ACC Champion Maryland Terrapins.  And it wasn't even a dual meet, it was a Tri-meet with the Pittsburgh Panthers too!  (Villanova did visit State College for the Penn State Open also, so I guess that's where I remember Don Paige, Mark Belger and Anthony Tufariello.)

That's Bob Snyder winning the 800 M race, with Mike Wyatt coming in second.  Bob also won the 1500 M just 45 minutes before the 800.  That's PSU Track Alum Golfer Bill Sheskey  in 5th place, but I'll bet he got 4th at the tape!

Renaldo Nehemiah dazzled the crowd in every race he won, but it wasn't enough to keep the more highly ranked Terrapins from losing a tight meet with the gritty Nittany Lions on the "home field" at the Westerly Parkway Junior High School!

It all came down to the pole vault in a light drizzle, and the Maryland vaulters couldn't come near their 17 ft. PR's. The PSU vaulter Bob Hottle, who topped out at his own PR of 15 feet, clinched the meet for the Lions.

Other notable events in the meet were:

1. Larry Mangan winning the waterless steeplechase in 9:05, with Ray Krombel and Campbell Lovett coming in second and third.
2. Paul Lankford was a double winner in the 100 M and Mile Relay.
3. Gary Williky won the Discus and was second in the Shot Put.
4. Coach Groves was quoted as saying "It was good to beat them."

PSU is 800 U

The very first person I encountered upon entering the Horace Ashenfelter III Indoor Complex on Saturday was Joetta Clark-Diggs, the Queen of US Women's 800 M running.  She was kind enough to autograph her new book to both of my daughters, the youngest of which had it read by that evening!  Joetta is a four-time Olympian and looks as though she could make a comeback at any moment!

Next up was another 800 M Champion and Olympian, Don Paige, who designed the indoor track for PSU and has designed many of the best facilities in the nation.  He wasn't that happy when I pointed out to him that in our only race together, I trounced him, until he learned it was a XC race at Belmont Plateau!  (I beat Mark Belger that very same day!)  Pitiful, aren't I.  I actually always enjoyed watching Don's smooth running style.  I thoroughly enjoyed our three-way conversation with his fellow Olympian, Greg Fredericks.  Both Don and Greg never harbored ill will for losing their chance of competing in the 1980 Olympics.  Class acts, both of them!

And here's the Flotrack video of Cas Loxsom's brilliant 800 M at the Meet:

Watch more Videos on Flotrack

An Apparent Skwilli Fantasy: Jumbo Elliott Thwarted on a Junior High Track??

The year was 1978 and the schedule said PSU was to have a dual meet against the mighty Villanova Wildcats, coached by the legendary Jumbo Elliott. The only problem was, PSU no longer had a track due to the renovations on Beaver Stadium. Sprinters and field event athletes had to get a ride to practice that year, and the distance runners had a longer warm-up and warm-down for workouts. It didn't stop PSU from excelling, however.

Westerly Parkway Junior High School became the scene for the "Battle of the Titans", pitting Elliott against Coach Groves in a winner take all, steel-cage grudge match (a grudge match anyway!) Seemingly outmanned, PSU had lost distance star Paul Stemmer the previous year (I hope to graduation!*) The remaining stars were mostly young scholarship athletes or up-and-coming walk-ons. With perennial Penn Relays distance medley and 4x800 stars Don Paige and Mark Belger, as well as nationally known newcomer Anthony Tufariello, Villanova had a seeming edge in the middle-distance races. They also had an edge in the shorter races and in the field events, especially the pole vault. Two 17-foot vaulters towered over the 15-foot vaulters of PSU.

When the sprinters, hurdlers (Paul Lankford) and field men outperformed their Villanova rivals and the middle-distance and distance runners held their own, it all came down to the final event, the pole vault. When the rain started in the middle of the meet, many payed it no mind. The Villanova vaulters, however, found the slippery conditions too much to handle and no-heighted. The PSU vaulters, in turn, vaulted their usual 15 foot heights, winning the meet and sending the wildcats back to the Main Line with their tails between their legs.**


**Details may be out of order, or hopelessly confused by a college freshman's poor recollection. Actually, everything is in dispute. I may not even have the year or the opponent correct. Numerous inquiries with teammates have led me nowhere. Can anyone help us out? Reliable sources say Maryland with Nehemiah came to town, but probably in 1977 when I was still in high school. I distinctly remember Anthony T. and I wouldn't know him otherwise.