1976 Was Also A Wonderful Year: Movies, Songs and, of course, AIAW XC Championship Results!

It was like it was yesterday.  I was almost paying attention to what was going on around me. Gerald Ford was President and Chevy Chase was injuring his back making fun of him.  Woodstock was a distant memory, overtaken by Disco of all things.  I even owned a pair of platform shoes to go with my Leisure Suit.




Top Songs:

1. Silly Love Songs    Wings 
2. Don't Go Breaking My Heart    Elton John and Kiki Dee
3. Disco Lady    Johnny Taylor

Top Movies:

1. Rocky     "You're gonna eat lightning, and crap thunder!"
2.  Taxi Driver    "You looking at me?"
3.  Carrie    "Sorry is the Kool Aid of human emotions."

AIAW XC Championship Results 1976


 Penn State finished 5th in the College Womens Cross Country Championships' second year.  Kathy Mills paced the Lady Lions with her 3rd place effort in Madison, Wisconsin.

Team Finish:

1. Iowa State
2. Cal State Northridge
3. Wisconsin Madison
4. Michigan State 
5. Penn State

Overall Top 5:

1. Julie Brown   Cal State Northridge   16:29.8
2. Carol Cook    Iowa State                    16:39.2
3. Kathy Mills   Penn State                     16:42.1
4. Kim Merritt   Wisconsin- Parkside     16:43.4 
5. Ann Mulrooney Wisconsin-Madison  16:45.3 Kim Merritt, 2000.

Julie Brown.

Penn State AIAW Finishers 1976:

1. Kathy Mills - 3rd             16:42.1
2. Liz Berry - 11th               16:56.8 
3. Donna Gardner - 34th   17:41.2
4. Kris Bankes - 43rd           17:51.5 
5. Lisa Turner - 97th            18:38.4
6. Eileen Meenan - 163rd    19:38.4 
7. Hillary Noden - 222nd     22:54.0

That adds Donna Gardner to the all-time greats and bolsters Kris Bankes' already lofty status!  Coming Soon.

The Search For Complete AIAW Championship Results Continues: Here's Some "Complete" Results of The 1977 2nd Place Team

The AIAW XC Championships started in 1975, but the first All-American Team wasn't chosen until the 1977 race.  That happens to be the year that our very own Kathy Mills Parker dominated the field.  Our 2nd and 3rd team members were very high in the field with Kris Bankes garnering the final of 15 AA positions.  But that left out Liz Berry Larsen, the 16th finisher that day!  Other scorers that day were Hillary Noden and Mary Rawe (Camp Hill's phenom and future wife of our own Coach extraordinaire Tom Rapp).  The sixth and seventh runners were Donna Gardner and Penny Fales.

Tom Rapp, Mary Rawe Rapp with Tom's ex-roommate Larry Mangan.

Here's some bits from the Eastern Kentucky University Special Collections Archive: