Boston Marathon Weekend Warms Us Up For Penn Relays

 Doreen (Startare) McCoubrie will again be trudging from Hopkinton to Boston on Patriot's Day.  I am sure there are others...

Warming up for Doreen were Tim McGowan and Tori Gerlach who both placed 15th in the Boston Marathon 5K.  

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...

Half-way Update: The Interns Again Bring Us The Nittany Lion Finishes At The USATF Olympic Trials

 

Remember, this is only the finishes of athletes that have completed their competitions on Sunday and Monday.  See here for earlier results.

Mens Hammer: 

(12)  Morgan Shigo       3 x Foul in Finals    (74.39M, 244'0" in Prelims.)

Womens 100H:

17)  Evonne Britton        12.95 in Semi-Finals

Womens 3000M Steeplechase:

31)  Tori Gerlach      10:25.39 

Mens Javelin:

           2)     Michael Shuey     79.24M  260'0"   Olympian

Mens 800M:

           4)     Isaiah Harris       1:44.58

           5)     Brannon Kidder     1:45.08

Mark "Beef" Heckel with newest Nittany Lion Olympian Michael Shuey.

 

Despite not getting everything perfectly correct, as some of the Administrators here might (present company excluded), I have rewarded the Interns with 2 days off and a $10 Applebee's gift card.  I will hose out their basement when they are gone.

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)

 

 

 

 

 

Another Olympic Trials Qualifier

 

Tori Gerlach posted a very fine 9:45 PR to qualify for the Olympic Trials 3000M Steeplechase in Oregon. Congrats!  Good things do happen in Portland.

 

New Pro Team Signs Lioness

Our Tennessee connection and native York Countian Dick Geiger alerted me to the news of another Nittany Lion going pro.  Thanks Dick!

The big news was that Syracuse coach Chris Fox was lured away from recent powerhouse Syracuse to head up the new professional team sponsored by Reebok.  They also snagged Syracuse's NCAA champion and Canadian Justyn Knight as the star of the new team to be based in Charlottesville, VA.

But joining them in rural Virginia will be Tori Gerlach, who will continue her running career and steeplachasing talents.

B1G Homie Slays Another Goliath NATIONAL CHAMPION!

It was a darn good day at the USATF Championships on Saturday.  There were numerous Nits in action, with some fine results all over...

• First year graduate Michael Shuey placed 4th in the Javelin with a toss of 239' 9".
• PSU student athlete Michael Biddle placed 8th in the Javelin with 230' 5". (Javelin U?)
• Evonne Britton finished in 10th in the 100M Hurdles with 13.09.
• Tori Gerlach also finished 10th in the 3000M Steeplechase with 10:03.12
• Joe Kovacs heaved the big metal ball 68' 0.25" for a 5th place finish.

But in the event with that big metal ball, the overwhelming favorite to those without the knowledge that our group has, was upset in a big way.

One of these days, performances by Darrell Hill won't be called upsets anymore.  When he made the Olympic team, it was called an upset.  When he won the Diamond League it was called an upset.  And now, when "favorite" Ryan Crouser was discombobulated  and out of step in the ring all afternoon with 5!!!! fouls, they are trying to call it an upset when Darrell beats him by nearly 2 feet with a 70' 9.25" toss.

It isn't an upset anymore.  Congrats B1G Homie.

Our First Semi-Final Poll On 2017 Performance Of The Year

2017 was a phenomenal year for the Penn State Track and Field Alumni Universe. there were literally hundreds of great things happening.  This triggered an unprecedented number of nominations to our Performance of the Year Awards.  I have had to combine numerous entries to narrow the field down, there were so many!

Vote for your top three in this semi-final poll on the left sidebar of the full web site! 

Remember, we want to hear from you at any time on submissions for this annual award.  There is a place on the right sidebar of the full web site (not on mobile devices!) to submit anything you find to be worthy at any time. 

Previous winners of the Award:

• 2016 - Joe Kovacs - Silver Medal Olympic Shot Put
• 2015 -  Joe Kovacs - IAFF World Champion Shot Put
• 2014 - Brannon Kidder - School Record 1500M  (3:38.3)
• 2013 - Penn Relays DMR Championship of America (Brannon Kidder, Brandon Bennett-Green, Casimir Loxsom, Robby Creese)
• 2012 - Bridget Franek - Finals of Olympic Steeplechase

Semi-Final 1 Nominations for 2017 Performance of the Year: (Vote for your top three! on the left sidebar)

• Andrew Sell transitions from the Club Team to #3 runner on the XC team at the Big Ten Championships.
• Darrell Hill wins IAFF Diamond League Shot Put Championships.
• Tori Gerlach 3rd at NCAA Steeplechase.
• John Gondak - Mens Big Ten Outdoor Track Coach of the Year.
• Brannon Kidder and Casimir Loxsom - World Champions at IAFF 4 x 800M Relay.
• Danae Rivers - 3rd at NCAA Mile.
• Best ever combined Indoor finish by Mens (2nd) and Womens (1st) teams.
• Danae Rivers and Isaiah Harris - Big Ten 800M Champions Indoor
• World Record and Collegiate Record in 600M by Casimir Loxsom and Isaiah Harris at Penn State National.
• Tessa Barrett School Record 3000M. 
• Michael Shuey 3rd at NCAA and Olympic Trials Javelin.
• Solo Womens DMR results in School Record and NCAA Qualifier.

Thanksgiving Means Turkey Trots

My family again braved the cold and ran the York Turkey Trot with the other 5,000 hardy souls.  I again spun the treadmill for my 25 pitiful minutes.  But what the heck, I'll bet that beats most of the rest of you!

Here's a sampling of other Penn State Track Alum (Golfers) who burned calories before heading to the table...

Tori Gerlach.

Casimir Loxsom

Tyler McCandless

Bob Radzwich's 32nd Berwick in a row!

Brannon Kidder.

All 3 Fuller Bros. WITH ALUMNI SINGLETS (thanks to Jeff Sanden for this annual pic!)

The Newest Professional Nearly Topped The Rest Of The Nittany Lions!

The last Meet in the Tracktown Summer Series was last night in NYC.  Turns out that Tori Gerlach, the newest professional Nittamny Lion Alumnus, was second in the 5K Road Race!  Congrats Tori.

She was topped by Darrell Hill in the Shot Put, who placed first ahead of former Assistant Coach Ryan Whiting.  Evonne Britton placed fourth in the 100M Hurdles, while Cas Loxsom placed eighth in the 800M.

4

Evonne BRITTON

New York Empire

12.97

1 Darrell HILL San Francisco Surge 20.87m (68-5¾ ) 2 Ryan WHITING Philadelphia Force 20.73m (68-¼ )

8 Casimir LOXSOM New York Empire 1:47.34

2

Tori GERLACH

Portland Pulse

16:11.60

USATF Championships 2017

Isaiah Harris, Dom Perretta and Casimir Loxsom represented Penn State in the 800M opening round yesterday in steamy California.  Isaiah won his rather slow heat by closing with a relish to move on to tomorrow's semi-finals.  although Dom and Casimir failed to advance, Cas certainly put a smile on my face by donning his Alumni Singlet at the Championship level!  Cas has also announced a return to State College next year for training.  

Also, Morgan Shigo placed 11th in the Hammer Throw, capping off a stellar season.  Tori Gerlach also finished her tremendous season and PSU career with a 15th place finish in the Steeplechase.

How Did The Women Do At The NCAA Championships?

The big answer is tied for 29th place.

Tori Gerlach used her extra eligibility to All-American effect by placing third in the 300M SC! And Danielle Gibson used her first effort in the Triple Jump to place sixth for the second All-American for PSU!  Both Tori and Danielle PRed in their Championship performances.  Coach Groves would be proud.  Only Tori PRed, (Thanks Mimi McGarry McCloskey!) Coach Groves is still proud.  Blog interns will be denied soup at lunch for the next week. 

600M Record Holder Cas Loxsom with Tori Gerlach.

The Team Rundown:

• 800M - Danae Rivers     19th   2:07.17
• 3000M SC - Tori Gerlach      3rd   9:46.76
• 5000M - Tessa Barrett     20th   16:18.86
• 10000M - Jillian Hunsberger     10th   33:29.40
• Pole Vault - Hannah Mulhern      NH
• Triple Jump - Dannielle Gibson    6th   43' 10"
• Shot Put - Obeng Marfo   19th   53' 3/4"

Steeplechase Tradition Is Back

Tori Gerlach ran her first 3000M Steeplechase in 2 years and eclipsed Bridget Franek's facility record at the Bucknell Track with the #2 time in the world so far this year!

Wow! What A Weekend For The Middle Distances

From coast to coast, current and former Nittany Lions dominated the middle distance races this weekend.

From the Husky Classic in Seattle:

• Danae Rivers continues her record setting Freshman season with another School Record in the Mile, with the #1 time in the nation so far! 

 Rivers, Danae     Penn State     4:32.55

From the Spire Institute and home of the Big Ten Indoor Championships:

•  Isaiah Harris led Dominic Perretta to a first and second place finish in the 800M.

Isaiah Harris            1:48.03

Dominic Perretta     1:48.17

From the Armory in NYC and the Millrose Games:

• Casimir Loxsom couldn't catch Brannon Kidder in the 1000M. 

Brannon Kidder 2:19.92 (58.44, 1:53.16) Casimir Loxsom 2:21.06 (58.61, 1:53.36)

Brannon Kidder's fine Pro Debut!

And I forgot the super effort of Tori Gerlach (who will be back for Outdoor Season!) in the Millrose 3000M. She finished third with a 16 second PR of 8:53.48.

Third And Last Semi-Final For Performance Of The Year: Please Vote For Your Top 3

Head on over to the most viewed Track/Physics/Golf web site in the world to vote for your top 3 in the last of the Semi-Finals for the 2016 Performance of the Year!  All performances submitted during the year were randomly placed in the Semi-Finals by our crack staff of Interns.  And Coach Groves is disappointed in the number of votes so far!  Step it up, people.

1. Womens team winning the NCAA Cross Country Regional meet.
2. Olympic Silver Medal for Joe Kovacs.
3. Brannon Kidder, 4th at the NCAA 1500M.
4. Isaiah Harris, 4th at the NCAA Outdoor 800M.
5. Brian Leap's Big Ten title in the Triple Jump.
6. Tori Gerlach and Tessa Barrett, 2nd and 3rd in the Indoor Big Ten 3000M and 5000M.
7. Brannon Kidder, American Indoor 1000M Collegiate (NCAA) Record.
8. Isaiah Harris, Big Ten title in 800M as Freshman.
9. Isaiah Harris/Brannon Kidder both with opening meet 1:46 800M times.

The NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships Aren't Easy

With only the top 16 making any of the events, there isn't any lee-way in performance. It wasn't the best of days for PSU, but Brannon Kidder is well placed to medal in the 800M finals today, and Rachel Fatherly and Danielle Gibson have their events today also.

Isaiah Harris was in the same heat of the 800M as Brannon, and never seemed to find his stride.  He finished in eleventh overall with a 1:49.08.  And that's Second Team All-American in his true Freshman year.  Congrats Isaiah!

Also never seeming to find their stride were Tessa Barrett and Tori Gerlach in the Women's 5000M. The relentless pace of Notre Dame's Molly Seidel made many in the field fade.  Tessa Barrett finished in eleventh place with a time of 16:25.94.  Another Freshman Second Team All-American!  Senior Tori Gerlach also made second team with her 13th place time of 16:45.56.

Neither Brannon or Isaiah doubled back in the Distance Medley Relay.  The team of Jordan Makins, Robert Rhodes, Alex Shisler and Colin Abert finished in 9:50.64 for ninth place.

The final day of the Championships can be streamed live starting at 4:55PM (Eastern) on ESPN3.

End of Season Accolades and Rankings

It was a great Indoor Season for the Nittany Lions, and eight athletes are moving on to the very exclusive NCAA Indoor Championships in 5 events (only top 16 make it nationwide)!

 9  Tessa Barrett     FR 5000M         15:46.08D

14  Tori Gerlach      SR 5000M         15:50.49D

15  Dannielle Gibson  JR Triple Jump     13.14mD

 8  Rachel Fatherly   SR Shot Put        17.27mD

                                                                                                                

4  Isaiah Harris      FR 800M           1:46.24D

8  Brannon Kidder     SR 800M           1:47.01D

3  Distance Medley Relay                9:27.20D

 1200M)  Jordan Makins SR   400M) 426 Alex Shisler SR            

 800M)  Isaiah Harris FR 1600M) 424 Brannon Kidder SR  

Isaiah Harris to Brannon Kidder!

And two athletes and one coach earned Regional  honors!
 

MID-ATLANTIC - Track Athlete of the Year – Brannon Kidder, Penn State
Kidder, a senior from Lancaster, Ohio, broke the collegiate 1000 meters record in 2:18.26, ranks No. 8 at 800 meters in 1:47.01 and anchored the No. 3 DMR with a 3:55 1600-meter split. He won the mile at the Big Ten Championships and anchored the winning DMR. He’ll put his individual undefeated record on the line over 800 meters at the NCAA Championships, and will also run the DMR.
MID-ATLANTIC - Field Athlete of the Year – Rachel Fatherly, Penn State
Fatherly, a senior from Williamsport, Pennsylvania, broke the Penn State record in the shot put at 17.27m (56-8) for the No. 8 rank in the country. She finished runner-up in the event at the Big Ten Championships to go along with a fourth-place weight throw finish. She will contest the shot put at the NCAA Championships.
MID-ATLANTIC – Womens Assistant Coach of the Year – Patrick Ebel, Penn State
Ebel, in his fourth season guiding the Penn State throwers, coached his shot putters to three of the top four individual finishes at the Big Ten Championships. National No. 8 Rachel Fatherly finished runner-up as one of three Nittany Lions to surpass 50 feet, and he also had two finalists in the Big Ten weight throw. Fatherly, the school record holder in the shot put, will compete at the NCAA Championships.



And Penn State is ranked 2nd overall in the 800M as a team, just 0.3 seconds behind Texas A&M and Freshman sensation Donavan Brazier.  The top 4 runners from each team count in the standings.

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.

A Very Good Day At The Penn State National

I had the pleasure to spend a long amount of time with some of my favorite people yesterday at the Penn State National Indoor Meet.  Having to be dropped off nearly an hour early for the meet so the girls could attend the PSU Student Housing  Expo at the HUB, I was pleased to see that Greg Fredericks brought Coach Groves early too!

I had the pleasure to speak with Coach and Greg for an extended time.  It is wonderful to see that Coach is happy in his new residence, relates the food as "good" and only occasionally gets into trouble.  About exactly as any of us would figure.

Greg also delivered the raw materials that will become the ultimate PSU Track Alum Annual Award at our Reunion and Coach Groves Golf Tourney weekend.  Coach Bill Whittaker is commended for donating the item for our cause.  You all will enjoy the item's unveiling at the next Awards Dinner.

I also got to talk to Steve Shisler. whose son Alex Shisler finished 3rd in the 400M Invitational!  Beth Shisler could not be there, as she had traveled "for work".  That same excuse becomes mine next week when I miss the Sykes and Sabock Challenge and Coaches Reception.  I will be at the meeting of the Association of Miserable Curmudgeons while the rest of you enjoy yourselves.

Tim Backenstose made a surprise appearance and got to see a very fine 800M with Brannon Kidder and 3 other top NCAA finalists duke it out on the Ashenfelter Oval.  Brannon topped them all with a 1:47.01 time, near the top of this year's qualifying marks.  We both also witnessed a school record 1-Mile by Tori Gerlach with a 4:37.83, eclipsing Bridget Franek's previous record.

But my favorite part of the day was convincing the energetic dynamo Billy Francis Cvecko to become a contributor to the blog!  With his criss-crossing of the Continent and his millions of friends, he can't help but be a boon to our efforts. He isn't our Undersecretary of Fun for nothing!

I always thought there was a chance that Billy WAS the Lion until I finally saw them both in the same room.

 

Another Coach Of The Year And More 800 Goodness

Last year, friend and classmate Tom Rapp made the list of Coaches of the Year on the USTFCCCA list for Ohio.  This year, Matt Lincoln made the list for Arizona!  The number of great coaches that have come out of PSU's Program is astounding. It's hard to keep track of all of them.  Congrats Matt.  I really wish I had the time and opportunity to coach too.

USTFCCCA Coaches of the Year

Both of Penn State's 4 x 800 relay teams have the early season World Lead in the event!  

Julie Kocjancic, Victoria Crawford, Elizabeth Chikotas, and Tori Gerlach combined to post a world leading time of 8:45.85 on January 9, 2016 during the Penn State Relays.

Jordan Makins, Bobby Hill, Isaiah Harris, and Brannon Kidder recorded their world leading time at the same meet in a time of 7:25.28.