Lions At The Top Of The Worlds

Larry Mangan, Phil Monastra and Joe Kovacs join Mark Heckel in Eugene! Joe is in the SP final tomorrow. 

Diamonds Are A Guys Best Friend

 Via our West Coast Promoter Mike Fanelli, via Founder and Keeper of the Beer Clark Haley comes this picture from the 1980 Run for the Diamonds in Berwick, PA.  I think both Greg Fredericks and Larry Mangan won diamonds that year.   Not bad for a couple of milers...

40 Years Ago Seems Like Just Yesterday!

40 years ago, Friday May 16, 1980 Penn State Track and Field finally broke though a long standing barrier and one Larry Mangan wrote his name into the record books.  Yes, the first Penn Stater to run a sub 4 mile and he did it right in Happy Valley (who said it is always too windy here?)  Larry will join us Saturday May 16th at 10AM eastern time and hang around a bit for the west coast to wake up!  Maybe each of you have your Larry or 1985 4X800 moment you can share.  Lets have some fun and recognize one of our greats.

Thanks.

greg

And let's not forget that it wasn't too long after that but 2 years since Greg joined the Bannister list!  Go Larry!

Gregory Fredericks is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

The Smile Is Infectious!

Ranking of All-Time Best Outdoor Performances of Penn State Track Alumni*

* Performances after PSU eligibility has expired.

The IAAF, or whatever they call themselves now, has a ranking system that can be used to gauge performances across Track and Field times and distances.  This system is very useful, but is only one way to interpret Athletic performances across all the disciplines.

While these tables can never be a definitive measurement of the level of performance
considering the differing opinions among sports statisticians concerning their basis and
method of construction, they do allow us to consistently measure and compare athletes and their performances across the rich variety of event disciplines.

So, I combined our previous compilation of the Event Record Holders in each discipline with the IAAF Scoring Tables.  The results are sometimes surprising.

1.  James Carney       2007                10000M       27:34.64                    1386
2.  Joe Kovacs           2017                Shot Put       74' 0.25"  (22.57M)   1275
3.  Knut Hjeltnes       1985                Discus          228' 5"  (69.62M)      1238
4.  Casimir Loxsom   2015                800M            1:44.92                     1176
5.  Brannon Kidder    2019                1500M          3:35.27                     1171
6.  Barney Ewell        1948                100M            10.1 (ht)                   1170
7.  Mike Shine           1976                400M IH      49.30                         1159
7.  George Malley     1978                 3000M SC   8:21.72                      1159
9.  Lennart Hedmark  1973                Decathlon     8,188 pts.                 1155
10.  Casimir Loxsom  2013                600M            1:14.84                    1154
11.  Mike Sands          1975                200M            20.5                         1143
12.  Mike Shuey         2019                 Javelin          271' 10"  (82.85M) 1141
13.  George Adu        1999                 Long Jump    25' 10.75" (7.89M) 1114
14.  Larry Mangan     1983                Mile               3:56.90                    1113
14.  Alan Scharsu       1985                3000M           7:50.40                    1113
16.  Mike Sands         1976                 400M             46.01                       1111
17.  Mike Shine          1979                110M HH       13.80                      1103
18.  James Carney      2008                5000M           13:31.61                  1097
19.  Casimir Loxsom  2014                1000M           2:19.16                   1092
20.  Ricardo Hall        1995                Triple Jump    53' 7.75" (16.22M) 1082
21.  Dave Kriz            1996                High Jump      7' 0.75" (2.15M)    1046
22.  Dave Masgay       1987                Pole Vault      16' 8.75"                 1021
23.  Alvin Jackson      1979                Hammer         211' 11" (64.60M)   957       

Comments appreciated!                       

A Wolverine Of A Workout

We have talked several times recently about The MichiganWorkout.  I related how it is considered one of the most difficult workouts by many in the distance running community.  And we even have friends of the group who were there at the beginning of the phenomenon.

My logs from back in the day weren't detailed enough to regale specifics of the Nittany Lion version of the workout from Coach Groves.  That is why we have more than 1 Officer of the Group!  Thankfully our Chief Laundry and Morale Officer Larry Mangan has kept his more detailed logs and has specifics on two of these workouts from back in the day.

"I had to dig deep into the archives and find a calendar from the fall of 1980 to find evidence of this "Michigan" workout (I need to clean off my keyboard after typing that school up north and out west).

I found two in 1980:

October 6, 1980 - 3 mile warm up, mile 4:40, 2.5 mile at 5:30 pace, 1320 yards "hard" (no time), 2.5 mile at 5:30 pace, mile 4:48, 3 mile warm down.

October 27, 1980 - 2 mile warm up, mile 4:32, 3 miles at sub 6:00, 1320 3:25, 3 miles back to track (no time), mile 4:25, 3 mile warm down.

As to the 4:14 mile Gary Black remembers, we did have a November 3, 1980 4xmile workout on the Blue Course that went 4:36, 4:25, 4:45 and 4:17 (alternating uphill/downhill miles). I remember that workout because at the end it was cold and dark, Harry handed out those reflective vests and we had to drag ourselves back to Rec Hall - I hurled at least twice on the way back. Three weeks later we finished 3rd at the NC2A meet."

And out of the blue, Manager John Barber sent me this smuggled video of that second workout on the golf course out of the PSU archives without Coach Groves knowing about it.  It turns out that wolverines and badgers are really the same thing.

A New Alumni Record!

Brannon Kidder placed third in the Brooks PR 1500M with a time of 3:35.27.  That eclipses the old Alumni Record of  3:38.4 held by Larry Mangan from 1982.  Brannon's time converts to a splendid 3:52.5 Mile, which would also outpace the Alumni Record of Larry's from 1984, 3:56.9!

Lancaster, Ohio's third Nittany Lion great!

The King Is Dethroned Again

But a Penn State Track and Field Alumni (Golf) Big-Wig did make it to the podium this year.
Ricardo Hall won the overall title and the accolades from 207 players.  Our very own Larry Mangan was third overall and represented the Officers of the Group well.  Joe Clinton also snuck into the top 10.  Kay Warfel also performed well in 12th place.  And Mark Hawkins can take solace in the knowledge that he was able to outperform all but 1 Animal!

Thank you. Thank you, very much.

In the all important Animal division, Spott Moskowitz was again dragged down from behind by Thomas Roth Bernard.  He takes the second place with dignity and aplomb.  He almost had enough points built up to make the Final game meaningless.

Overall Top 25:

1	Dynamite, Black	148
2	Wingo, Trey	138
3	Mangan, Larry	132
4	Pritchard, Simon	129
5	Hoover, Douglas	128
6	Crescenzi, Noah	128
7	Clinton, Joe	128
8	Oliver, Ryan	124
9	Brothers, Ellie	123
10	Riter, Tony	121
11	Oliver, Emily	117
12	Warfel, Kay	117
13	Cole, Connor	115
14	Oliver, Abby	114
15	Novak, Jay	113
16	Roth, Thomas Bernard	113
17	Oliver, Steve	111
18	Hawkins, Mark	110
19	Morse, Hallie	107
20	Cole, Braden	105
21	Moskowitz, Spott	104
22	McCarthy, Dennis	103
23	Pritchard, Jonathan	103
24	Haushalter, David	102
25	Patrick, Dan	101

The Walls Speak

Our intrepid Chief Laundry and Morale Officer posted this to our Facebook Page following the Penn State National in response to my wife's photo of a mutual friend's plaque on the wall of the Horace Ashenfelter Complex.

Lest we forget...

Our sport is an ongoing mix of things new and historic, young and old. While a group of alumni watched the current crop of Nittany Lions ply their trade quite aptly last weekend, those of us in the stands traded stories of workouts and races past - we're all faster by the way. We also spoke of teammates and friends who are still with us and those who have left us to remember them fondly. One of those Lions we remembered was Charlie Maguire who left us all too soon a number of years ago. Here is a photo of a young Charlie, who in 1969, had a world of opportunities ahead of him. I'm glad his likeness adorns the walls on both the east and west sides of the Horace Ashenfelter Indoor T&F facility at Penn State.  -Larry Mangan.

Remembering Charlie Maguire

A School Record, A World Record, A Visit With Coach And a Very Good Meal

First up, the unbelievable Danae Rivers bettered her own 800M School Record at the Penn State National yesterday with the NCAA leading time for 2019, 2:02.94.  She also leads the nation in the 1000M with the Collegiate Record .

But up in NYC at the same time, Brannon Kidder turned in the fastest split on the Brooks Beasts team in the 4 x 1609M race (otherwise known as the 4 x Mile).  His third leg of approximately 3:56.8 (via Flotrack) set the team up to demolish the existing indoor world record!

Before the whole afternoon of invitational events at the Horace Ashenfelter Track. several Nittany Lion greats visited Coach Groves at his room to calm him down from the recent horrible events right outside his residence.  Mark Hawkins brought word of his 5:32 Mile at the track on Friday night AT THE AGE OF MUMBLE MUMBLE..

Greg Fredericks, Mark Hawkins and Larry Mangan with Coach Groves.

And to cap off my whirlwind and unexpected trip to State College for the meet, I had dinner with the wonderful Fredericks family. It just doesn't get any better than this! 

Greg, Jeffrey and Anne Fredericks. Many lobsters were harmed in the prelude to this photo!

Indoor Memories

The more recent Nittany Lions have reveled in the glory that is the ultra-modern indoor track at the Horace Ashenfelter III Indoor Complex.  But things weren't always so easy or beautiful like they are now!  Some of us toiled in what would now be called primitive conditions.  Somehow, we still had fun, learned things and excelled anyway.

The world's greatest Track and Field Museum curator, Mike Fanelli, recently posted an old photo of a high school indoor meet in the 1960s.  It did not fail to get a rise out of many people, including our very own Chief Morale and Laundry Officer, Larry Mangan.  I just wish Larry would write these things down for the blog instead of making me steal them from the other intertubes!

At Penn State my freshman year, we worked out on the "track" in the rafters (asbestos anyone?) of Rec Hall. That rectangular torture device basically had one and a quarter lanes. You did your recovery hugging the inside railing (yes, railing) while all types of sprinters and middle distance runners blazed by on your right as they completed their workouts. As your fatigue increased, your chances of weaving to the right increased, as did your chance of getting run over by Paul Lankford or Gary Schwartz (why was the throws coach running on that "track"?). We actually held an intrasquad meet on that damn medieval surface. Fortunately, Penn State's athletic administration, in all its glorious wisdom, moved us to the Greenberg Indoor Sport Complex, lovingly referred to as the Ice Palace. The surface of this unheated (yes, unheated in Central PA - wisdom) facility, which also had leaking skylights (yes, skylights in an unheated facility), was a hard, green, pebbled finish. Oh, and it was a flat, 13 lap to the mile circuit. The 20 meter straightaways provided a brief respite to everyone's screaming Achilles's tendons. My favorite part of the warm up was using our racing spikes to chip away the ice that formed on the track when the aforementioned skylights failed to hold their water. I would have much preferred to run outside on a creaky old board track.

My favorite memory of the Rec Hall Intrasquad Meet was the 400M.  Each heat had two athletes who hated each other.  One or the other ended up "over the rails" or "into the wall" in every dual.  Highly entertaining for a skinny Freshman looking to survive the spike injuries and sore throat to come in his 2-mile race!

Larry Mangan leads the Mile!

Rec Hall Track

Round and Round A Square Track

And let's not leave out the Greenberg Complex, which we have dealt with before...

Smelling The Chickens

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!

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

"Cuttin' A Mug" Reminds Me Of My First PSU Run

My first Term at PSU was arguably my best one.  At least for running.  (Academics was a different story!)  I was reminded of this because of a photo submission from Tim Backenstose by way of Campbell Lovett.  He titled the pic "Cuttin' a mug", a reference to Robert Snyder's unique ability to make a face everyone would remember forever.

Campbell kindly sent Tim this photo as a way of motivating him for further excellence in the coming years.  He probably had no idea it would motivate me as well.  Both Campbell and Tim were upper-classmen I both admired and marvelled at. (sic)  Maybe, I will some day expound on more of their exploits (like the "Mud Men") which made me both fear and delight in them. I will probably need their help in accurately conveying these stories.

But first, the pic...

Robert "Snid" Snyder taking first in the 800M on the State College Junior High track.

A hideously inferior version of this pic has been featured on this blog before.  This improved version allows the visualization of some additional features.

• Mike Wyatt in second place, wearing Nike spikes he later gave to me for my Junior and Senior seasons.
• Bill Sheskey taking 5th.
• Paul Stemmer lurking in bland grey sweats just off the left shoulder of Mike Wyatt.
• Possibly, Larry Mangan, who ran the pitless steeplechase earlier, cheering on the glory of the 1-2 finish in the actual scored dual meet.

With the mention of Tim and Campbell, my thoughts drifted to my first ever run at PSU.  I went to campus a day earlier than almost everyone else and drifted over to Rec Hall to see Coach Groves and make sure that I wasn't imagining that he had said I could join the team.

I was in the best shape of my life, following my June 1977 talk with Coach and his admonition that 80 miles/week just wasn't enough to cut it.  I ran nearly 100 miles a week leading up to matriculation and prayed for the ability to keep up with the team.

When I arrived at Rec Hall and met with Coach that day, I was dressed to run, just as I almost always was anyway.  It turned out that it wasn't a dream, as Coach welcomed me and told me to go take a run with "those guys".

Everyone who knows me, knows I am prone to some exaggeration or embellishment  (or even "misremembering" facts).  But this is exactly how I remmber that run.  I'm hoping Tim has at least a snippet of confirmation of this! 

"Those guys" happened to include three giants, or at least giants compared to the 5' 10" (now 5' 9") 117 pound (now not quite twice that number...) runner I was in those days.  Each of them were at least 6 inches taller than I, and at least 50 pounds heavier than I.  I remember them as Tim Backenstose, Campbell Lovett and Mark Parker, the current President of Nike, who had just graduated and was heading off to Exeter NH to work for the fledgling Nike brand.  The only one I am 100% sure about is Mark, as Coach addressed him to say that I was joining the group for a "10-Miler".  I never said a word to any of them, and they barely acknowledged me at all.  The only hazing I ever remember occuring as part of the team.

We took off for a run that eventually led to the Pine Barrens west of State College.  In those days, none of us had a running watch, let alone a GPS one.  But the run seemed to be getting longer and longer.  Although it was faster than my usual entirely solo runs, I was delighted to be running well with no difficulty at all keeping up with the "real" Penn State runners.  My fears of fitting in were relieved on that first run and I actually did go on to be our 7th man in three of the season's early XC races. Enough to even earn a letter!  (Robert Snyder was injured that first season until the very end, when I was no longer in the top 7.)

It turned out that the "10-Miler" I was on went nearly 2 hours at 6:00/mile pace.  A foreshadowing of the 18 mile "15-Mile" Mountain runs early in the season.  Forty-one years later, I swear I remmber that run like it was last week.

And if you want to "misremember" some past exploits like me, there is nowhere better than at our Reunion and Coach Groves Golf Tourney on May 18/19th!

One Person options:

Entire Package $205.00 USD    Friday and Saturday $135.00 USD    Friday Reception $45.00 USD    Saturday Reception $105.00 USD    Golf and Saturday Reception Dinner $155.00 USD

For additional family members, add up permutations in post and use snail mail to:
 Harry Smith
            508 Washington Avenue
            Elyria, OH  44035

The Interns Reshuffled The PSU Sub-4 Listing Chronologically!

Now I owe them time and a half and all my leftover Kung Pao Chicken...  But it was worth it!  The effort is always appreciated.

Greg Fredericks          Reading AA                3:59.7      State College            8/05/78

Larry Mangan             Penn State                   3:58.4      University Park        5/16/80

Mike Wyatt                 Philly Pioneers            3:58.0      Philadelphia             5/18/80

Matt Lincoln               PSU Alum                   3:59.39i    University Park          1/27/07

Ryan Foster                 Penn State                   3:58.49i    University Park        1/29/11

Robby Creese              Penn State                   3:59.52i    Seattle                      2/11/12

Brannon Kidder          Penn State                   3:59.48i   University Park        1/26/13

Owen Dawson             PSU Alum                   3:59.74     Philadelphia             4/27/13

Colin Abert                 Penn State                   3:59.51i    University Park        2/03/18

* Someone chime in and let us know the location of Matt's sub-4!  Matt himself and Ryan Foster have chimed in via our Facebook site and corrected this "corrected" version again.  My interns are the greatest!

And Now There Are Nine!

Colin Abert won the Mile at yesterday's Sykes and Sabock Challenge Cup at the Ashenfelter Track.  With his 3:59.51 time, he has become the ninth Nittany Lion and Alums to break the 4-Minute barrier for the imperial distance.  Congrats Colin!

Colin Abert.

He joins 6 other Americans and 2 Alums from foreign lands.  I include Matt Lincoln and Ryan Foster as honorary Americans for several reasons:

• Matt is from Canada.  The English speaking part!  I have always said that Canada is like America's Attic.  We rarely go up there, but when we do we discover that it is filled with wondrous things and we can't wait to come back again.  He also coaches American high school students well enough for National Honors!
• Ryan comes from Australia, which also is predominantly English-speaking.  With a cool accent. Even bettrer, he is from Tasmania.  He has also never had a single Foster's Lager, which he says is only sent to America! He has also golfed in our Tournament and performed a "Happy Gilmore" drive.  He has rejuvinated the XC/Track program at Division II Edinboro University.
• Both have married Americans. And any of us male reprobates who are married realize that all of us "marry up".

Penn State Athletes and Alumni Breaking the 4-Minute Mile:

Greg Fredericks (Reading AA)

3:59.7 (2)

University Park

August 05, 1978

Larry Mangan (Penn St)

3:58.4

University Park

May 16, 1980

Mike Wyatt (Philly Pioneers)

3:58.0

Philadelphia

May 18, 1980

Robby Creese (Penn St)

3:59.52(i)

Seattle

February 11, 2012

Brannon Kidder (Penn State)

3:59.48(i)

University Park

January 26, 2013

Owen Dawson* (unattached)

3:59.74

Philadelphia

April 27, 2013

Colin Abert (Penn State)  3:59.51   University Park  February 3, 2018

Canada      Matt Lincoln 3:59.39(i)  2007
Australia   Ryan Foster (Penn State)  3:58.49(i)   University Park  January, 2011

* Owen Dawson became the first ever to run a sub-4 minute mile wearing a Penn State Track Alumni Singlet.  He will forever be enshrined as a barrier-breaker of the first order.

Owen Dawson Sub-4 Penn Relays 2013. Photo by Matt Groves.

Here's a great map showing where athlete's first ever sub-4 were run. The dot at State College just got a little larger!

Game Day Breakfast: Sh*tt on Pitt

I had breakfast just now with my dog Spott, who somehow broke into the closet yesterday and ate a week's worth of his food.  Needless to say, I was up extremely early in my RV for an evacuation of my own, although not nearly as critical as the one in Florida.  But Spott did live up to the chant from us students from years ago, Sh*tt on Pitt.  I'm sure that's not allowed anymore, but we must remember it was a Pitt fan who took a sledgehammer to the Lion Shrine's ear, and this is my blog!

Spott, contemplating his breakfast.

 Also, Ed Carroll sent me this pic of Larry Mangan and friends (that's Todd Kletter, Jonathon Weaver and Ed Carroll with Larry Mangan.) visiting Coach Groves yesterday.

And I will be adding some pics from today's tailgate later...

Let's All Finish Coach Groves' Scholarship

We are close enough to get it finished before Coach Groves' next birthday in April and certainly before the next Track Alumni Reunion and Coach Groves Golf Tournament!

Co-Administrator Larry Mangan has spearheaded the effort to find donors willing to match every donation made by the rest of us and complete the funding of a full tuition scholarship for an athlete in the Program.

So that means each of us must step up to make it happen.  Every single donation you make will be matched by 13 special members of our group up to a level of $2500.  We must not let this opportunity slip by.  Please consider adding to the effort, share this post and spread the word to everyone you know in our Universe.  It will make our next get-together a real hootenanny and bring a smile to Coach Groves' face!

Our Premier Benefactors: 

• Joe DeStefano  (1971)
• Carol and Steve Gentry  (1969)
• Hugh and Yunhee Hamill  (1976)
• Chris Herr  (1985)
• Doug Kent  (1980)
• Todd Leggett  (1984)
• Larry Mangan  (1981)
• Todd Shenk  (1984)
• Rod Stahl  (1991)
• Bob Radzwich  (1992)
• Tom Shiffer  (1987) 
• Doug Walter  (1990)
• Don and Lynn Ziter  (1981)

September 5, 2017

Dear Fellow Track & Field/Cross Country Alumni:

We hope you had an enjoyable summer and are getting ready for the upcoming 2017-2018 Penn State Cross Country and Track & Field seasons. The women’s and men’s programs are perennial B1G favorites, fueled by spectacular individual accomplishments and a great coaching staff. Based on the turn out for the 2017 Big Ten Championships in May, the alumni are really energized and engaged.

The alumni listed below, from a variety of decades in Penn State history and a mix of walk-ons and scholarship athletes, are hoping to capture that energy by taking the lead and asking you to join them to meet a challenge! Coach Harry Groves’ scholarship fund needs approximately $55,000 in donations to exceed the $300,000 necessary to partially endow the position scholarship, which would provide $15,000 in annual tuition support to a student athlete.

The challenge is this – we have pledged to support Coach Groves’ scholarship in the amount of $30,500 to match alumni contributions of that amount (hopefully more)! We ask you to donate what you can in support of our goal to get Coach’s scholarship over the $300,000 hurdle! We are in the homestretch, can you help to get us over the finish line?

Coach will turn 88 in April 2018 and we would love to present him with an early birthday present, and add to his great legacy, before the end of this year. We know from Greg Fredericks that Coach is excited about this effort. Please join us in meeting this very important goal. Thank you and We are…..Penn State!

Please send donations made payable to: Penn State University, noting the Harry Groves Track/XC Scholarship (GIXGH) in the memo portion of your check, at 147 Bryce Jordan Center, University Park, PA 16802. If you have any questions, please call Kirk Diehl of the Varsity S Club at 814-867-2202.

If you would like to give online, you may do so at: https://secure.ddar.psu.edu/s/1218/nlclub/nlclub.aspx?sid=1218&gid=1&pgid=826&cid=3234&dids=633&bledit=1 and then type in GIXGH in the fund area below the amount you select.
Thank you.

Joe DeStefano (’71) Carol & Steve Gentry (’69) Hugh & Yunhee Hamill (‘76) Chris Herr (’85)
Doug Kent (’80) Todd Leggett (’84) Larry Mangan (’81) Todd Shenk (’84)
Rod Stahl (’91) Bob Radzwich (’92) Tom Shiffer (’87) Doug Walter (’90)
Don & Lynn Ziter (’81)

A Guest Post From One Group Officer About Another

Our Chief Laundry and Morale Officer forwarded this from a wayward intern about our Director of Youth Development.  Both are Yinzers, but maybe the rest of us can follow along...

“One of the new interns, currently working on top-secret, autonomous Cross Country van project deep in the bowels of CMU’s Robotics, Propulsion and Isaly’s Klondike Lab, found this hidden jewel in the recesses of the internet.  Finally a story about something good happening in Cleveland!”

The Days of Our Lives

PITTSBURGH, PA - Sometimes I wish I could go back on a rollercoaster ride, when life's just a game. One of Queen's lesser-known songs, "These Are The Days of Our Lives" is the perfect tune by which to remember those times we have left behind us. Everyone of us, at various points in our lives, takes those fateful trips down memory lane. Some of us look back with a smile, and some look back with a sigh of regret. Yet look back we all do, and it is about this that I write today. While hopping about the internet the other day, I happened upon the official Shady Side Academy Cross Country Page, and the memories came flooding back. Reading the tales of the accomplishments of the past year's cross country team, as well as some of the history of the team at Shady Side, I was reminded of how old I had gotten, and how long it had been sonce I ran along those rolling hills of Fox Chapel. How many years it had been since I had taken the long bus ride to Mercersburg, PA, with a dozen or so of us rocking along with Freddy Mercury and Queen in the back. When the last time was that I gathered with my teammates for a pre-race trip to the sacred Pizza Hut. Needless to say, I was quite thrilled to have found this tiny corner of the cyber-world, for it has inspired me to recall the lasting legacy of a man I feel was the greatest runner ever to don a Shady Side uniform - Arthur Scott Gilkes.
It is not the easiest thing to enter high school, a highly regarded cross country runner, the year after a state championship. Having graduated a majority of the major players from the 1988 State Championship team, Shady Side Academy was in a rebuilding year, which still left the team quite competitive by league standards. Artie Gilkes was immediately thrust into a leadership role on the team, surging into a top five position from the onset. The graduation of still more seniors that year thrust the spotlight on Gilkes and his sophomore teammates in the 1990 season. After a strong showing in the state meet that year, where Gilkes finished fourth, the team, which placed three sophomores in the top four slots on the team, appeared destined for something great.
Gilkes' junior year featured more of the same, as Gilkes was rapidly becoming a household name in cross country circles in Western Pennsylvania. As he raced to numerous titles in local invitationals, the team nonetheless found itself in the all-too-familiar role of bridesmaid in the league and state meets. The core of the team, now comprised of three juniors - Gilkes, co-captain Bruce Jacobs, and myself - and a freshman - Andy May - could not get over the huge hurdles in its path, and Gilkes was forced to settle once again for individual achievement. He was victorious in the league championship meet, and he placed second at the state invitational. Would his senior year hold more of the same heartache? Or would his team finally rally around their defiant leader?
Magic Johnson is considered one of the greatest basketball players of all time, not only for the skills he possessed on the court, but for his ability to make those around him better. Artie Gilkes discovered in himself that same desire and that same will. He would not let his team lose, doing everything in his power to propel his team to victory. He only lost one race during his senior year, a state-wide invitational in early September of 1992, but it was his dedication to the team that made him a lasting legend at Shady Side.
Never having known the joys of a team victory at the Interstate Prep School League championships, Gilkes was faced with the unenviable task of weighing certain personal glory against potential team gain. Victory was almost assuredly his, if he so desired it. Yet if he went out and demolished the competition, the team might again find itself in second place. The chief competition, Western Reserve Academy, had two top runners - Hastings and Masiella - who would most likely find themselves in second and third place if Gilkes ran away early. I had never beaten these two runners in three years of head-to-head competition, and as the team's second-best runner, my ability to stay with these two was crucial. Working two-against-one however, the W.R.A. runners had a significant edge, and passing me at the end was a likely outcome. Assistant Coach Tom Graham explained to Gilkes that he would have to risk defeat if he wanted the team to have a chance to win: he would have to hold back, running in a pack of four, only to sprint at the end and take me with him down the victory chute. The decision was not even a decision at all.
Encouraged by my teammate's presence against the two W.R.A. giants, I was able to stay in the lead pack for almost two and a half miles. The four of us had rapidly distanced ourselves from the rest of the field, and it was becoming apparent that Hastings and Masielle were gaining confidence at having kept up with Gilkes. With a half mile to go, Coach Graham signaled for Gilkes to make his move, and motioning for me to come with him, Gilkes took off across the barren Ohio fields. I am not sure to this day why I went with him at the moment, or how I had the strength to do so, but I did, and he pulled me right along with him to the finish. Gilkes had run the race perfectly, and he and Coach Graham had known precisely when to make the final kick. That willingness to sacrifice on the part of Artie Gilkes earned us the league championship.
Artie Gilkes went on to win the state championship as well that year, even though the team finished a close third in the most competitive field in the tournament's history. He went on to star with Penn State University, running track and cross country in the Big Ten. People look back on high school with a variety of memories, from the prom to past girlfriends to pre-college anxiety. I look back on high school and see one race, run late in October, in chilly conditions, just outside of Cleveland, OH. I remember crossing the finish line, profoundly aware that the league title was ours, knowing that the man fifty yards in front of me was responsible. I raced my entire career with Artie Gilkes, always one step behind, and I never met a better runner, or a better leader. Even while just jogging around my Virginia neighborhood, I can still see his face, nodding to me that it was time to go. Run, then, Artie. Run to your place in history. I will be right behind you.
Submitted 7/30/98.

Nittany Lions Mix It Up With The Greats In The Days Of Yore

Our exalted Chief Laundry and Morale Officer sent these 2 pics for us to present to the masses!  I appreciate all submissions to the blog with it all!

Ken Wynn tucked in behind James Robinson!

James Robinson was a two-time Olympian and was a member of the thwarted 1980 team with Greg Fredericks. He was the top US 800M runner for a full decade from the mid-70s to the mid-80s.

Larry Mangan (4) leading Steve Ovett (11) and others in Birmingham, England.

Steve Ovett was the workingman's alternative to the royal Sebastian Coe in the middle distance scene in the 70s and early 80s.