A Brotherhood. We Are!

And by Brotherhood, I mean all of us, women included.  If that is allowed in this politically correct world? (Even if it isn't.)

And speaking of brothers, I saw quite a few families represented yesterday at the Coach Harry Groves Spiked Shoe Invitational.

• The Fuller Brothers manned 60% of the Alumni Team.  And you all know that I can never remember which is which! (Fuller Harem member Mary Dell finished 4th in the Women's race.)

Psu Alumni
  643    30  Brian Fuller               27:36    5:18
  644    64  Mark Fuller                30:07    5:48
  732    65  Nick Scipro  (?)              30:15    5:49
  645    71  Kevin Fuller               31:05    5:59
  731    73  Sam Masters                32:29    6:15

Fullers with Harem. Which is which?

•  Owen Dawson represented the Dawson twins!
• Middle distance recruit William Ashenfelter, grandson of Horace Ashenfelter of the Ashenfelter Bros. was there.
• The McGowan brothers were representing PSU  (5th - Tim, John - 27th)

Visit the store and buy some stuff, Please! 

 Remember the rules:

1. Go to www.kellysteamsports.com
2. Click on    SHOP YOUR TEAM STORE
3. Type in the password:  PSTFA16

All orders must be placed by  September 19th!!!!!!!

Only The Second Accepted Excuse For Missing This Weekend's Festivities

Previously, I accepted Sam Masters' excuse of his wedding day in Missouri as the first certified excuse for missing our Reunion and Golf Tourney.  Good luck Sam!  Now, a second excuse was (reluctantly!) accepted from  Ron Moore.  Ron ran a 50-Miler  56-MilerTrail Run in mountainous Tennessee Northern Georgia yesterday!  That's plenty of time to contemplate the wonders of the Universe, as Physicists are wont to do...  I alerted Ron that errors of fact are features of the blog, not a detriment.  But I can understand being upset by failing to mention that additional 6 miles AFTER the first 50! As a peace offering (and bribe) his first year's attendance at the Event will be paid by me!

A Quick Post On The Coaches Reception and Sykes/Sabock Challenge

 

Track Alumni Golfer Owen Dawson paces the One Mile with a splendid 1200M (sorta 1200!) while wearing his Alumni Singlet.  Always a highlight in my book!

After Owen's excellent 1200M (sorta 1200!), future PSU Track and Field Alumni Golfer Robby Creese took over and won the mile with this year's #1 NCAA unconverted Mile of 3:57.86.

 Ex-Freshman Roommates Tom Rapp and Larry Mangan reunite at the Ashenfelter Complex.  Tom's wife Mary Rawe was also an All-American and 1977 Freshman classmate of all of us.

Alumni Golfer, past foursome teammate and William and Mary head coach Steve Walsh actually got me to pose for a very rare pic of myself.  I promised him I would post it on the blog with it all, despite my overall desire for anonymity. During the entire day, I noticed  that I was the shortest person in every room I was in.

Coach John Gondak arranged the whole affair to bring as many Alumni together as possible and to honor past coaches.  Coach Teri Jordan thanked the crowd of over 100 with a brief speech.

Coach Groves gave an even briefer speech, but was mobbed all night by everyone there.  Just as it should be.

In the background just to the right of Coach is Ken Brinker, Alumni Golfer extraordinaire!  It was announced that Ken recently donated $100,000 to the PSU Track Program.  Our Chief Morale and Laundry Officer Larry Mangan is currently organizing the effort to match Ken's magnanimity.  More of that is to come.

 Penn State's Indoor 3000M Record Holder Sam Masters and Fiance came up with the best excuse for missing this year's Golf Tourney.  They are getting married that day in Missouri.  Officially, that will be the only excuse us Idiot Officers will now allow!

 Greg Fredericks received his Alumni T-Shirt from Le faucon d'orange Mark Hawkins.  He was gifted the item by us Idiot Officers for the extraordinary efforts he has made for Coach Groves in the past year.

Greg models the Special Edition Alumni T-Shirt made for Roger "Gunny" Roll for his above-and-beyond efforts for Coach Groves in the past year. 

Addendum:

Artist's conception

 On the late-night drive home, I ran over a skunk near Seven Mountains and was later almost hit head-on by a high-speed car driving the wrong way on Route 83 north of York. I really wish I could have stayed over night in State College. Two trips through the car wash has not dissipated the smell and I still have a tremor thinking about the almost crash.

Some Penn Relays Reception Photos I Stole From Al Gore's Intertubes

I was not able to attend the Penn Relays or the Reception last night as my daughter qualified for the Dallastown Invitational 1600.  So I had to watch her instead in a downpour.  I'm not complaining.  In fact, there wasn't anywhere else I would rather have been.  I'm proud of everything my daughters have achieved, even while being excellent students and even better human beings.  I'm blessed far beyond anything I deserve.  (Daughter the Elder didn't hit another PR, but the deluge had a lot to do with it.) Good luck to the Lions in Saturday's races. Watches and wheels. Watches and wheels.

Photo from Michael Gross.

Phil Passen, Larry Mangan and Ryan Foster.

Yeah, that's Phil Passen again! With Coach Groves in Penn Relays attire.

Gosh Phil, I must have stolen all of these from you! Michael Syrnick and Sam Masters.

I'll buy a drink to the guy that will name everyone here in the comments!

Player/Coach Sam Masters Helps PSU XC Club Team to Third at Nationals

Penn State Track Alumni Golfer Sam Masters helps coach the PSU XC/Track Club team which took home 3rd place at the NIRCA National Championships at Hershey over the weekend.  Indiana took home the title. The Women's team came in second to Virginia at the same meet!

Sam Masters, still looking sharp!

Joey Walls, Samuel Masters, Erich Leiden, Douglas Jordan, Timothy Appman, Matt Doutt and Dan Craighead

Alumni Cross Country Lives Here...

With the "old" alums 8th place finish USATF Masters 5K XC Championships and the "young" alums vicotry at the Penn State National. I am one proud Penn State Track Alumnus right now. One step closer to world domination. Much belated results from Friday.

PLACE TEAM                POINTS  PLACES OF FINISHERS            AVG. TIME SPREAD

1 P S U Alum               19    1    2    3    5    8   33   35    26:24    1:00
2 Lock Haven               52    4    9   11   12   16   17   18    27:23    1:23
3 Detroit Mercy            64    6    7   13   15   23   24   25    27:26    1:20
4 St. Francis (Pa )       113   14   20   21   28   30   36         28:14    1:06
5 Robert Morris           114   10   22   26   27   29   31   32    28:14    1:09
6 Bloomsburg              167   19   34   37   38   39   40   41    29:32    2:12

1. P S U Alum
    1  Kyle Dawson                25:53    4:59
    2  Owen Dawson                26:03    5:00
    3  Sam Masters                26:26    5:05
    5  Vince McNally              26:43    5:08
    8  Brian Fuller               26:53    5:10
   33  Matt Groves                29:32    5:41
   35  Kevin Fuller               29:45    5:43
Total Time = 2:11:58     Total Places = 19


 

Penn State Track Alumni Golfers Rule the World

Well, the Penn State National Invitational, at least.  Slowly but surely, the world will be ours! (And don't call me Shirley...)

I'll let Matt fill us in with more details later, but I had to mention the victory by "the young alums". The "old alums" are next in New Jersey!...

Kevin Fuller, Sam Masters, Brian Fuller, Matt Groves, Owen Dawson, Kyle Dawson and Vince McNally.

Penn State National Preview

Here are your Penn State Alumni runners who will be towing the line tomorrow on the Blue/White Golf Course at the Penn State National.

Sam Masters - Says he if he "holds 5 minute pace it will be a really really good day." On October 5 he won the Nittany Lion Invitational hosted by the Club XC team in 25:29.79. Which is 5:08 pace.

Kyle Dawson - Recently mixing it up in the Downingtown road running scene with a 2nd place finish at Teri's Run 5K (14:26) on September 6 and a victory the following day at the Quad X Invitational open 5K (15:40).

Owen Dawson - Back to back 3rd place finishes at Teri's Run in 14:28 and 15:57 at Quad X in early September. 

Vince McNally - Finally back in shape after a long layoff with a 3rd place showing at the City of Pittsburgh Great Race 10K in 30:29 on September 29. Also came in 5th behind Kyle and Owen at Teri's Run with a time of 14:34. Despite that defeat McNally is confident the longer distance and terrain will be in his favor. "I'll beat Owen on Friday," said Vince "I should be slightly fitter than I was (on September 6) and 5.2 (miles) should wear down the sub-four minute miler."

Brain Fuller - The older of the Fuller brothers claimed first place on the runways at Washington-Dulles International Airport with a 15:16 at the Dulles Day 5K on September 14. Two weeks later he posted a 30:52 at Penns Woods Trail 10K.

Kevin Fuller - Better known for his middle-distance prowess and rabbiting world class times. The younger Fuller took 7th at the Dulles Day 5K in 16:59.

Matt Groves - Ran 1:16:25 at the ultra fast Rock n Roll Philadelphia Half-Marathon on September 25.

Unfortunately Chris Cipro will not be able to race. Despite being recovered from his marathon last weekend he cannot get out of teaching duties for the day.

In other news it is great to see current varsity team member Matt Fischer keeping the "Rusty Boots" tradition alive. We wish Fsicher and his teammates well as they will be competing at the Pre-National Invitational in Terre-Haute, IN this weekend.

A Pleasant Summer Evening in Eugene

Robbie Creese eased into the finals of the 1500 M at the NCAA semifinals with a 3:43.55.  Several others attained PR's in other events but didn't make it past the semis. It is still amazing how nearly all of them are at the top of their game, prepared and trained by a great coaching staff.  Huzzahs all around.

Penn State Track Alumni (Golfers) are in the crowd, spreading the word of the soon-to-be largest and most active Track Alumni Group in the world.  Jake Bartholomy sent me this great pic of already legendary Sam Masters biding his time before the 5000 M finals in the stands.

Sam Masters. Photo by Jake Bartholomy

And I mistook this for an Alumni Singlet at first on my Palm Pre Plus phone screen (Yes, I'm holding out against the evil Apple Empire with a 5 year old phone!) but it's really an authentic 1992 PSU jersey that just happened to find itself in Jake's wardrobe.  "I have no idea how that got there Coach Groves. I swear."

NOT an Alumni Singlet!

Top Ten Ranked Lions at the NCAA Championships

Brannon Kidder, photo by Tim O'Dowd.

The Final Seeds are out and there are quite a few Lions on the Top Ten list:

1. Mahogany Jones  100 M  6th.
2. Mahogany Jones  200 M  9th.
3. Lauren Kenney  Javelin  1st.
4. Laura Loht  Javelin  5th.
5. Casimir Loxsom  800 M  3rd.
6. Brannon Kidder  800 M  5th.
7. Robbie Creese  1500 M  4th.
8. Sam Masters  5000 M  10th

And here's a nice article about Coach Sullivan in the RunBlogRun site.

And a Top Ten List of things that make me crabby:

1. Kim Kardashian
2. Diet Crazes
3. Exercise Crazes
4. Kim Kardashian's baby
5. ObamaCare
6. Organic anything
7. Kim Kardashian's Family
8. 3D Movies
9. Democrats, Republicans and Independents...
10. And did I mention Kim Kardashian?

A Total of 20 to NCAA Finals

Due to a rather good last day of the Prelims, PSU has 20 athletes in 14 events heading to Eugene, Oregon this week for the Finals of the NCAA Outdoor Championships.

1. Sam Masters, soon to be a contributor to the blog, ran a 57 second closing 400 M to place third in the 5000 M and move on to the Finals.
2. Lauren Kenney and Laura Loht placed first and third in the Javelin, keeping very much alive PSU's incredible streak in the event.
3. Sean Reilly placed 12th in the High Jump (defeating Jon Hendershot, among others) in the count-back on fewer misses.
4. Natalie Bower keeps the tradition alive in the Steeplechase.
5. Both Men's and Women's teams 4 x 400 M Relay squads move on.  The Women's team placed third in their heat and the Men were first.

Yeah, That's Right. PSU is 800 U

The Quartet of Robbie Creese, Brannon Kidder, Za'Von Watkins and Casimir Loxsom brought another wheel to Happy Valley with its victory in the 4 x 800 M Relay.  They missed the record from 1985, but scared it a little with their 7:14.14.

Victory Lap

Wheel!

 

That's three years in a row with 2 Wheels for the Penn State's Men team, and the good news for alumni golfers doesn't end there.

Owen Dawson 3:59.74! Photo by Matt Groves.

1. 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.  The latest batch of Singlets will be distributed at the Alumni Weekend in May.  Thanks to Le faucon d'orange for doing the hard work on getting that done.  One recipient will be Sam Masters who is a proud member of our group even before he graduates ends his eligibility. He is currently in the graduate Biomechanics Program.
2. Second generation Nittany Lion Alex Shisler, son of one of the afore-mentioned record holders of the 4 x 800 M Relay record and an All-American, ran a 46.0 relay leg to shatter his PR.  Nothing can be finer in the whole world than hearing the "ooohs and ahhhs" in the closed end of Franklin Field when you are running a good relay leg.  Congrats.

OWEN DAWSON IS A SUB-4 MILER
— Timothy Johnson (@tjj5009) April 27, 2013

Penn State back to back 4x8 COA champs! #rustyboots #PennRelays2013
— Matthew Groves (@Groves10287) April 27, 2013

Official 4x800 Splits - Robby Creese (1:50.53), Za'Von Watkins (1:48.22), Casimir Loxsom (1:46.30), Brannon Kidder (1:49.10)!
— PennStateTFXC (@PennStateTFXC) April 27, 2013

Penn State leaves Penn with some spare wheels for the drive home. #PennRelays2013
— Matthew Groves (@Groves10287) April 27, 2013

Another Penn Relays in the books. #PennRelays2013 twitter.com/Groves10287/st…
— Matthew Groves (@Groves10287) April 27, 2013

 

Wow! RT @thepennrelays: Casimir Loxsom has been named College Men's Athlete of the Meet for Relay Events facebook.com/photo.php?fbid…
— PennStateTFXC (@PennStateTFXC) April 27, 2013

Another Week of 800's and More

Mt. Sac Relays are a good warm up for Penn!

1. Casimir Loxsom   1:46.77

2. Brannon Kidder    1:47.23

3. Ricky West           1:48.49

4. Ryan Brennan       1:49.32

5. Za'Von Watkins    1:50.18

And Sam Masters broke 14:00 in the 5000 M as the first Nittany Lion to do it since Steve Brown in 1989. (13:57.33)

We Need Your Help!

We need a big showing at our upcoming Track Alumni Reunion in order to out-do the Lacrosse team's participation rate!

PSU Lacrosse Alumni, 100th Anniversary.

Get your entry in for the Reunion and Golf Tournament Now! And bring a friend!

And Sam Masters needs a little help from some speedy alums also:

Hello, Alumni,

If you are between the ages 18 and 40, and can run 6:00/mile for 15 minutes, a colleague of mine is offering $30 for 90 minutes of your time.

He is a fellow PhD student in the lab that I work in (biomechanics) and is doing a study on ankle moment arms and economy. His name is Herman van Werkhoven. He needs 13 more participants. Not only do you get $30, but you are contributing to the underlying science of distance running.

E-mail Herman van Werkhoven (hxv114@psu.edu) or myself (sem361@psu.edu) if you are interested. Thank you!

-Sam

It's a shame I'm over 40 y.o. or I'd love to put in a 6:00 mile for him!  hee hee hee

Never Forget Academics!

Both the Mens and Womens Cross Country teams have been honored with All-Academic Awards from the USTFCCCA.  This is for their overall 3.28 GPA and fielding more than 5 runners at the NCAA Regionals.  Congrats.

Torri Perri, Leigha Anderson and Emily Gianotti were honored individually for the Lions.  Sam Masters, fresh from All-Big Ten finishes in the 3000M and 5000M at the Indoor Championships, was honored for the men.

I can't imagine any of the teams back in my day garnering an overall 3.28 GPA, but I could be wrong.  I do know we needed the combined 33 years* of eligibility of Gary Black and Brian Boyer to keep our GPA anywhere close to that.

Here's a little advice from the smartest of our group from back in the day, Delta's resident genius Stork.



* not really, it just seemed that way.

It's Easy to Notice a 3:57.11 Mile! The Rest Impresses Me Just as Much

It was a great weekend for the Nittany Lions at both venues.  Needless to say, the Penn State Record in the mile run by Robbie Creese takes top billing, but there were 2 other school records set.

Robbie's 3:57.11 made him the first collegian in a packed field at the Husky Invitational in Seattle.  That places him as the second Lion to better the mythical barrier in just a couple of weeks.  Freshman Brannon Kidder bettered the mark in State College previously.  This was Robbie's third breaking of the barrier in just his second year of college.

Other school records were set by Sam Masters in the 3000 M (7:54.52) in Washington and Will Barr in the Weight Throw (67 feet 11.75 inches) at the Spire Institute in Ohio.

And that is really just a tip of an iceberg.  There were many seasonal bests and personal bests set on both tracks.  The 400M the 3000M events had numerous on both the Mens and Womens side. The field wasn't immune to a Nittany Lion onslaught either.  What's interesting about both squads is that they are always ready to compete.  More than a few of us notice.

Making Just One Year Count

Sam Masters has emerged as Penn State's Number One XC Runner early this season seemingly out of nowhere.  But nowhere happens to be Tulsa.  Sam graduated last year with one year of eligibility remaining.  He has enrolled at PSU with aspirations of a doctorate in Biomechanics.

Welcome to Happy Valley.  And the largest and most active Track and Field Alumni Group in the World.

Reliving Old Times

Everybody already knows I'm quite partial to living in the past.

My daughter Martha ran the Carlisle Invitational today, which is one rather large High School XC race.  There are teams from Virginia, Maryland, New York and all over Pennsylvania.  It is the largest race I know of in the HS XC ranks, even bigger than any District or State Meet.  There are  3 JV Races,  3 Puma Challenge Races and 2 Championship Races. It's an all-day event on a fast, well-marked course.

The best part was seeing an old nemesis of mine from the late 70's.  Henry Klugh runs the Inside Track Running Store between Harrisburg and Hershey. I have previously made him an honorary member of our group, as he already knows many of us and keeps a lot of us in supplies.  I am sure that if you stop by his store he'll be glad to tell the story of how I made him the PA District 3 1-Mile Champion in 1977.  He'll also probably not charge you extra for your shoes and running extras!

Back in modern times, the PSU  Mens team placed 10th at the Greater Louisville XC Classic and the Women's team was 5th.  Transfer Senior Sam Masters paced the men in 17th place while Rebekka Simko was 15th for the women (with a 2 minute PR!!).