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

Some Old-Time Junior Records Include 2 Teammates

Brian Boyer sent us an old program from the TAC (used to be the AAU and is now the USATF) Junior Championships held at the Nittany Lion Track in 1983.  I was ensconced in Podiatry School at the time and missed the whole thing entirely.  Previously, I included two of the ads from the program and here is a listing of the Junior Records at the time.  Two teammates of mine are in the ranks as well as a Nittany Lion Great from before my time. 

• John Zishka       (Lancaster, OH HS)     5000M     13:55.65     6/17/1980
• Paul Lankford    (NY HS)                      400 IH       50.87        6/18/1977
• Alvin Jackson    (Nittany Valley TC)     Hammer    202' 2"      6/22/1973

Out of the Blue (and White) Comes Some Great Black (and White) Pictures!

All-around good guy and PSU Pole Vaulter (and hurdler!) Don Skerpon posted these great pics from the 1980 Dogwood Relays.

Paul Lankford.

Larry Mangan and Mike England.

Alan Scharsu and Sydney Maree. (and John Gregorek)

Al and Larry.

"The Shoe"

Paul Lankford.

Larry contemplates the Sunday Mountain Run.

"Scrappy" Runs in the Family

The Nittany Lions have a legacy at shortstop for the Baseball team.  Taylor Skerpon is the son of Don Skerpon, PSU pole vaulter from the late 70's and early 80's.  Taylor patterns his game after Dustin Pedroia, thus making him an old-fashioned, scrappy, do-it-right kind of player.  I would have used Pete Rose for that if I could actually play the game well enough to graduate from Little League. But my baseball game is equal to my golf game, so that was out the window.  And Pete had issues none of us knew about at the time.


Those who know Don, know the scrappy nature of his athletic prowess also. I often talk about my inability to even carry his 16 ft. pole vault pole down the runway. But  not many know that he was called on to be the fourth man on the Shuttle Hurdle Relay at the Penn Relays.  Having Paul Lankford depending on you as a teammate and competing against Renaldo Nehemiah may seem a tough thing to do, but Don did it with enough skill to even get Coach Groves to smile.

How Could Anyone Mistake Renaldo Nehemiah for Don Paige?

Not really!  It was an honest mistake. I confused two unrelated meets in my fetid Freshman mind. I was injured at the time because of a freak fencing accident.  No kidding either.  It was the worst injury of my running career, and I've had them all.  So when I "remembered" the big dual meet with the Villanova Wildcats, it was actually The ACC Champion Maryland Terrapins.  And it wasn't even a dual meet, it was a Tri-meet with the Pittsburgh Panthers too!  (Villanova did visit State College for the Penn State Open also, so I guess that's where I remember Don Paige, Mark Belger and Anthony Tufariello.)

That's Bob Snyder winning the 800 M race, with Mike Wyatt coming in second.  Bob also won the 1500 M just 45 minutes before the 800.  That's PSU Track Alum Golfer Bill Sheskey  in 5th place, but I'll bet he got 4th at the tape!

Renaldo Nehemiah dazzled the crowd in every race he won, but it wasn't enough to keep the more highly ranked Terrapins from losing a tight meet with the gritty Nittany Lions on the "home field" at the Westerly Parkway Junior High School!

It all came down to the pole vault in a light drizzle, and the Maryland vaulters couldn't come near their 17 ft. PR's. The PSU vaulter Bob Hottle, who topped out at his own PR of 15 feet, clinched the meet for the Lions.

Other notable events in the meet were:

1. Larry Mangan winning the waterless steeplechase in 9:05, with Ray Krombel and Campbell Lovett coming in second and third.
2. Paul Lankford was a double winner in the 100 M and Mile Relay.
3. Gary Williky won the Discus and was second in the Shot Put.
4. Coach Groves was quoted as saying "It was good to beat them."

All-Time Best NFL/Track Events: PSU Well Represented

The NFL and Track and Field have a long history together.  The recently discussed Renaldo Nehemiah certainly comes to mind.  But did you know that two PSU Track Stars are at the top of all-time individual event performances among Trackand Field/NFL athletes?

First on the list is Brian Milne, who is the No. 2  all-time performers in the discus. His toss of 207 feet 5 inches was second only to Christian Okoye's 212 feet 4 inches.

But First on the list of 400 meter hurdlers is my teammate Paul Lankford, who enjoyed a 12 year NFL career in Miami.  With a minimal amount of football experience, Paul became one of Miami's best secondary players for many of their stellar seasons.  Paul was also the high school national record holder in the 400 hurdles prior to arriving in Happy Valley.  His all-time best of  49.55 is the best all-time among NFL stars.

30 Years For a Different Relay Record!

Larry Mangan checked in with a remembrance of another relay that resulted in a PSU record that has lasted longer than the 4 X 800!  I knew this, but it kept slipping my mind every time I came up with another post idea.  Thanks for the reminder, Larry.  That's Larry mixing it up with Eammon Coghlan, Ray Flynn and John Walker "on the boards" at Madison Square Garden.

 While it wasn't a winning time, or as grand as the 1985 4x800, the PSU DMR record set at Penn at the 1980 event still sits atop the leader board. I handed off to Paul Lankford who passed the stick to Mike Cook who turned it over to Alan Scharsu. Although we won at Dogwood two weeks prior, the 13:42 5K Alan ran the night before the DMR took just enough from his legs that those villians from Villanova and Georgetown (Maree and Gregorek) pulled away from him at the end. Here's to the 9:30.1!!

Alan Scharsu was a game runner at any distance, so you would think they could get his name right on the Record Board at the Ashenfeter Indoor Complex!  I'm still searching for the photo of how they mangled that one, and I'll post it here when I do!

Where Are they Now?

I'm going to throw some names out there and hope some of you can answer the question for me. Where are they now? We would love to hear from you guys (and gals)!

Kelly (Kevin) O'Brien: I think I heard he's in Texas. Always remember him running the 150 mile week my sophomore year. That and "odorizing" the van on the way back from William and Mary my freshman year.

Mike Wyatt: A great guy. He gave me a pair of spikes my junior year that magically made me faster. Never got to say thanks. He also was the only one to stop and help me the numerous times I sprained my ankles on 10 milers. We could use another sub-4 miler!

Tom Clarke: Ex-president of Nike, Inc. Was one of only two people who congratulated me after running my best PR at PSU. Took the time to know I did it, and found me later to acknowledge it. Tried to help me get a summer job with Dr. Cavanaugh testing shoes, but he wouldn't hire me when I didn't know who my academic advisor was. Never met the guy actually, so why would I know his name!

Mark Parker: Current CEO of Nike, Inc. Took me on one of my first runs at PSU. We ran a "10 miler" which consisted of 90 minutes at 6:00 pace in the pine barrens and we still had 3 miles to go! Married to Kathy Mills, still the PSU 5000 meter record holder.

Ray Krombel: Always liked Ray a lot. He ran and looked like Nick Rose. He won the State 2-mile the year before me. Inspired me a little bit. I think he's back in Wilkes-Barre, a political hot-bed this year.

Dave Felice: Now the Fire Inspector in State College. Coaches runners at the high school. Ran into him after one of the golf outings at church. One of the few people that still recognized me despite my increase in size! He helped bring Jessica out of the well in Texas back in the 80's!

Heather Carmichael: Met her before she even came to PSU. She made me a pair of mittens for Christmas one year which I still have.

Liz Berry: Scared the hell out of a lot of us at the Nittany Valley Marathon one year. She ran one of the top US women's marathon times up until then (in the cold weather) that year. Coach was right behind her, kicking the team's a** and taking names!

Jim Clelland: Jim was quiet but when you did hear him he was funny and smart. He fell out of the van one day on the way to practice. Another great van story!

Brian Boyer: Brian is now at the Los Alamos facility guarding our nuclear secrets. More alums know Brian than any other alum the program has ever had!

Ted Lyons: Ted was hilarious at times and a pretty decent runner. Never did know what he was majoring in.

John (JB) Barber: John is in Pottstown. He has coached and positively influenced more young people than just about any of us. Gave John a big hug at Harry's retirement. John ran with us and then became Coach's right-hand man.

Ricky Garcia: Ricky hopes to make it to next year's event. I think he's back in suburban DC again now. A unique and talented runner.

Mark Dunmire: Won the state one mile the same year as my 2-mile. Was one of the marathoners that had to hustle in ahead of Coach at the 79 NVTC Marathon. Coach was chewing his a** the whole last mile!

Mark Heckel: We called him "Beef" on our dorm floor, and he could eat with the best of them. Threw the hammer better than most. Was also in the Blue Band, I believe. I know he still is a track official. Don't know if he golfs.

Paul Stemmer: One hell of a runner. Heard many great "Stem" stories over the years. If only 10% are true, it's still a fine record. I think he majored in Poker. I'm sure Malmo could spin a yarn or two for us some day.

Paul Lankford: Always seemed like a nice guy, but didn't get to interact with him much because of the football/track commitments he had. Had a lengthy pro career with the Dolphins. I remember Don Skerpon running the shuttle hurdles relay with him at Penn.

Glenn (sp?) Chumley: Could run 1:53 every Wednesday and 1:58 every Saturday! Who could forget the great photo of him in the Collegian streaking down College Ave. in the snow, circa 1978.

Barry Enright: Wish we would hear from Barry, but apparently he isn't physically able to leave New Jersey or he might explode, like the guy in the new Transporter 3 movie! (Just having fun, Barry, drop us a line).

Use the comment section below to fill us in on any of these blasts from the past and add some new ones!

*Photos are of Nick Rose in the 70's and the 00's, having nothing to do with nothing.

An Apparent Skwilli Fantasy: Jumbo Elliott Thwarted on a Junior High Track??

The year was 1978 and the schedule said PSU was to have a dual meet against the mighty Villanova Wildcats, coached by the legendary Jumbo Elliott. The only problem was, PSU no longer had a track due to the renovations on Beaver Stadium. Sprinters and field event athletes had to get a ride to practice that year, and the distance runners had a longer warm-up and warm-down for workouts. It didn't stop PSU from excelling, however.

Westerly Parkway Junior High School became the scene for the "Battle of the Titans", pitting Elliott against Coach Groves in a winner take all, steel-cage grudge match (a grudge match anyway!) Seemingly outmanned, PSU had lost distance star Paul Stemmer the previous year (I hope to graduation!*) The remaining stars were mostly young scholarship athletes or up-and-coming walk-ons. With perennial Penn Relays distance medley and 4x800 stars Don Paige and Mark Belger, as well as nationally known newcomer Anthony Tufariello, Villanova had a seeming edge in the middle-distance races. They also had an edge in the shorter races and in the field events, especially the pole vault. Two 17-foot vaulters towered over the 15-foot vaulters of PSU.

When the sprinters, hurdlers (Paul Lankford) and field men outperformed their Villanova rivals and the middle-distance and distance runners held their own, it all came down to the final event, the pole vault. When the rain started in the middle of the meet, many payed it no mind. The Villanova vaulters, however, found the slippery conditions too much to handle and no-heighted. The PSU vaulters, in turn, vaulted their usual 15 foot heights, winning the meet and sending the wildcats back to the Main Line with their tails between their legs.**


**Details may be out of order, or hopelessly confused by a college freshman's poor recollection. Actually, everything is in dispute. I may not even have the year or the opponent correct. Numerous inquiries with teammates have led me nowhere. Can anyone help us out? Reliable sources say Maryland with Nehemiah came to town, but probably in 1977 when I was still in high school. I distinctly remember Anthony T. and I wouldn't know him otherwise.