NCAA XC Regionals Weekend

There was consistently cold and windy conditions across the East.  The weather added an extra challenge for the Nittany Lion Women.  But they came through and attained their 9th out of 10 years moving on to the Finals.

And Danae Rivers has added to her already great resume by placing first for the Women despite falling in the early race.  With her newly aquired range, she is becoming one of the greats of PSU Middle and Long Distance running.

Photo by John McGraw.

Oh, the carnage I! John McGraw photo

Oh, the carnage II! John McGraw photo

Brave and dedicated Alums! John McGraw photo

 In other news of the weekend...

• Mary Cate Curran's St. Lawrence team advanced to the Division III Finals at Dream Park in Southern Jersey.  I saw her at one point, but was unable to say hello.
• Daughter the Younger ran in her first XC NCAA race and learned the valuable lesson about going out too fast!  Hartwick improved on last year's performance.
• Rob Whiteside's daughter Phoebe placed highly in the Mid-Atlantic Regional in Bethlehem,  PA for her Swarthmore team.
• Martha White Collin's daughter Valerie also placed highly in the same race with her Carnegie Mellon team moving on to the Finals.
• John Ziegler and I suffered mightily through a long weekend of Podiatry CME lectures.  John's rewards were many, however.  I took him to lunch at Wegman's for Kung Pao Chicken and got him 50% off on a new pair of shoes at the King of Prussia Roadrunner Sports store! 

Daughter the Younger before the start.

Spouse the Better and John Ziegler.

Homecoming Means Coming "Home" And A Visit With Coach Groves

A Home meet during Homecoming week means a Friday meet.  That means many of us can't swing it. But many certainly did!  Yesterday's Penn State National attracted many Track alums.

The meet went well, especially for the Women, who topped all teams, multiple ranked teams.

In her fourth race donning the Blue & White, Julia Paternain crossed the finish line in 20:30, which marks her third win of the season, two of which have come at the Blue-White Golf Course. Just 11 seconds after Paternain finished the race, sophomore Alison Willingmyre (Wernersville, Pa.) completed the 6k course in 20:41 to finish fifth overall.
Along with Paternain and Willingmyre, Danae Rivers (Derby, Conn.) and Kathryn Munks (Chester, N.Y.) both tallied top-15 finishes. For Rivers, she ran 20:48 to place seventh and Munks took 15th in 21:01. Moria O'Shea (Greensburg, Pa.) rounded out the scoring for the Blue & White as she ran 21:16 to finish 35th.

In the men's 5.2-mile run, the Nittany Lions ran to a 10th-place finish as a team with a score of 252 points. Individually, Colin Abert (Easton, Pa.) paced the Nittany Lion harriers as he placed 10th with a time of 25:17.
In addition to Abert, Alex Tomasko (Mechanicsburg, Pa.) finished 43rd with a time of 25:47 and John McGowan (Northport, N.Y.) took 53rd in 25:54. Underclassmen Isaac Davis (Cogan Station, Pa) and Owen Wing (State College, Pa.) rounded out the scoring as they finished 71st (26:08) and 87th (26:14), respectively.

Homecoming Visit: Steve Walsh and Dan Curran. Photo by Greg Fredericks.

Julia Paternain. Photo by Tom Shiffer.

Womens Start. Photo by Tom Shiffer.

Steve Shisler, Bob Hudson, John McGraw and Tom Shiffer.

A Nittany Lion In The World Cup!

A long time ago, a bunch of us high school basketball players at DAHS decided that Field Hockey was an easy sport.  We all played street hockey and felt we would naturally translate our puck prowess to the hard-little-ball prowess of the field hockey grass.  When the girls team got wind of this they challenged us to a game.

Needless to say, we were waaaaayy wrong.  The rules of the game and the stick handling are alien to anyone playing that other hockey. We were beaten like an old rug.

John McGraw has played field hockey for years and even helped coach the women's team at PSU.  He is now in Canberra, Australia as a member of the Over-40 Mens World Cup Team.
Two games in, they are 0-2, but have games each day for the next week.  A rather grueling schedule.  Hope to hear from him when he returns to his job at PSU-Hershey Medical Center.  Go John!

New Zealand and US team after the NZ 5-0 victory. John McGraw is in center of back row.

Penn State Track Alumni Golfer Makes The National Team!

One of the great perks of being the Group's Herder of Cats is that I get to meet people I would have missed otherwise. And learn of the vast interests and talents that our member's have.

One that stands out is the long-term love of Field Hockey and John McGraw himself.  John was just announced as a member of the USA World Cup Masters Team.  John is currently living in Hershey and training in Lancaster.  Anyone who has ever played the sport knows how difficult it is.  I once played against my high school girls team, with disastrous results. It isn't anyway as easy as they make it look.  Ryan Foster is another who has played the sport in the sport's World Champion Country of Australia.

John McGraw, front and center.

A Friend In Need, Is a Friend Indeed: or My Day in Happy Valley

It was a whirlwind of 24 hours from start to finish, and I was admittedly at less than my best.  And my best isn't usually that good!  But I'll attempt to bring you the highlights of my travels through the Alumni World of PSU Cross Country.

First up, we must discuss the herculean efforts that are being made by members of our group in helping Coach Groves rehabilitate from his pneumonia and broken ribs.  I can't fathom better friends than Roger "Gunny" Roll*  and Greg Fredericks, who have spent endless hours with Coach and helped him with all his daily tasks AND MORE.  Each an every one of us owe them a thank you for what they continue to do.  These efforts show the very best of Track Alumni Golfers and humanity itself.  I can't say enough in praise of them.

Roger "Gunny" Roll manned the finish line at the PSU National.

My family visited Coach for a 1/2 hour and we enjoyed a spirited talk about many topics.  I think he would appreciate a visit from all his athletes.  They apparently boost his efforts at rehab.  Those who have broken a rib know the pain involved.  Throw pneumonia on top of that and you can understand the poor hand he was dealt.  Gunny and Greg are there constantly motivating him to get better, much as he did with each and every one of us.

Second, I got to talk with many alums before and during the Penn State National Cross Country Meet.  Despite the early rain, the day turned out to be quite nice.  I spoke with several friends while at the meet, always a highlight of the day.

I got to congratulate Coach Gondak on his new duties.

The Skerpons, Robbin and Don, stopped by to see my daughter run! They haven't changed in 30 years.

John McGraw took time away from Field Hockey to watch the meet!

Former foursome teammate Coach Fritz Spence.

The meet itself was anti-climatic, as both the men and women held out top runners for next week's Pre-National Invitational in Terre Haute, Indiana.  With the reduced number of runners the Division I race was merged with the PSUAC Championships (The Penn State University Branch Campus Conference).  The Alumni team, defending champs, cobbled together a team at the last minute with Brian Fuller leading them with a 5th place finish.

The Alumni Team gets ready.

Brian Fuller places fifth overall for the Alumni team.

The PSUAC Championships were for the PSU Branch Campuses across the state.  Penn State Scranton won both team titles.  The newest team from Mont Alto managed 2 first team All-Conference runners and one second team All-Conference runner.  Martha Baskwill placed 7th in the 6K earning a trip to the USCAA Nationals in Syracuse in November.  Joining her for the trip will be the mens 4th place finisher in the 5.2 mile run, Joe Fletcher.  In addition, boxer and MMA fighter James McKeithen placed 13th.  James had no prior competitive running experience prior to last year.  The 27 year old does have a history of 2 tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, though.  One tough runner who has improved with every run of the year.

Joe Fletcher, PSU Mont Alto, 4th.

James McKeithen, right.  don't pick a fight with this runner!

Martha Baskwill, aka Daughter the Elder, conquers the White Course hill to finish 7th.

*People have pointed out that the Label for Gunny has 3 "l's" at the end, which was an error in the initial typing.  I have decided to not go back and change each and every example of it.  The third "l" now stands for "Loyal".  Thanks Gunny, for your service to Coach and to the Nation.

I Built Fallingwater! And Waiter, More Wine!

PSU Track Alumni Golfer John McGraw recently visited Frank Lloyd Wright's famous residential creation Fallingwater near Pittsburgh.  I snatched a photo or two from his stash for those of you that aren't familiar with it.

I have had a recent experience with Fallingwater also, but it isn't quite as exciting as being there.

I built the LEGO version, which probably costs as much as the original full home did! A River Runs Through It.

And I have recently noticed that Eric Schwarz is thinking of expanding his wine making capacity with a course in Israel.

A Fine Finish Indeed

Congrats to the Women's team for their NCAA Regional victory yesterday.  Another beautiful finish to both the race and the season.  PSU waited until the last miles before passing Villanova and Georgetown.  Coach Alford-Sullivan and Coach Gondak really did a remarkable job getting them ready for the Big Race.  Keep it going!

The Men's Team placed 5th in the race. Sam Masters qualified individually for the Championships.

I'm on limited Internet Access for the weekend, so I have t wait to post some purloined photos.

Addendum: Here's the purloined fotos I promised.  These are from PSU Track Alum golfer John McGraw.  Thanks!

Third Place Ain't Bad

Dennis Hendershot, Kevin O’Brien, John McGraw, Bob Gabel (-2)

In third place in our wonderful tournament came this rather game foursome.  Two of them won awards in the skills contest.  And with Kelly's history, maybe "the shot of the day" came from their group as well.  We're still trying to figure that one out.  

Dennis Hendershot braved the rigors of the Elks Club Course for the first time and came away with "Horace" The Golden Putter!  He even received the item and will keep it til next year when he promises to return.  As a lefty, he can't use it, but we should see updates from him as he travels around in the next year.  Dennis is the father of Jon Hendershot of vertical leaping fame.

Bob Gabel, former winner of the Golden Putter, put a tee shot on the green and won the Closest to the Pin Award this year.  The prize is being readied as we speak.

John McGraw relates he had a hot and cold tourney (which beats my frigid round) and as a State College local now, just may be able to hone his skills enough to challenge for the Cup next year.

Kelly O'Brien's game has already improved from when he golfed with me a couple of years ago, and there were no near misses this year that I have been made aware of.  He also attempted to garner attention with some sharp duds, only to be thwarted by the purple/orange pants from Paul Mundy.  Better luck next year!

Group Grows Even Faster

A few of the Alumni made it to the Track to be recognized by Coach Sullivan, Coach Groves and Coach Lucas during a break in the action at the Penn State National this past weekend.  Joining in on the fun and formally announcing his application to the group was John McGraw with a splendid 5:22 Mile on Friday night.  We are hard at work trying to get him an Alumni Singlet and possibly some orange shoes for his next race.  John just recently returned to State College as a researcher and we'll be seeing a lot more of him!  That's John with the light blue shirt in Artie Gilkes' pic.