Our Brave And Talented Interns Are Off Duty, So I Will Post The Next To Last Olympic Trials Update Of Nittany Lion Finishes

 Women's Shot Put:

14.  Rachel Fatherly      17.12M

15.  Payden Montana (transfer)  17.05M

Mens Discus:

15.  David Lucas        58.99M

Womens 3000M Steeplechase:

31.  Tori Gerlach      10:25.39

Womens Javelin:

21.  Madison Smith      45.93M 

Mens Long Jump:

23.  Malik Moffett     7.25M

Womens 400M Hurdle:

9.  Kiah Seymour (transfer)   55.84

TwoThree Lions in competition on the last day...

The Ultimate Interns Guide To Nittany Lions At The 2021 USATF Olympic Trials

 Friday June 18:

3:00PM ET

Mens Shot Put Qualifying:

2.  Joe Kovacs 

3.  Darrell Hill

3:05PM ET

Mens Hammer Throw Qualifying:

 7.  Morgan Shigo

22. Tyler Merkley

5:26PM ET

Mens 800M First Round:

7.  Brannon Kidder

9.  Isaiah Harris

14.   Joe White (Volunteer Assistant from Georgetown)

9:30PM ET

Mens Shot Put Final:

Pending Qualification  (Joe Kovacs, Darrell Hill)

Saturday June 19:

5:15PM ET

Mens Javelin Throw Qualification

2. Michael Shuey

19. Mark Porter

8:04PM ET

Womens 100M Hurdle First Round:

 16. Evonne Britton 

10:04PM ET

Mens 800M Semi-Finals

Pending Qualification (Brannon Kidder, Isaiah Harris)

Sunday June 20:

7:25PM ET

Mens Hammer Throw Final

Pending Qualification (Morgan Shigo, Tyler Merkley)

9:03PM ET

Womens 100M Hurdle Semi-Final

Pending Qualification (Evonne Britton)

9:35PM ET

Womens 3000M Steeplechase First Round

26. Tori Gerlach

10:43PM ET

Womens 100M Hurdle Final

Pending Qualification (Evonne Britton)

Monday June 21:

7:15PM ET

Mens Javelin Finals

Pending Qualification (Michael Shuey, Mark Porter)

8:25PM ET

Mens 800M Finals

Pending Qualification (Brannon Kidder, Isaiah Harris)

Thursday June 24:

4:30PM ET

Womens Shot Put Qualifying

5.  Rachel Fatherly

21. Payden Montana  (transfer)

9:04PM ET

Mens 1500M First Round

8.  Brannon Kidder

10:05PM ET

Mens Discus Qualifying

19. David Lucas

11:00PM ET

Womens Shot Put Final

Pending Qualification (Rachel Fatherly)

11:47PM ET

Womens 3000M Steeplechase Final

Pending Qualification (Tori Gerlach)

Friday June 25:

4:00PM ET

Womens Javelin Qualification

21.  Madison Smith 

4:30PM ET

Mens Long Jump Qualification

22. Malik Moffett

6:30PM ET

Mens Discus Final

Pending Qualification (David Lucas)

6:35PM ET

Womens 400M Hurdle First Round 

8.  Kiah Seymour (Transfer)

7:05PM ET

Mens 1500M Semi-Final

Pending Qualification (Brannon Kidder)

8:04PM ET

Mens 200M First Round

          3  Terrance Laird (transfer now with Adidas)

Saturday June 26:

Womens Heptatlon Day 1

17. Madeline Holmberg

Sunday June 27:

Womens Heptathlon Day 2 

Madeline Holmberg

7:00PM ET

Mens Long Jump Finals

Pending Qualification (Malik Moffett)

7:20PM ET

Womens 400M Hurdles Final

Pending Qualification (Kiah Seymour, Transfer)

 8:10PM ET

Mens 1500M Finals

Pending Qualification (Brannon Kidder)

 

 

 

 

 

Nittany Lions At The 2020 USATF Indoor Championships

Long Jump:
     2nd     Malik Moffett        26' 0.25"  (7.93m)

800M:
     2nd     Isaiah Harris           1:47.16

1500M:
     4th      Brannon Kidder     3:44.69

Weight Throw:
     5th      Morgan Shigo        74' 4.5"    (22.67m)

Shot Put:
     DNS   Rachel Fatherly

Penn State Track Alumni (Golfers) In The Top Ten USA Rankings 2019

It was a very good year for PSU, with some very good rankings in the 2019 year-end review by Track and Field News (The Bible of the Sport).

1.   Javelin        Michael Shuey

2.   SP                Joe Kovacs

3.   SP                Darrell Hill

5.   800 M          Isaiah Harris

6.   800 M          Brannon Kidder

7.   HT              Morgan Shigo

7.   400 H          (Byron Robinson, transfer)

8.   SP               Rachel Fatherly

9.   1500 M       Brannon Kidder

Top Performances by Events 2019:

1.   Shot Put                Joe Kovacs                    22.91 M    75' 2"
1.   Javelin                  Michael Shuey              83.21 M    273' 0"
3.   Shot Put                Darrell Hill                    22.35 M    73' 4"
3.   SMR Women        PSU                               3:45.25
4.   4 X 800 M Men     PSU                               7:19.50
7.   Shot Put                Rachel Fatherly             18.48 M     60' 7.75"
8.   Hammer               Morgan Shigo               72.64 M    238' 4"
12. Mile                      Danae Rivers                 4:29.47
20. Long Jump           Malik Moffett               7.92 M      26' 0"
20. 400 M                  (Alexis Holmes, transfer)  51.52

Indoor USATF Lion Notables

No one could have ever predicted that the Indoor Championships of the entire country would happen in Staten Island.  But it really just happened.

And some Lions were there to perform well.

• Rachel Fatherly was 5th in the Shot Put with 58' 10 3/4"
• Brannon Kidder placed 3rd in the 1000M with 2:21.23
• Malik Moffett jumped 25' 2 3/4" to place 2nd
• Joe Kovacs returned to the indoor stage to place 2nd with 70' 2 1/2"

A Good Weekend

The Nittany Lions qualified 7 individuals and the Mens 4 x 100M team for the NCAA Championships at Hayward Field in a week and a half.

1. Morgan Shigo   -  Hammer Throw   223' 11"      10th
2. Steph Sievers   -   Javelin       159'11"                  10th
3. Megan McCloskey   -   High Jump     5' 10.75"    5th
4. Isaiah Harris    -    800M                   1:46.80        4th
5. Michael Biddle  -     Javelin               208' 6.25"     9th
6. David Lucas   -    Discus Throw          187' 2"      4th
7. Danae Rivers   -   1500M                     4:11.75     3rd
8. 4 x 100M Relay  -                               39.61         12th  (Will Henderson, Anton Porter, Xavier Smith, Malik Moffett)
9. We must not forget (I did) that Madeline Holmberg previously qualified in the heptathlon!

And Tyler McCandless has improved at every Boulder Boulder he has run, cumninating in this year's victory.

Tyler McCandless

Boulder, CO

M31

30:54.76

4:59

2015 - 26th, 32:35 2016 - 6th, 32:05 2017 - 4th, 31:04 2018 - 1st, 30:54

Wheelin' And Dealin'

"I feel like the wheel is for more than the current day, it is for the alumni, it is for all the athletes at Penn State, it is for everyone." 

 - Isaiah Harris 

Revenge is a dish best served at the Penn Relays. 

It wasn't just once, it was twice that PSU was denied a "wheel" in the Sprint Medley Relay at the Penn Relays in recent years.  Both times, a team from the second heat beat the winning time of the Nittany Lions in the Championship of America heat.  And whether a team that was late to the Championship heat deserved to be placed into the second heat at all, I am convinced it is not correct. 

                                         We Was Robbed  

And just last year, Jamaican G C Williams did it to us again! 

So, what does one do to make sure it doesn't happen a third time?   Well, how about have your "half-miler " run the third fastest 800M split in relay history! Note Randy Moore's 1:45.5 split from 1985!

1

Penn State

3:15.25

Xavier Smith, Malik Moffett, Kier Miner, Isaiah Harris (1:44.74)

The Best Race In This Year's Penn State National Invitational Was Named After Penn State Great Barney Ewell

"Ewell probably would have been the most decorated Olympian in the history of the games.”

-Bill Lyon, Philadelphia Inquirer

(The 1940 and 1944 games were cancelled.)

Barney Ewell.

 A Legacy of Greatness

Usually, the Mile has been the highlight of the Penn State National Invitational meet.  Occasionally the 800M has been great too.  But this year, the sprints outshined the middle distance races..  At least in my humble opinion.

An honorable mention has to go to the 400M effort of Penn State Junior Dan Chisena.  His PR of 46.27 got some Penn Relay-like ooohs and ahhhs out of the crowd.

But the best race of all was the Mens 200M.   This year's race was named after PSU great Barney Ewell to celebrate his 100th birthday.  With PSU stars Malik Moffett and Xavier Smith in the Finals, it was bound to be good!  Here's the race captured by 1979 Penn Relay Marathon victor Tim Backenstose's cell phone...



But who was that flash in the outermost lane?  It wasn't Malik or Xavier.  It was Penn State Freshman Terrance Laird in 20.79, from the same Coatesville area that brought us both Tim Backenstose and the Dawson brothers!  Wow!

2nd Semi-Final Poll For Performance Of The Year 2017

Happy New Year.  Now let's pick the final 3 finalists for our annual poll.  You know the drill...

• Go to the full website
• Look at the top of the left sidebar
• Vote for your top 3
• Tell all your friends to vote also

Our Semi-Finalists are:

1. Joe Kovacs - Silver Medalist at World Championships Shot Put 
2. Isaiah Harris - 2nd place at NCAA Championships 800M
3. Malik Moffett - Big Ten Track Athlete of the Year -200M and Long Jump
4. Mens Team - Big Ten Outdoor Championship
5. Doreen Statare McCoubrie - 2nd age group at Boston Marathon
6. Cas Loxsom (600M) and Brannon Kidder (1000M) 2nd USATF Indoor Champs.
7. Xavier Smith - 60M Big Ten Championship in 6.66
8. Mens 4 x 400M Indoor Big Ten Championship and School Record
9. Brannon Kidder wins Milrose 1000M ahead of Cas Loxsom
10. Danae Rivers with Indoor School Records in 600M, 800M, Mile and DMR

How Did The Men Do At The NCAA Championships?

 "It was a fun race."

-Isaiah Harris, runner-up in the 800M.

(And let's not forget this previous tweet from Isaiah!)

"Light yourself on fire and then roll in broken glass to put out the fire!" -from Isaiah Harris's Twitter Feed, explaining how to replicate the feeling after an 800M race.

The big answer is, tied for 20th in the team standings.  For the third straight year in the top 20!  Congrats to the coaches and all the athletes (and not just the ones who scored!).  Coach Gondak related his happiness and the hunger for more!

Coach Gondak and Isaiah Harris.

Isaiah Harris closed out the NCAA Championships with a very smart race, finishing second to the heavy favorite, UTEP's Emmanuel Korir.*  Isaiah stayed back early and ran relatively even splits (52.32 and 53.09).  That kept him out of trouble when the 2 UTEP runners tangled and Michael Saruni went down with 200M to go.  Many thought Korir could have been disqualified for the trip, but judges eventually ruled it out.

Isaiah Harris represents the 7th All-American performance in the 800M since 2009 and ties both Brannon Kidder and Casimir Loxsom with the highest finish in the event at the Championship level.

All the participants in the NCAA Championships: 

• Javelin - Michael Shuey   3rd   250' 9"
• Javelin - Ryan Kerr       9th     232' 0"
• Javelin - Michael Biddle   18th   219' 8"
• Long Jump -  Malik Moffett       18th   24' 1/4"
• Shot Put - Jon Yohman    11th      62'   1/2"
• 4 x 100M - Karson Kowalchuk, Dan Chisena, Xavier Smith, Malik Moffett  13th  39.15
• 4 x 400M - Dan Chisena, Xavier Smith, Tyreek Mathis, Isaiah Harris  9th   3:04.17
• 800M - Isaiah Harris   2nd    1:45.40
• 800M - Domenic Perretta   21st   1:49.14
• 200M - Malik Moffett   22nd   20.93
• Discus - David Lucas    9th  190' 3"
• Triple Jump - Bryce Williams  17th  51' 1 3/4" 

* Even better, Isaiah wore his "Alumni-like Singlet" in the Final.

Can PSU Be 100U Too!

The quartet of Malik Moffett, Xavier Smith, Dan Chisena and Karson Kowalchuk ran a school record of 39.49 and eclipsed the 42 year old record of Jack Davis, Steve Hackman, Mike Shine and Mike Sands at the Virginia Challenge on Friday!

Xavier Smith backed that up with a 10.38 in the individual 100M with Malik Moffett finishing right behind in 10.42! Both are PRs and the #2 and #3 times in school history.

Musings From The Penn State National

First, let's get the two Performances of the Week out of the way.

In order to not incur the wrath of Group Officers, the Interns have been banned from giving their opinion this week.  And despite the duo of Malik Moffett and Xavier Smith going first and second in the 200M AGAIN (21.06 and 21.26 with Dan Chisema in third!), they are just among the rest of the honorable mentions this week!

• A World Record absolutely deserves top mention, right?  Well, when 2 members of our group happen to dip UNDER the existing world record, even the Interns would have to pick that event, right?  So indeed, Casimir Loxsom's new world record 600M tops our list for the week.  Only the second runner to dip under the 1:15.00 barrier all-time (1:14.91), he was followed extremely closely by Sophomore Isaiah Harris* in 1:14.96!

A half of a victory lap!

I had the pleasure to speak with Casimir after the race and can offer this exclusive quote, "That was fun."  He was thrilled that efforts to erase his record just two hours later fell apart for Duane Solomon in Boston.  He also confirms he will participate with my 10 Questions about 800M running for a future post with 800M legend Dave Wottle (Honorary member of 800U) and other PSU standouts.

Le faucon d'orange with Casimir Loxsom.

• And next up is the third School Record in a row by Freshman Danae Rivers!!!, this time in the Mile.  She demolished the existing record with a dominating 4:34.87. She followed that up with a leg of the 4x400M relay!  Her range is astounding.

Both Danae and Casimir attended the same high school, Wilbur Cross HS in Derby, CT.  Whatever is in the water there, we need some more of it here. Or maybe it's the pizza there. I hear it's the best in the world?

I had the pleasure to speak with several members of 800U during the meet.  Michael Slagowski had just made his debut in the 1000M, so I didn't bother him (much!).  Domenic Perretta* was in a good mood after his very fine 1200M performance on Friday and went on to win the 800M Invitational in 1:50.33, just off his PR.  He seems to be adjusting to the rigors of University well!

Dom Perretta winning the 800M.

Robbie Creese returned to the ranks of fresh sub-4 Milers with a splendid 3:59.73 and family members are interested in finally getting him the Alumni Singlet he deserves. Mark Hawkins (who ran the Open Mile on Friday!) actually has an extra Medium version with blank year space for any emergencies.  Let us know! (The next order may coincide with the Alumni Reunion/Coach Groves Golf Tourney and Big Ten Championships! Stay tuned to the blog with it all.)  Robbie followed that up with the finest rabbiting of the day in the 3000M. (Where were the Fullers when they were needed?)  Owen Dawson mixed it up with the runners in the 3000M, so wasn't able to rabbit any of the other events either.

Another School Record fell with the 9:07.22 3000M efforts of Tessa Barrett, fastest in the NCAA so far this year.  Right behind her was graduate Tori Gerlach in 9:10.09 who has outdoor eligibility remaining.

Others in attendance were Jess Riden and Bridget Franek in their new roles for Stanford and Akron respectively.  Sorry I missed both of you.

All in all, it was a great afternoon spent with friends both old (you know who you are!) and new.

And after all of this, I got to celebrate Chinese New Year with Daughter the Elder and Daughter the Younger at the Golden Wok in State College.  An excellent version of Kung Pao Chicken was had containing actual lip-numbing  szechuan peppercorns! These were banned in the US for many years.

* It is remotely possible that the "Lion Pride" Alumni Wrist Bands I presented to Isaiah and Dom had a bit to do with their excellent performances later in the afternoon.  Isaiah actually wore his during his Collegiate Record 600M!  And I am scouring all the crevices in my house to find a "800U" version for both of them.

My Top 2 Performances From the Rod McCravy Memorial Invitational

The distance runners didn't participate and Mike Slagowski isn't debuting until next week (?).  That left it up to the rest of the middle distance runners, jumpers, throwers and sprinters.

Despite a school record for last week's pick for performance of the week in the 800M (Danae Rivers, 2:04.04) and a fine early season 1:46.65 for Isaiah Harris (second in the NCAA in 2017), I went a different direction this week.

When was the last time Penn State had a 1-2 finish in the 200M at a large invitational?  Well, Malik Moffett and Xavier Smith did just that (21:10 and 21:28)!

Malik Moffett and Xavier Smith

 

PSU IS 200U

First up in my highlights of the Penn Relays other than Alumni Singlets is the team of Xavier Smith, Dan Chisena, Malik Moffett and Anton Porter.  They set the 4x200M School Record in placing fourth in the event.  It was a pleasure watching the sprinters represented so well in the Championship of America Relays (4x100M were ninth while stuck in the incredible, infamous Lane 1 of Franklin Field).  Next up is the ThrowsU highlights of Coach Ebel's forces...

2 Sophomores and 2 Freshman! 1:23.75

 

I Can't Remember The Last Time A Post Highlighted Sprinting!

It is rather exciting to be able to write this post. Penn State Men have a sprinting corps worthy of more than just one post.  And I'm sure that I will be bringing more of them later in the season. A great start to the season at the Big Ten/PAC-12 Challenge.

For the first time since 1975, 41 years for the recent practitioners of Common Core Math, the Nittany Lions broke 40 seconds in the 4 X 100M Relay.  That goes back to the days of Mike Shine and Mike Sands.

For the men, 39.92 is the first sub-40 second performance since 1975. The quartet of Chisena, Moffett, Porter and Smith raced their way to the No. 13 time in the nation thus far this season. The time also ranks as the No. 7 time in the east region at the moment.

In the sprints, Xavier Smith (10.59), Dan Chisena (10.72), and Anton Porter (10.74) finished 4-5-6 in the 100-meters collecting 12 points.

And there is still time to vote in the poll on the left sidebar for your favorite hot dog condiment. Here's Brian Boyer's favorite hot dog establishment in Vienna.

Kasekrainer with mustard and bread

The 800M Was The Highlight Again! PSU Is 8.....

I had the pleasure of watching the B1G Ten Indoor Track and Field Championships from the Spire Institute in Ohio on BTN2GO, the mobile app for the B1G Ten Network!  I actually negotiated all the pitfalls of the technology to stream the event in fabulous high definition on my big screen TV utilizing Chromecast via my phone.  I can't believe I actually got it all to work.*

There were quite a few highlights for Dear Ole State thrown into the mix on the event's second day.

• Brannon Kidder (Brandon according to the experts at the B1G Ten Network. Hope they correct that in post production.) won the Mens Mile, leading the entire way.  He was also on the winning Distance Medley Relay on Friday night.
• Freshman Colin Abert ran a brave race and dug deep in the Mile also and passed two near the finish to gain another team point in eighth. Julie Kocjancic also placed eighth in the Mile for the Women. 
• The Men scored significant points in the sprints (60M and 200M) for the first time in a while.  Xavier Smith placed 5th in the 60M and Malik Moffett joined him in the 200M where they finished in 3rd and 4th. 
• Tori Gerlach and Tessa Barrett repeated their 2nd and 3rd place finishes in the 3000M on Friday with the same places on the 5000M Saturday.  The duo accounted for 28 points in just those two events.  Tessa impressed me again by running with the leader for the first half of the race before fading back to the trailing pack, including teammate Tori.  Just when you thought she was fading out of the scoring places, she rallied to place just behind her Senior teammate.  A gutsy performance by someone learning to race with the Big Guns!
• But again, the highlight for many of us was the 800M.  Not only did all 3 runners in the Finals run PRs, but the Mens leader impressed everyone with a facility, B1G Ten and School Record.  The previous 2 record holders, Ryan Foster and Casimir Loxsom were both impressed via Twitter with Freshman Isaiah Harris's 1:46.24 victory in the event. Ryan's fellow Aussie Jordan Makins and Sarah Jane Underwood also set PRs with 4th place finishes for both.

  

  Isaiah Harris, on top.

Congrats @cazzylox @Iharris33 that is really FRolling!!!!

— The FRoller® (@thefroller) February 27, 2016

.@cazzylox life is tough when you work hard to set records and stud frosh show up and wreck them!

— Ryan Foster (@RunFosterRun) February 27, 2016

* I actually was on the treadmill for my usual "spirited" 3 miles during the 800M. My heart rate elevated to near max during the finish. Pretty cool to see that reaction recorded for posterity. And I was still only doing my usual 11:00/mile pace at the time.