The "Other" Reunion Was Also A Success

The Womens teams from the 70s have been getting together for longer than our group started by Clark Haley in 2002.  They have a triennial get-together and just staged their 9th one on this past weekend in Happy Valley.  I promised no math on the blog, so I won't try to figure out when that started! I am acquainted with many of them.  Some of them have also attended our events, and all of them should know how much we would like to see them at our future events.  Remember, the golf is optional, but highly recommended!  The only requirement is mirth!

Front row L to R
Liz Berry Larsen, Janet Norem, Mary Rawe Rapp, Peggy Cleary McKay
 
Back row
Sandy Miller, Sue Hawkins DeHart, Maria Lonnett Burgess, Tina Leatherman Jones, Sandy Alexander, Penny Fales Kramer, Carolyn Ihrig, Magda Kubasiewicz, Kris Bankes Jacoby, Donna Gardner Rowland
(Missing from photo- Liz Cunningham Kisenwether) 

Meeting with Coach Gondak.

A Berkey Creamery stop.

The Final Listing Of The Greatest Penn State Womens Cross Country Runners Of All Time, Just In Time For Christmas Unwrapping

With the combination of the AIAW results from 1975-1980 and the NCAA results from 1981 to the present, we finally have complete results of the Womens Collegiate Championships.  Those who finished in the top 50 of any of those Championships are included in the rankings.  A complex, flawed and arbitrary method was used to rank them according to my whim and mood.  I was persistent to find all these results so that I could include some friends I have actually run some miles with.  Merry Christmas to Patty, Mary, Kathy, Liz, Kris and Heather.

1. Kathy Mills Parker - 3rd 1976, 1st 1977, 3rd 1978, 4th 1979 for 179.6 points.
2. Liz Berry Larsen - - 15th 1975, 11th 1976 and 16th 1977 for 97.3 points. 
3. Kris Bankes - 3rd 1975, 43rd 1976, 15th 1977 for 79.6 points. 
4. Heather Carmichael - 8th 1979, 24th 1980, 31st 1981, 43rd 1983 for 77.6 points. 
5. Bridget Franek - 23rd 2008, 26th 2009 for 52.8 points.
6. Susanne Heyer - 14th 2000 for 36.7 points.
7. Caitlin Lane - 16th 2011 for 35.0 points.
8. Liz Cunningham Kisenwether - 12th 1975 for 33.5 points.
9. Stacia Prey - 23rd 1985, 41st 1987, 31st 1988 for 30.1 points. 
10. Kimberly Kelly Segiel - 27th 1992, 35th 1994 for 28.4 points.
11. Patty Murnane Nosack - 24th 1979 for 26.4 points.
12. Mary Rawe Rapp - 26th 1980 for 20.1 points.
13. Kimberly McGreevy - 28th in 1996 for 19.4 points. 
14. Donna Gardner - 34th 1976 for 13.1 points.
15. Tessa Barrett - 38th 2015 for 13.0 points. 
16. Doreen Startare McCoubrie - 28th in 1982 for 12.0 points.
17. Kelli Hunt - 42nd 1992, 44th 1993 for 11.4 points. 
18. Colleen Glyde - 41st 1992 for 7.1 points. 
19. Wendy Nelson - 43rd 1990 for 5.6 points.
20. Eileen Meenan - 45th 1975 for 5.2 points.
21. Torri Perri - 47th 2012 for 4.0 points. 
22. Erin St. John - 46th 1994 for 3.6 points. 
23. Jennifer Weaver - 46th 1993 for 3.6 points. 
24. Meredith White - 45th 1984 for 2.6 points. 

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.

1975 Was A Wonderful Year. (Well, for the movies anyway. Maybe not the songs!) AIAW Results

Top Movies of 1975:

1.  Jaws    "We're going to need a bigger boat."
2.  Monty Python and the Holy Grail " Come and see the violence inherent in the system."
3.  One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest  "I must be crazy to be in a loony bin like this"

Top Songs of 1975:

1.  Love Will Keep Us Together - Captain and Tennille. 
2.  Rhinestone Cowboy - Glen Campbell.



3.  Philadelphia Freedom - Elton John

 

But it was also the dawn of big-time Womens College Cross Country.  And Penn State was there (Ames, Iowa) in a big way.  Like a second place finish to the foreign-heavy Iowa State Cyclones!

Penn State:

1.  Kristen Bankes                    3rd   17:12

2.  Elizabeth Cunningham       12th   17:36

3.  Elizabeth Berry                  15th   18:02

4.  Eileen Meenan*                   45th  18:59

5.  Karen Johnson                   62nd  19:26

   
The Top 20:

 *This will add Eileen Meenan to the final listing of the Greatest PSU XC Runners of All-Time - 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:

Another Change To The Greatest Womens XC Runners Of All-Time (Need 1979 and 1980!) The Intern Is Demanding A Pay Raise!

Thanks to a very observant and conscientious, faithful reader who is working this Thanksgiving, we have the 1975 AIAW XC Championship results to add to the list of Greatest PSU Womens XC Runners of All-Time!  Keep them coming.  We only need 1979 and 1980 now, which could boost Doreen Startare McCoubrie and Heather Carmichael and others in the mix!  I don't want to leave anyone out, but I need confirmation of the results before posting.


The criteria and formula used by the overworked math intern are the same as before and similar to the Mens version. (Top 50 women instead of top 20 men being the only difference to make about the same number of people represented.)

Greatest Penn State Womens Cross Country Runners (AIAW and NCAA) Of All-Time

(Red indicates changes from the last version.)

1. Kathy Mills Parker - 3rd 1976, 1st 1977 and 3rd 1978 for 133.8 points.
2. Liz Berry Larsen - - 15th 1975, 11th 1976 and 16th 1977 for 97.3 points.
3. Kris Bankes - 3rd 1975, 15th 1977 for 74.4 points.
4. Bridget Franek - 23rd 2008, 26th 2009 for 52.8 points.
5. Susanne Heyer - 14th 2000 for 36.7 points.
6. Caitlin Lane - 16th 2011 for 35.0 points.
7. Liz Cunningham Kisenwether - 12th 1975 for 33.5 points.
8. Stacia Prey* - 23rd 1985, 41st 1987, 31st 1988 for 30.1 points.
9. Kimberly Kelly - 27th 1992, 35th 1994 for 28.4 points.
10. Kimberly McGreevy - 28th in 1996 for 19.4 points.
11. Heather Carmichael - 31st 1981, 43rd 1983 for 13.1 points.
12. Tessa Barrett - 38th 2015 for 13.0 points.
13. Doreen Startare McCoubrie - 28th in 1982 for 12.0 points.
14. Kelli Hunt - 42nd 1992, 44th 1993 for 11.4 points.
15. Colleen Glyde - 41st 1992 for 7.1 points.
16. Wendy Nelson - 43rd 1990 for 5.6 points.
17. Torri Perri - 47th 2012 for 4.0 points.
18. Erin St. John - 46th 1994 for 3.6 points.
19. Jennifer Weaver - 46th 1993 for 3.6 points.
20. Meredith White - 45th 1984 for 2.6 points.    

Elizabeth (Liz) Cunningham Kisenwether.

Updated (But Still Incomplete) Top Penn State Womens Cross Country Runners Of All-Time

Through extensive searches requiring Herculean efforts (Google and even email!) and the actual transfer of legal tender, I obtained AIAW XC Championship Results of 1976 (partial), 1977 (total) and 1978 (partial).

These efforts were facilitated by Sarah Adams and the wonderful people at Eastern Kentucky University Special Collections and Archive.  She has been granted an honorary membership in our group and joins Jeri Elder and Kay Warfel as a Digital Archive Goddess on the right sidebar.  She will probably be somewhat confused by how much I paid for the few specific items I needed, but I am very thankful for them.  It gives me a little street cred when I say I am trying to run all of this stuff down, and come through with at least some of it.  Still looking for the results of 1975, 1979 and 1980! Only a troll under a bridge seems to have them.

So we can add a few names to the listing of the Greatest PSU Womens Cross Country Runners of All-Time!   I had the math intern retire to the basement with a calculator and figure out the results using the same arbitrary, self-serving and non-meticulous method I used before.  There are many ways to answer the question, but this method pleases my friends and infuriates some others.  You are welcome to promote your own listing as you please.  And Pete Rose is still the greatest baseball player of all-time, just in case you wanted to know!

 The Top Penn State Women Cross Country Runners Of All-Time (Including AIAW results 1976, 1977 1nd 1978 and all NCAA results 1981 to present):

New members in red

1. Kathy Mills Parker - 3rd 1976, 1st 1977 and 3rd 1978 for 133.8 points.
2. Liz Berry Larsen - - 11th 1976 and 16th 1977 for 66.4 points.
3. Bridget Franek - 23rd 2008, 26th 2009 for 52.8 points.
4. Susanne Heyer - 14th 2000 for 36.7 points.
5. Caitlin Lane - 16th 2011 for 35.0 points.
6. Kris Bankes - 15th 1977 for 33.0 points.
7. Stacia Prey* - 23rd 1985, 41st 1987, 31st 1988 for 30.1 points.
8. Kimberly Kelly - 27th 1992, 35th 1994 for 28.4 points.
9. Kimberly McGreevy - 28th in 1996 for 19.4 points.
10. Heather Carmichael - 31st 1981, 43rd 1983 for 13.1 points.
11. Tessa Barrett - 38th 2015 for 13.0 points.
12. Doreen Startare McCoubrie - 28th in 1982 for 12.0 points.
13. Kelli Hunt - 42nd 1992, 44th 1993 for 11.4 points.
14. Colleen Glyde - 41st 1992 for 7.1 points.
15. Wendy Nelson - 43rd 1990 for 5.6 points.
16. Torri Perri - 47th 2012 for 4.0 points.
17. Erin St. John - 46th 1994 for 3.6 points.
18. Jennifer Weaver - 46th 1993 for 3.6 points.
19. Meredith White - 45th 1984 for 2.6 points.   

Liz Berry Larsen, 2nd from left.

Kris Bankes.

*Thanks to Hugh Hamill for the correction of Stacia Prey's name, (not Perry as in the "official" results. The intern has been sacked.

I'm Still Searching For The AIAW Results! I Promise.

I have taken a little light-hearted abuse for seemingly forgetting that Penn State had a rich history in Womens Cross Country before the NCAA ever deigned to allow those with XX chromosomes to belong to their organization.

But that isn't the case at all!  I swear!  I just cannot find the full results of those Championships.  And I have tried enough to have come across some other cool stuff for future blog posts.

But first up is the team scores for the 1975 to 1980 years of the AIAW Championships: All top 5 finishes for the Blue and White!

1975

November 15, 1975, Ames, Ia              
Place  School                Results
=====  ====================  =======
   1.  IOWA STATE              96      AIAW
   2. PENN STATE     104     AIAW
   3.  MICHIGAN STATE         116      AIAW
   4.  OREGON                 143      AIAW
   5.  FLORIDA                162      AIAW
   6.  KANSAS STATE           177      AIAW
   7.  WISCONSIN              218      AIAW
   8.  COLORADO STATE         248      AIAW
   9.  MASSACHUSETTS          252      AIAW
  10.  KENTUCKY               264      AIAW
  11.  NW MISSOURI STATE      270      AIAW
  12.  MINNESOTA              280      AIAW
  13.  OHIO STATE             301      AIAW
  14.  WISCONSIN-LACROSSE     312      AIAW
  15.                         333      AIAW - Golden Valley Lutheran Junior College             
  16.  SOUTHERN ILLINOIS      369      AIAW
  17.  SW MISSOURI STATE      403      AIAW
  18.  MURRAY STATE           420      AIAW
  19.  AUGUSTANA COLLEGE      473      AIAW

1976

November 13, 1976, Madison, Wi           
Place  School                Results
=====  ====================  =======
   1.  IOWA STATE              62      AIAW
   2.  CAL ST-NORTHRIDGE      110      AIAW
   3.  WISCONSIN              177      AIAW
   4.  MICHIGAN STATE         181      AIAW
   5  PENN STATE    188      AIAW
   6.  UCLA                   269      AIAW
   7.  OREGON                 300      AIAW
   8.  COLORADO STATE         318      AIAW
   9.  NEW MEXICO             361      AIAW
  10.  KANSAS STATE           364      AIAW
  11.                         423      AIAW - Golden Valley Lutheran Junior College             
  12.  TEXAS                  504      AIAW
  13.  KENTUCKY               512      AIAW
  14.  MASSACHUSETTS          524      AIAW
  15.  NW MISSOURI STATE      534      AIAW
  16.  COLORADO               546      AIAW
  17.  SOUTHERN ILLINOIS      630      AIAW
  18.  WISCONSIN-LACROSSE     643      AIAW
  19.  TEXAS A&M              696      AIAW
  20.  EASTERN MICHIGAN       828      AIAW
  21.  BOWLING GREEN STATE    842      AIAW
  22.  SW MISSOURI STATE      858      AIAW
  23.  LUTHER COLLEGE        1000      AIAW

1977

November 19, 1977, Austin, Tx            
Place  School                Results
=====  ====================  =======
   1.  IOWA STATE              92      AIAW
   2 PENN STATE     116      AIAW
   3.  COLORADO               164      AIAW
   4.  WISCONSIN              172      AIAW
   5.  UCLA                   189      AIAW
   6.  EASTERN KENTUCKY       213      AIAW
   7.  OREGON                 218      AIAW
       TENNESSEE              218      AIAW
   9.  KANSAS STATE           239      AIAW
  10.  WESTERN ILLINOIS       272      AIAW
  11.  MARYLAND               290      AIAW
  12.  CAL ST-NORTHRIDGE      302      AIAW
       WASHINGTON             302      AIAW
  14.  MINNESOTA              346      AIAW
  15.  FLORIDA STATE          361      AIAW
  16.  TEXAS                  366      AIAW
  17.  MICHIGAN STATE         373      AIAW
  18.  STANFORD               421      AIAW
  19.  COLORADO STATE         427      AIAW
  20.  TEXAS A&M              448      AIAW
  21.  TEXAS WOMAN'S          520      AIAW
  22.  OREGON STATE           541      AIAW
  23.  AUBURN                 699      AIAW

1978

November 18, 1978, Denver, Co            
Place  School                Results
=====  ====================  =======
   1.  IOWA STATE             119      AIAW
   2.  NORTH CAROLINA STATE   142      AIAW
  3. PENN STATE     144     AIAW
   4.  COLORADO               145      AIAW
   5.  OREGON                 178      AIAW
   6.  WISCONSIN              187      AIAW
   7.  CALIFORNIA             197      AIAW
   8.  VIRGINIA               206      AIAW
   9.  MARYLAND               207      AIAW
  10.  MICHIGAN STATE         209      AIAW
  11.  CAL POLY-SLO           251      AIAW
  12.  PRINCETON              268      AIAW
  13.  KANSAS STATE           301      AIAW
  14.  KANSAS                 353      AIAW
  15.  FLORIDA STATE          392      AIAW
  16.  TEXAS                  393      AIAW
  17.                         425      AIAW - Spokane Community College                         
  18.  ALABAMA                433      AIAW
  19.  NEW MEXICO             502      AIAW
  20.  HOUSTON                504      AIAW
  21.  CAL ST-NORTHRIDGE      529      AIAW
  22.  COLORADO STATE         531      AIAW
  23.  WESTERN ILLINOIS       548      AIAW

1979

November 17, 1979, Tallahassee, Fl       
Place  School                Results
=====  ====================  =======
   1.  NORTH CAROLINA STATE   108      AIAW
   2.  OREGON                 120      AIAW
   3 PENN STATE     138      AIAW
   4.  WISCONSIN              142      AIAW
   5.  ARIZONA                181      AIAW
   6.  VIRGINIA               206      AIAW
   7.  CALIFORNIA             218      AIAW
   8.  MICHIGAN STATE         259      AIAW
   9.  IOWA STATE             290      AIAW
  10.  CAL POLY-SLO           294      AIAW
       UCLA                   294      AIAW
  12.  PRINCETON              303      AIAW
  13.  PURDUE                 309      AIAW
  14.  TENNESSEE              326      AIAW
  15.  MARYLAND               327      AIAW
  16.  MISSOURI               412      AIAW
  17.  KANSAS STATE           415      AIAW
  18.  COLORADO               430      AIAW
  19.  ALABAMA                452      AIAW
  20.  MASSACHUSETTS          455      AIAW
  21.  COLORADO STATE         479      AIAW
  22.  FLORIDA STATE          511      AIAW
  23.  OKLAHOMA               572      AIAW
  24.  TEXAS                  661      AIAW

1980

November 15, 1980, Seattle, Wa           
Place  School                Results
=====  ====================  =======
   1.  NORTH CAROLINA STATE    76      AIAW
   2.  ARIZONA                133      AIAW
   3.  VIRGINIA               140      AIAW
   4.PENN STATE     198      AIAW
   5.  OREGON                 251      AIAW
   6.  TENNESSEE              268      AIAW
   7.  UCLA                   270      AIAW
   8.  CALIFORNIA             281      AIAW
   9.  WISCONSIN              285      AIAW
  10.  IOWA                   299      AIAW
  11.  MICHIGAN STATE         304      AIAW
  12.  WASHINGTON             306      AIAW
  13.  TEXAS                  335      AIAW
       VERMONT                335      AIAW
  15.  OHIO STATE             354      AIAW
  16.  CAL POLY-SLO           365      AIAW
  17.  PURDUE                 379      AIAW
  18.  MISSOURI               407      AIAW
  19.  COLORADO               408      AIAW
  20.  HARVARD                415      AIAW
  21.  FLORIDA STATE          469      AIAW
  22.  IOWA STATE             486      AIAW
  23.  ALABAMA                539      AIAW
  24.  OKLAHOMA               578      AIAW
  25.  COLORADO STATE         617      AIAW

AIAW Great Kris Bankes. So what if it's a track pic?

Let's Celebrate a World Record by One of Our Own!

We're a little late with this one, but what the heck.

In addition to the World Record Horace Ashenfelter set at the 1952 Olympics in the Steeplechase, we have another World Record Holder in our ranks.  Thanks to our great friend from the Oregon Ducks and the West Coast, Dan Martinez, we have these great photos and stats of the 1978 AIAW 5000 M Championships.

Kathy Mills gapped the field by 35 meters in the first lap and never let up!

• 400 M - 67.1
• 1 Mile - 4:48.3
• 2 Mile - 9:55.6 (5:07.3)
• 3 Mile - 15:03.9 (5:08.3)
• 5000 M - 15:35.5   Collegiate Record, American Record, World Record!

Photo by Bill Killian.

 Also in the race and finishing 7th was Kris Bankes in 16:12.0, the 10th fastest American all-time at the time.

Photo by Bill Killian.