Coaches Influenced By Coach Groves Have Good Memories

My recent foray into a 1977 XC meet was met with agreement and embellishment from two other participants that day. No corrections of facts presented and further elucidation of the particulars came from both of them.

Mason, OH State Champion XC Coach Tom Rapp remembers that the meet was mostly a dual meet against powerful Georgetown held on neutral turf in Williamsburg, VA.  He also remembers that our first man had to break up the threatened 1-2-3 finish of Georgetown studs for us to have a chance at the meet and a trip to the NCAA Championships!  This was before the current system of Prelim meets and such.

Then John Ziegler chimed in with the fact that he was in fact the first man battling it out against all 3 of them.  John remembers the games and tactics they used, which weren't always legal.  But John overcame the odds and finished 2nd, allowing our remaining corps of harriers to seal the victory from the favored Hoyas.  Tom also verified my seemingly made up assertion that we ran 18 miles that day.

I forgot to ask both of them if they remember KKOB's GI issues during the whole trip.  But Ziggy does remember singing Earth, Wind and Fire tunes much to the dismay of Mike Wyatt and Coach Groves.

 

Now Let's Rank The Penn State Mens Alumni Road Records *Updated*

There aren't as many events for the road records, so I will attempt to get them done without the Interns.  Again, we will use the IAAF Ranking Tables from the latest addition in 2017.

1.   10 Miles                  Greg Fredericks                 46:10*              1981     1139
      10 Miles                  George Malley                     47:02                1981      1091
2.   Half Marathon        George Malley                  1:01:43               1982     1122
3.   Marathon                 James Carney                   2:12:23              2012     1119 
3.   Marathon                 George Malley                   2:12:23              1985      1119
7.   20K                         George Malley                      58:35              1982      1112
9.   10K                         Tyler McCandless                29:27               2013      1006
       10K                         James Carney                     28:19                2009      1112
8.   15K                         James Carney                       43:31               2009      1101

5.   25K                         Tyler Mc Candless            1:15:24              2018     1088
6.   30K                         John Ziegler                      1:32:17              1980     1085 


10. 30K Race Walk       Steve Hayden                    1:32:06             1970       972
11. 50K Race Walk       Steve Hayden                    4:23:22              1972        943

*  Short Course Trevira Twosome

Additional:
        8K                          James Carney                   22:52                  2008       N/A
       12K                        Alan Scharsu                    34:54                  1985        N/A

Penn State Track Alumni Road Records

Here is the final listing from Matt Groves' research.  As with the Indoor and Outdoor Records, we are looking for any updates that are available!

                                                      *  Marathon         2:12:23         George Malley(77)      1981?

Putting On The Alumni Reunion And Golf Tourney Is Hard Work

Some of you may not know how much work that Clark Haley and Harry Smith put in nearly all year in preparation for our annual get-togethers.  For nineteen years, Clark has handled chores beyond what you would expect, and Harry came on board maybe 15 years ago to take some strain off the Group's Founder.  Many people contribute, and all contributions are very much appreciated.

I do very little work on these things, as my job is to "herd the cats" toward the event with my ramblings on this blog, which has met with some success in its 11 years.  My hope is that this trend continues.  Any help you offer is quite welcome.

Todd Leggett, Greg Fredericks and John Ziegler watch Harry Smith labor to inflate a cactus for the Alumni Triathlon. Photo by Ken Brinker.

The First Annual Alumni Triathlon consisted of:

• The Cactus Throw
• The Frisbee Discus Throw
• and The Golf Ball Roll

Clark Haley won both the Frisbee Throw and the Golf Ball Roll to take the Crown. John "Ziggy" Ziegler won the Cactus Throw.

The Triathlon Trophy prior to Friday night surgery.

Restored trophy.

Odie the Shih Tzu on his first trip to Penn State.

1978 NCAA XC Championships

This is a repost of Larry Mangan's post to our Facebook page.  This way even the non-FB readers will get to enjoy the goodness!

On a cold (18 degrees), windy, day back in 1978, on the Yahara Hills Golf Course in Madison, Wisconsin, seven intrepid Penn State harriers jumped off the line to begin the start of a fine, three-year period in PSU cross country history. We finished 4th that day in Madison, and would take bronze in each of the next two years. Each Nittany Lion was of regular college age and from NY, PA and OH. Bordering our corral at the start were the very over-aged Cougars and Miners from Washington State and UTEP. Coach Groves was quite delighted when one of his charges, who will go unnamed, in a fit of anxiety and hypothermia, "politely" asked the folks on either side of us to "speak f***ing english". How did 40 years pass so quickly?

   9 Snyder, Robert 29:48
 54 Ziegler, John 30:36
 61 Mangan, Larry 30:41
 73 Baden, Bruce 30:50
113 Rapp, Thomas 31:11
120 Scharsu, Alan 31:19
129 Wyatt, Michael 31:27

Bob Snyder, running with the Big Dogs!

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.

The Way, Way Back Machine Is Rusty

Sorry for the dearth of posting lately.  Work is a four-letter word that ends in K.

But it was 41 years ago that we first heard of the plane crash that decimated Lynyrd Skynyrd.  I remember exactly where I was when we got the word over the radio.  We were nearing the hotel in Williamsburg, VA on a Friday evening in the cross country van driven by Coach Groves.  I was seated in the next to last row between Ray Krombel and Kevin Kelly O'Brien.

Also in the van were Captain Bruce Baden (in the shotgun seat) and Captain John Ziegler.  Others included Jim Clelland, Frit Cooper, Mike Wyatt, Larry Mangan and his Freshman roommate Tom Rapp.  (Did I miss anyone?)  Of course I did!  Campbell Lovett, Dave Felice and Brian Boyer were there too!  Bob Snyder was injured.  (no wonder the van was uncomfortable. 14 of us was too many!)

We were on our way to a meet with Willam and Mary and Georgetown on the grounds of the insane asylum next to the campus.  Coach Groves told us a few stories of escapes from the place. Nice to know when you were alone in the woods during the race.

Our warm-up that day was to run the entire 10K course.  Then the race.  And then the warm-down turned out to be the entire 10K course!  I actually fainted during the warm-down and, as always, the only person who noticed was Mike Wyatt, my guardian angel those first 2 years. I think we won the meet, but I hope others chime in with more.

Incidentally, I became a fan of Lynyrd Skynyrd that day when I learned they named the group after their mean gym teacher, Leonard Skinner at Robert E. Lee High School.  hee hee hee

The Times, They Are A Changing.

The Alumni "Run" was sorta kinda a bust this year.  Multiple forces conspired to make things that way. Apologies all around for the problems.

• For the first time in our 17 years (except last year's hosting of the Big Ten Championships), the track was locked up tight.  Never expected that.
• Hastings Road was torn up and that made our usual parking area unavailable.
• The team moved their practice time back an hour to take advantage of a break in the weather.
• It rained the whole time.

But five hardy souls still managed a campus run, and the rest of us were ushered into the Indoor Track at 10:00AM to meet some of the athletes moving on to the Regional NCAA Championships.

Now what do I do with 4 dozen donuts and a nearly full "Box of Joe" still buried beneath my golf clubs in the back of my car?

In honor of Horace Ashenfelter.

Better luck next time.

Possibly The Greatest Photo Ever On The Blog!

I am spending the weekend immersed in a Podiatric Conference in King of Prussia. While not the most enjoyable way to spend one's time, at least I get to reunite with fellow Penn State T&F Alumni Golfer, All-American (and walk-on!) John Ziegler. I was rewarded with possibly the greatest picture ever posted on the blog with it all, rivaling the selfie from the bonobo monkey featured before.

This pic was taken by Rochester native and All-American Bruce Baden. It features a youthful duo of John Ziegler and Coach Groves wearing matching 1977 or 1978 plaid "disco-era" pants!  They were boarding a plane near TMI soon after the near meltdown heading to the Dogwood Relays in Tennessee.




John tells me that coach is wearing the newest company New Balance shoes which were sized by supplying a tracing of your foot and sending them in!  Ziggy is wearing original Nike Waffles.

Also, a pic of last night's Kung Pao at the PF Changs in Plymouth Meeting, scene of a previous group Outreach. They have changed the recipe slightly in the past year, but it is still an excellent version of the world's finest dish.

Coach Of The Year

Ryan Foster has been named 2017 Mid-Atlantic Region Division II Womens XC Coach of the Year by the USTFCCCA. He guided the Fighting Scots of Edinboro to the PSAC title while wearing a kilt (not really!)


And a bonus pic of PSU T&F Alumni Golfers John Ziegler and Ron "Bile" Ferguson (Honorary member). 

My Choice Of The Hardest Track Race* And Maybe We Are All Wrong!

Only 1 week left to order a jacket, t-shirt or rain pants to go with your rain jacket.  Please consider an order to show your pride in our group!  Use code PSUTFAL


I received quite a few responses to the query of "What is the hardest track event?"  Some came via the Facebook site, some in comments and others in personal contact from the hermits among our group.  The various nominations included:

• 800M, specifically an all-out for time race.
• 400M
• 3000M Steeplechase
• 400M Intermediate Hurdles
• Pole Vault.  (Even though we hadn't originally included field!)

I have done most of those events (or tried to) and here are my remembrances:

1. 800M - This was always easy for me, but I must admit I never really tried to run an all-out 800M.  In high school, I always ran at least 3 events and sometimes 4.  Several times, I ran 2 1:59/2:00 880Y's on the same day, less than an hour apart, along with a mile and 2-mile thrown in. I won every 1/2 mile I ran Senior year except the last one I tanked so a friend could win his only race of his career.  Had to run 2:06 that day.  The Gist: Not the hardest, but I can see it being brutal for the likes of Cas Loxsom, Brannon Kidder, Ryan Foster, Owen Dawson and Isaiah Harris!  
2. 400M - The only timed 400M I ever ran (although it was regularly used as a threat by my high school coach) was on the Nittany Lion Track during a work-out.  Coach Groves made us start out with an all-out 400M in lanes and everything! I tied with the known speedster John Zeigler in 54.3.  I know, quite pitiful.  I remember it hurting like crazy for more than 150M, even as I thought I held form quite well. Took quite a while to feel better, too.  Can't imagine what it feels like for the best.  The Gist: I can see this as the hardest of races.
3. 3000M Steeplechase - Ran a bunch of these at all-comers meets in Millersville. I had never even jumped over a hurdle before I tried it.  I am a terrible hurdler, although I am tremendous on the water jump.  Because of that, I created a technique for just tapping the barriers with one foot to clear it without actually stepping on it like with the water jump.  I never was coordinated enough to do it with either foot reliably, so it didn't always help much.  My best race was actually in front of Arthur Lydiard and Heather Carmichael.  Mr. Lydiard actually praised me for my waterjump technique and had me run a warm-down with Heather who was in the States to find a college to attend.  That she ended up coming to PSU may partially be because of me.  Although we were friends, I never asked her about that.  But she did make me a pair of mittens for Christmas that I still have and used to run winter runs with.  The Gist: a very hard race, but the risk of injury and difficulty of hurdling made it hard for me to max out my endurance.  The top guys, of course, get closer to max, but even then most of them never look "all in" when they are done.
4. 400M Hurdles - Combine a miserable distance with hurdles that are still way too high and I can see this as a very hard race.  The Gist:  Never ran it and never will, so I will never know!
5. Pole Vault - Back in my lithe youth, I couldn't even carry a 16 foot pole down the runway and wouldn't know what to do with it if I could.  The Gist:  This was the hardest event of all.

But it is possible that all of us are wrong. Possibly, this is the hardest race of all.  Mostly because marriage is just an entry requirement!

"The Best One Ever" And A Thank You

The turnout and enthusiasm for the 2017 Penn State Track and Field Alumni Reunion and 2017 Coach Harry Groves Golf Outing were certainly through the roof this year.  And an anonymous long-term attendee of our event described it as "the best one yet".

Thanks certainly go to Founder and Keeper of the Beer Clark Haley and Event Coordinator Harry Smith for putting it all together.  And thanks to everyone involved for rejuvenating my psyche this weekend after a few trying months! My "old" friends and the many new friends I have made were the best medicine I could ever have been given.

I will have much more to come in the coming days about the event, as I must consolidate several sources of pics and videos with my meager digital skills.  Until then, here is a pic of my foursome and the golfers in this year's tourney.

Me, Steve Balkey, Mike McCahill and John Ziegler.

7 Foursomes!

  

Our Official Physicist* Moved 7,000 Miles Away, But He Still Can't Shake Us!

Brian Boyer moved to Vienna, Austria to join the IAEA team several years ago. Yet he gets constant reminders of his Happy Valley roots by hiking the streets of his adopted town. And a hearty hello to Brian from me!

Yet another former Penn State XC teammate has his own street.   Tom Rapp 1981. Ironically O'Briengasse (Kevin Kelly O'Brien 1980) is a block away. Both in 21st District Vienna.  Zieglergasse (John Ziegler 1980) and Stemmerallee (Paul Stemmer 1977)  I knew of years ago.  Could be more.

 * Actually a nuclear engineer, but still smarter than us.

How Could This Blogger Link The Inauguration, Saturday Night Live And Penn State Track?

Blog Readership is down as everyone turns their gaze toward the replacement for the Ringling Bros. Circus in Washington DC. So that meant I have some time to think, which is always a bad, bad thing.  Well, my cerebral wanderings took me all over the place, but coalesced around a report I saw on the news this morning.

Sam Moore (of the great R&B/Soul group Sam and Dave) was telling of the scorn he has received for daring to perform for inaugural concerts.  He related he is "getting more attention now than when he was famous"!

Sam and Dave performed one of the greatest hits of all time with "Soul Man".

Most of us know about Soul Man because of the hijinks of John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd first performed on SNL in 1978.



But I also remember one of my favorite Track trips while at PSU in 1979.  This was the same meet that John Zeigler missed the bus and had to hitchhike to Pittsburgh just in time for the 10,000M race we were in!

Later that night, some field eventers (jumpers I think) took me out to a bar near campus right near one of my favorite hot dog places (the Dirty O).  There was a "special" that night on $1 beers, which were given in clear 12 oz plastic cups. Maybe it was 2 for $1 even!  Everyone had a high stack of the used cups next to them and were having a definitely overall wonderful time.

But then, things were just getting started.  And they were about to get waaaay better too.

In filed a man wearing a hat, dark sunglasses and a black suit.  He had a briefcase chained to his wrist.  Soon another black-suited gentleman with hat and glasses entered.  In an elaborate display, they opened the briefcase to reveal a single harmonica.  A few more people entered and stood or took seats on a cramped stage.  The horns, guitars, drums and who knows what else just kept coming, until abruptly they all started in on the music.  It was wonderful, and the clear cups of yellow nectar kept coming!

They played the entire album of the Blues Brothers, and it was joyous to the extreme.  They were mostly members of the Pitt Band, but there were a few older people amongst them.  They were having just as much fun as the stacked-cup rabble surrounding them.

Eventually, the yellow concoction caught up with me and I didn't remember how it ended or who I was rooming with or anything.  If anyone remembers this event, please chime in!

My Readers Are The Best: And I'll Never Doubt Our New Blog Laureate Again

The 1974 AAU XC Championship listing from Mike Fanelli's vast archives was a big hit.  The only way to top it would be photographs from that meet.  And Dan Martinez, our best Oregon Duck connection, has come through for us again!  Both Mike and Dan have always been invited to our Reunion and Golf Outing.  It would be a pleasure to have a Duck and a native Philadelphian amongst our ranks.  Please chime in with who is who among the runners pictured. (Hint: There seems to be 2 Nittany Lions lurking in the photos somewhere?)

And it turns out that Larry Mangan was 100% correct and both the previous Blog Laureate and I were 100% wrong.  Larry will now be tasked with his newest Group title as Blog Laureate, a position that has been unfilled for far too long.

The Coach Groves Spiked Shoe Meet was known as the Coaches Conference Meet in its early manifestation.  I'm not sure who did the legwork on this but I am impressed.  The telltale article was found in the Reading Eagle of all places.

1979 Coaches Conference XC Meet

1. Larry Mangan   24:40   5.2 mile  (Course Record)
2. Alan Scharsu     24:56
3. John Zeigler
4. Tom Rapp
5. Jeff Adkins
6. Ricky Garcia
7. Jim Clelland

I cannot thank my readers enough for making this site almost factually accurate! hee hee hee All errors in fact are usually my responsibility.  But most times, my readers rescue me.

I'm Terrified Of The 400 M

I have always been terrified of having to run a 400M race.  In high school it was my coach's threat to get me to run 4 races instead of having to run anchor on the 4 x 440Y.  I have only ever run one timed 400M and that was early in my Junior year when Coach Groves announced the event at the beginning of an interval session.  We even lined up in lanes with John "JB" Barber and Coach Groves and others actually timing everyone individually. 

I held my own with a just slightly too fast start and smooth middle 200M.  The last 100M was grueling but I held my own and came to the finish in the middle of the pack tied with John "Ziggy" Zeigler in 54 seconds.  I think with years of practice and dedication to the event, I could have topped out at 53.9!

But THIS 400M will not be my next attempt at the distance. Thanks to KKOB for the link.

What was Your Best 400M, you distance-running smartypants?

More Old-Timey Goodness From All Over

We've had an influx of new members to our group, and some increased activities from "old" members too.  We've also had some nice notes of encouragement from other Alumni Groups wondering just what the heck are we up to.

I tell everyone who asks that question the same thing.  Without any hesitation or hint of doubt, I tell them we are working to become the largest and most active Track and Field Alumni Group in the whole world.  And I have no doubt.  We all belong to the largest College Alumni Group* in the world already, so its only a matter of time.

New member Steve Bratt brings us this great photo of the 1975 Cross country team:

Some great things I see on there are:

1. John Zeigler's glasses!
2. Mark Parker's glasses! (what's up with that!)
3. Bill Sheskey's hair!
4. Tim Backenstose's hair! (and he's as skinny as Ziggy!)
5. That's Steve Bratt next to Bill Sheskey with the same smile as Coach Groves!

Steve also submitted a results page for the 1978 Nittany Valley Marathon, which backs up my previous story of helping three of our better milers to their first run over 15 miles in their lives (actually 17 in the PSU tradition!).  I "taught" Larry Mangan, Mike Wyatt and Tom Rapp to hold back at the start of the race and only increase pace every five miles.  We made it all the way to third place at 20 miles before I faded. (In my defense I had pneumonia only 3 weeks earlier!)  All 3 went on to beat me in quite remarkable times considering the cold and snow-covered roads and the fact that they never ran more than "15" before.  Also note how I had to scramble to beat Liz Berry and Coach Groves! It also may be the only time I ever beat Gary Black! Also note the 53 year-old Hersh Leibowitz running a 3:25 marathon!  He gets more amazing to me every year looking back at things. (RIP Hersch).

 

Here's a pic dedicated Golfer  Bill Malchano dug out of his "Way Back" drawer, showing that like Paul Souza, he once had hair! (Hey Bill, I remembered the "A" this time!)

Bill Malchano in the Ice Palace!

*Ah, heck, maybe Michigan or Ohio State has a larger group.  I'm not even going to look it up. I feel like John Belushi asking "Did we quit when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor...?" (RIP Harold Ramis)

A Remarkable Bunch

Mark Hawkins, Nick K., Stephen Shisler, John Ziegler and Gary Black

The recent Penn State Track and Field Alumni team for the 2013 USATF 5K Masters XC Championships.

The Results Are Finally In!

The Penn State Track Alumni* team entered the USATF Masters 5K XC Championships with 5 runners over the age of 50.  They all ran quite well and placed 8th in the over 50 team competition.  Blog Muse Rob Whiteside was the team manager for the competition. There really are some incredible over 50 runners in this nation!

     24.John Ziegler      18:12   

     30.Mark Hawkins      18:47   

     32.Stephen Shisler   18:52   

     35.Nicholas K.       19:04   

   75.Gary Black        23:56  

 *Entered as Nittany Valley Running Club because you had to have a team registered already in USATF.  We'll have to remedy that in the near future.  Seems time has come to unleash the Penn State Alumni team!

Many photos will be available soon.

 

A Juvenile Diversion as We Patiently Wait For the "Old Men" to Finish the USATF XC Championships

The 5K USATF Masters XC Championships are being held today in Flemington NJ.  The PSU Track Alumni Golfers will be there fielding a team in the 50 and over division. (For Larry, "I think they all are over 50!")  It seems that Steve Shisler actually qualified just TODAY for that dubious honor!  Welcome to the back side of the hill Stephen! At least it's "downhill" from here.

Birthday Boy and his beautiful wife.

Others in the event may include Mark Hawkins, Nick K., and Gary Black.  I'm not entirely sure about any of this, but why start caring about accuracy in media now?  Good luck, don't break a hip, and in the case of Gary, don't break another!  Addendum:  The 5th member of the team is John Ziegler and they are in the 50 and over division.

So to pass the time before the results are in, here's the original "Mahna, Mahna"  skit from the Muppets from Sesame Street in 1969. It'll come back to you after the first utterance and stay with you far longer than any of you wish!