Running In The Rain

Spent last weekend in Cortland NY for Daughter the Younger's track meet.  Her event was the last on the schedule and the rain held off until just as the event was to start.  During the 3rd leg, the sky opened up and poured rain like I have never seen before.  Meanwhile, Daughter the Younger was handed the baton.  The next several minutes were the definition of "deluge".

The only 2 teams who were left at the stadium were Daughter the Younger's  Hartwick Hawks and the powerful St. Lawrence team coached by Kate Curran.  Weird how circumstances still permit frequent meetings of Penn State Track Alumni (Golfers)!

Kate Curran with backpack and umbrella.

It is especially weird that 3 of the 4 owners of PSU Track Alumni rainjackets were at the meet.  Me, Gary Black and Kate Curran.

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.

Turkey Trots And More

First up is the phenomenon known as the York YMCA downtown Turkey Trot.  This year it brought in more than 5,100 runners for a brief tour of the city!  There were acquaintances who joined in and told me it took them more than 5 1/2 minutes to reach the starting line!

I would bet that less than 5,100 people venture into downtown York in all 364 other days of the year added together.  I have patients who live north of York and visit my office south of York and circle the entire city to get there.  A significant number haven't been into the city once since 1969 and the riots.  And as Dave Barry says, "I'm not making that up."

There are more than 5,100 behind that line!

Daughter the Elder and her ex-York Suburban teammates.

Mary Kate Curran dominated the snow, wind and the roads in Peru, NY with a dominating performance in the John P. Adams Memorial Turkey Trot 10K.  And I already know she's on Santa's good list for a great gift in a month or so!

The Fuller Bros. (Inc.) again owned the New Cumberland Turkey Trot.  Not sure if the entire harem was involved but Mary Dell also won the women's division.

The results photo was sent by Jeff Sanden (whose clan also can in New Cumberland) and turned in a world record time for someone just 2 or so weeks following an appendectomy!

And although it was a week earlier, the Dawson twins also turned in splendid performances in the Philadelphia 8K!  Close enough for a turkey! These results were supplied by our Chief Laundry and Morale Officer, who may begin his comeback in 3 years or so!

ROTHMAN INSTITUTE 8K RESULTS

            Men’s 8K Results

Thomas Awad, 22, Philadelphia, PA, 00:24:00

Louis Serafini, 25, Brighton, MA, 00:24:11

Owen Dawson, 28, Coatesville, PA, 00:24:18

Jonathan Phillips, 23, Boston, MA, 00:24:24

Kyle Dawson,

28, Philadelphia, PA, 00:24:25

And not to be left out, Joe Kovacs gets into the holiday spirit by tossing some bird in this promotional photo from USATF!

All Kinds Of News

More awards for Stephen Shisler, as he wins the Pennsylvania Outdoor High School Coach of the Year Award from the USTFCCCA!

Coach of the Year!
And Here!

Dave Felice (center) with Steve Shisler and Nick K. (right)

And Tyler McCandless has thrown his cowboy hat into the ring and will be entering the New York City Marathon.  Good luck, Tyler.

 New York Marathon Field

Coach Groves continues to receive multitudes of visitors to his Juniper Village home.  Recently Track and Field aficionado Dan Curran (father of Coach Mary Kate Curran!) stopped by for more great track and field stories.

2010 NCAA Results Including Alumni Coaches

The PSU Men finished in 30th place, with Kyle Dawson and Vince McNally placing 52nd and 77th overall.  I still put special emphasis on the contribution from the middle distance guys this year.  I'm sure the 10 K distance took its toll in this race.  I'm looking forward to great 800 M and 1500 M races this year from all of them.  Overall, a good year for the team, setting themselves up for even better things in the future.

The Lady Lions placed 26th as a team, with Brooklynne Ridder placing 82nd overall.  A solid year with a great young group, with great things coming in the upcoming years.

Steve Walsh's William and Mary crew placed 19th as a team in his first year as Coach.  Let's hope his golf game won't suffer following the move to Virginia.

Kate Curran's St. Lawrence Men's team placed third overall in the Div III Championships, with Steve Kiplagat's third place pacing them.  Her Women's squad placed 23rd also.  I'm surprised she ever had the time to fill out the Ten Questions I posed to her!

PSU Track Alumni (Golfers) Excel at Coaching

News from the wide world of Cross Country and Track has made its way to my keyboard.  Several alums are excelling all over the country.  And none of them has to coach Sue Heck of Orson, Iowa.

1. Tom Rapp coaches Zach Wills of Mason, Ohio.  Tom can be seen in this video of Zach's exploits. (Thanks to his ex-roommate Larry Mangan for the link.)
2. Tyler McCandless has just signed up as a high school coach in his adopted Colorado home.
3. Kate Curran's St. Lawrence University teams are #1 and #2 in the Division III  Eastern rankings.
4. There are many, many more great Coaches among our ranks.  Send me an update on any of them in the comments.

Consuella Moore: National Champion and A Few (More) Good Men (and Women)

In no particular order:

• Ryan Fritz, 6th High Jump, 7' 2 1/2"
• Fawn Dorr, 3rd 400 M Hurdles,  55.99
• Blake Eaton, 16th Shot Put, 51' 11 1/4"
• Bridget Franek, 5th 3000 M SC, 10:07.49

And former PSU star Consuella Moore, National Champion, 200 M, 22.40.  She came back after a two-year hiatus!


It was a very good year for PSU Track and Field.  Get involved and help make the future even more exciting.  Operators are standing by. And remember, the golf part is entirely optional!

Addendum:  Kate Curran '06, current Head Coach of St. Lawrence University, has alerted me that I missed Shakeema Welsch's ('99) second place finish in the Triple Jump.  Blog fact checkers responsible for the slight have been sacked.