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

Reggie Dunlop Might Have Been Our Coach This Day

 Early in the 1979 Cross Country Season an intrepid cast of characters set out in a van for the home of the Charlestown Chiefs.  Instead of meeting the Hanson Brothers on the ice, we met a bunch of other runners for the Johnstown 10K.

But we did use the Cambria County War Arena as our dressing room.  That's the scene of much of the filming for what Paul Newman called his favorite movie, Slap Shot.  We actually dressed in the stands right where goalie Denis Lemieux met player/coach Reggie Dunlop after asking Manager Joe McGrath "Who Own the Chiefs?"    Owwwwwns...




Several of us set PRs for the 10K, and everyone knows Johnstown has hills!

Penn State Runners:

  5.  Gary Black                 29:58
  7.  David Baskwill           30:37
  8.  Brad Althouse            30:40
11.  Mark Hawkins            31:01
12.  Marc Dunmire            31:14
14.  Don Ziter                     31:33
15.  Doug Kent                   31:54
18.  Rich Prann                  32:17
19.  Ray Krombel               32:20
23.  Mark Fordney             32:50
26.  Mike Cook                   33:07
42.  Roger "Gunny" Roll   34:53

I further pissed everyone off after the race by winning a pair of running shoes randomly from a local running store, delaying the return to State College!  They ended up giving me an injury...

"We go to Florida and I get the money." 

-Denis Lemieaux.

    

There Were More Than Sophomores At The 1977 AAU XC Meet at Belmont Plateau: Along With Another World Exclusive!

Although I wasn't there (and I"m not sure why????), a bunch of Sophomores were joined by Junior Tim Backenstose to win the overall race on the hills and dales of the Belmont Plateau course.  I'm wondering if they blew me off, or if I blew them off, as I was in very good shape at that time and even ran a 51:11 10-Miler in Millersville then.

But needless to say, they didn't need me!

Kelly O'Brien, Tim Backenstose and Jim Clelland.

"Noisy" Jim Clelland, "Official Physicist" Brian Boyer and Tim "Marathon Man" Backenstose

Brian Boyer, Doug Kent, Ray Krombel, Kelly O'Brien, Tim Backenstose, Jim Clelland, Erik Christiansen and Syd White.

And I am in debt to Tim Backenstose for these vintage photos, AND the only picture (that I know of) of me running in a Penn State uniform!!!!   This is from the 1979 Penn Relays Marathon won by Tim.  That's me leading the other PSU runners.  They all ended up beating me! 

If anyone knows who the guy is on the right of the AAU XC team photo  (Now identified as Syd White by Brian Boyer himself!) AND how to improve on this photo, let me know!

Rich Prann, Doug Kent, skwilli and Al Wolfe.

This was the only race I ever ran in these shoes! Took half of my right foot off.  

The Hills Were Alive With The Sound Of Sophomores

The post from the 1978 NVTC Marathon brought Official Physicist Brian Boyer out from his lair in the land of edelweiss and Ahhnold.  He brings us this great pic of 3 Freshman Sophomores at the 1977 XC meet at hilly Belmont Plateau! (I even knew that 1977 was MY Freshman year yesterday, but when I got up this morning I forgot!)

Updates via Facebook:   1977 AAU meet at Belmont Plateau was the day before the NCAA Championships in Washington.  The top 7 were there.  The rabble still won the meet at Belmont and traveled to Berwick for the Thanksgiving Day run after.  I ran the Millersville Turkey Trot and had my second best race ever (by IAAF standards). I also won a turkey randomly!

Kelly O'Brien, Ray Krombel, Brian Boyer.

And because Brian was injured and didn't run that 1978 NVTC Marathon he ran this recent race sporting his Alumni Singlet!

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."

Pennsylvania and Ohio Distance Champions in the 70's Chose Penn State

Larry Mangan recently pointed out how nearly all the Pennsylvania distance champions in our day gravitated to Penn State. We are doing our best to make that happen all over again.  Title IX makes that difficult on the mens side.  The list is rather impressive.  Let's see if I can get some of them:

Pennsylvania:
1.  Dave Felice, mile 1976
2.  Ray Krombel, 2-mile 1976
3.  Larry Mangan, mile  1977
4.   Marc Dunmire, mile 1977
5.  George Severine, 880 1977
6.  David Baskwill, 2-mile 1977
7.  Gary Black, mile 1978

I'm forgetting others!  Write a comment below to update the list.

And lets not forget Ohio, the state that's "high in the middle and round on both ends" (from Tom Rapp himself).   The Ohio State Mile Champions at PSU in my day are:

1.  Tom Rapp 1977
2.  Alan Scharsu  1978 (in the photo)
3.  John Zishka  1979
4.  Clark Haley  1981

All of this was off the top-of-my-head, which is notably deficient.  Please send me additions and corrections in the comment section!

Ah, the updates are rolling in, just as I had hoped. 

1.  Mike Cook, 1600 1979.

2.  Mark Overheim, 1600 1981

3. Jay Novak, 3200 1986

4. Dan Mazzocco, 3200  2002

5.  Dave Greene 800, 1979

6.  Doug Walter, 800 1986

7.  Mary Rawe, mile 1977 or 1978?
8.  Robert Snyder, mile 1974, 1975
9.  Kathy Byrnes, 880, 1977