Random Thoughts And Results Of The 19th Annual Reunion And Golf Tourney

1.  We had a very good turn-out considering the world we currently find ourselves in. There were 40 or so attendees for both the Reception and Dinner.  There were 6 foursomes on the golf course.  And there were many attendees for Vivian Riddick's Zoom Presentation and the Coach Schwartz Celebration for the Women's Team.  Coach Groves finally got his 2009 wish of more women attendees for our celebration of Penn State T&F/XC.
2. The Mountain View Country Club hosted the tourney and were excellent in their support of our efforts.
3. I sorta/kinda won for the 3rd time in a row.  Because Steve Brown's sons golfed with him, we had a team of "ringers" without a hacker like me.  According to the rules set up by Clark Haley decades ago, this team is forbidden.  All teams must be rigidly, strictly chosen randomly on Friday night, except when sufficiently bribing of the Officers of the Group has been undertaken!  The Browns managed 5-under par, with my foursome scaring them with a 4-under par back 9 after an even front nine.  (Please realize I am being mostly funny with this, but I won't know for sure until I see the engraving on The Cup next year.)  I hit few shots with my wonky wrist, but I suppose 4 of my shots actually counted.  For all you non-golfers out there, you would do much better than this without ever having golfed before.  Come golf with us next year.  It was a pleasure golfing with Harry Smith, his son Ian Smith and Coach John Gondak this year.  
4. There was a paucity of potential in the running for the "numb-nuts" award, with the absence of Kevin Kelly O'Brien.  Just joking Kelly, you were missed.
5. The Triathlon at the track, which has replaced the Alumni Run, was won by Steve Balkey, with individual events won by one of the Fullers (I never know which one; it's definitely a problem of mine!) and Greg Fredericks, Master of the Hula Hoop.
6. Speaking of the Fullers...  They all golfed together this year.  It was honestly only by chance, I swear to God.  Bob Gabel became an honorary Fuller to fill up their foursome.
7. Paul Mundy won the Longest Drive contest, which he does nearly every year Beth Shisler does not golf .
8. The dinner menu was excellent (flank steak, grilled chicken with Parmesan sauce, and a chocolate cake that brought a smile to Paul Mundy).  The selection of four different flavors of chicken wings on Friday night was also quite splendid.  Free draft beer and a full cash bar got the crowd in just the right spirits to meet new friends and regale old friends with white lies about the days of yore.
9. There are stories of great times had by many (after my bed-time) at The Phyrst on Friday night and Pickles on Saturday night.  I managed to host Rock and Roll Legend Paul Souza to nearly 11:00PM on both nights before tag-teaming and handing off to Night-Life loving Clark Haley.  I think we have a convert to our efforts in Paul, with maybe even a Rock and Roll Reception in our future!
10. Ken Brinker became only the third recipient of The Rusty Boot, the highest honor that can be bestowed on any PSU Track Alum.
11. Two hardy members of the group drove their Harleys fairly long distances to join us.  Both Mike Shine and Paul Mundy looking good BTW!
12. Coach Gondak won the closest to the pin contest on a hole which is normally his nemesis at his home course. A six-foot putt led to one of our birdies to close in on the Leading Brown group.
13. Kay Warfel made multiple homemade gifts for raffle and Coach Gondak supplied numerous items to add to the mix from the team's supplies.
14. A tour of the new locker room was given by Ryan Foster.  It's good to have him back.
15. The Ghost Award went to Paul Souza who finally joined us and says he will be back every year from now on.  Speaking of future years, we have decided to alternate between May and August in the future, just to see if we can entice a few more reluctant attendees.  More on that to come. 
16. Quite a few attendees climbed Mt. Nittany again this year, in addition to touring the Sports Museum and Berkey Creamery.  Remember, the golf is optional but highly recommended!
17. State College has taken Covid hard by what I have seen.  The entire block containing The Saloon, Hi-Way Pizza, The Deli and the Lions Den has been closed and empty.  Baby's is closed and for sale.  I would love to have enough mullah to buy it and bring back Pedro's! Anyone wishing to join me in investing in this opportunity, let me know.
18. My Nittany Lion Hawaiian Shirt was a big hit.  The Lion's Pride came through for me again this year.  Several others went on Saturday to find the stock already depleted.  Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man happy, healthy and Hawaiian Shirted.
19. The Longest Putt on Hole 18 went to Ian Smith of my foursome with a 9' 1" effort.
    

    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    

They Chose To Climb

In the early 90s, I had the opportunity to visit Zermatt, Switzerland for 2 days.  It was a good trip, even with the migraine headache from altitude and the fog-enshrouded Matterhorn, which I never did see.

I saw the town's cemetery, where many are buried who didn't quite make it to the top and back.  The best epitaph I saw was "He chose to climb", which echoes all the statements from relatives of deceased Everest climbers lately.

But these hardy climbers DID make it to the top and back (of Nittany Mountain!), renewing and strengthening the tradition of Penn State Track and Field Alumni (Non-golfers) started by Spouse the Better some years ago.  They have augmented the festivities by inaugurating the certification of success with a signature on a special t-shirt just for the bestest among us!

A Decent Weekend

I traveled to suburban Philly on Friday for a 12 Hour stint in the JTP.  Twelve hours in Jenkintown and 3 trips to the best convenience store experience in the nation, WaWa!

I was there to visit another Penn State Branch Campus, Penn State Abington.  Which happens to be undergoing a Renaissance in Cross Country under head coach Jim McClernand.  Jim happens to be a friend of Hugh Hamill since their 3rd grade year in the Suburban Philly environs.  They ran for the powerhouse Father Judge teams in a time before they invented color photos!  hee hee hee

Coach Jim McClernand with Daughter the Younger.

PSU Abington XC, 2nd at the Immaculata Invitational.

And in other Track Alumni News, Coach Ryan Foster backed up his victory in the Kilted Mile with a victory for the Edinboro Fighting Scots in the Womens PSAC Championships over Shippensburg.  The Mens team perfomed well, finishing second.

Ryan Foster, right and Kara Foster, 2nd from left.

And in that other weekend event, everyone needs to thank me for not watching at all, as that ensured the great performance.  I think it is now 11 times in a row that my watching or not watching correlated directly with the performance of the team.  I will be taking donations to ensure I don't watch the next one in Columbus.  Any takers?

An effective use of the Alumni T-Shirt by Bob Hudson.  With Hanna Humphreys, Vivian Riddick and Todd Leggett.

Our Members Flood Into Indianapolis

Today marks the first time PSU is represented in the Big Ten Football Championship Game in Indianapolis, and our Group will be well represented there.

Included in the fans urging on a Nittany Lion victory will include Vivian Riddick, Larry Mangan, Paul Souza, Don Skerpon and Harry Smith.  Any others?

I am happy to hear of the enthusiasm for the team, even though I will probably nod off during the first quarter of action.  I will await more photos from the middle of the country!

Larry Mangan and Paul Souza BEFORE the tailgate!

Updates From The Reunion

As I suspected, Coach Groves' personal chauffeur sent along a picture of Coach with his new Rusty Boot Award.  Only cool people can get away with wearing sunglasses indoors!

And one of our most ardent supporters posted a picture of the 1983 team that has garnered us a couple of new members and plenty of interest for next year's event. Thanks, Vivian Riddick, your support is valued more than you will ever know.

As I explained to her, attracting women was never one of my better skills.  (Hint for you youngsters out there, puppies help!)

Notes From The Reunion Weekend

1. The meal by PSU catering at the Indoor Complex was one of the best I have ever had at an event like ours.  The BBQ 1/2 chickens and ribs were complimented by several sauces, the raspberry chipotle being my favorite.  The mac and cheese was the absolute best I have ever had.  Even the salads were esquisite to this "occasional" salad eater!  The open bar kept many in the best of moods. Desserts were "to die for".
2. I couldn't fly the drone Airship 800U outside on Saturday because of the rain, but it did get some Thursday and Friday flights at the track with great results.  And I flew it indoors at the Ashenfelter Complex before the Alumni "Run" and only crashed it while landing!
3. Coach Groves came to all the events with his private chauffeur and had a wonderful time.
4. The rain didn't daunt the golfers among us.  Thirty-one of the thirty-two who signed up braved the conditions for the duration.  There was even sleet at the finish, just to welcome all of us home to State College.
5. We all are trying to make next year's event over-the-top great!  We will attempt to arrange the whole thing during the PSU hosting of the Big Ten Outdoor Track Championships next year.  That may even free up some of you who can't come normally because of High School District Meets.  Stay tuned...
6. Some of you had some nice things to say to me about the blog and all of our efforts to unite all 1,500 or so PSU Track and Field Alumni.  I thank all of you for helping to spread the word.  It is starting to have a real effect!
7. Tim Backenstose went out of his way to present to me a framed pic of me in the Penn Relays Marathon in 1979 (He won the whole thing!).  He needed the help of a professional photo enhancement specialist in Hollywood to pull it off.  It means more to me than he can ever know. It will be on display in my treadmill room along with my Rec Hall lockers and Letter certificate signed by both Coach Groves and Joe Paterno.  Thank you Tim!!!
8. Coach Groves received the very first presentation of the "Rusty Boot", an award symbolizing everything that's good about PSU Track and Field and Cross Country.  This was made by bronzing one of Coach Bill Whittaker's javelin spikes from 1970, a quite gnarly sight.
9. Coach Gondak received an Alumni Singlet through the efforts of our Faucon 'de Orange Mark Hawkins.  This was only the second such special singlet given out with the word Coach in the lower bar.  We all thanked him for having the Penn Relays 4 x 800M winning team wear the throwback singlets for the Championship of America race.
10. With the constant rain all day Saturday, we forgot to place the markers for the specialty holes on the course, so we don't have Closest to the Pin, Longest Putt, Longest Drive winners this year.  But I'm pretty sure all of those winners were in my threesome.  Nick K. won the closest to the pin, Clark Haley won the Longest Drive and I won the Longest Putt.  And I have the Golden Putter to prove it!
11. Those usually in charge of the Coach Groves Golf Tourney Championship Cup forgot it at the track after the event and it was retrieved by our Chief Laundry Officer and given to Tim Backenstose for safe keeping.  Thus, Tim is now our Keeper of the Cup, a title of honor in our group.  Tim also won the "Rob Whiteside" Brotherhood Award for actually golfing with us despite hating golf more than I do!  Rob Whiteside was unable to attend the event, as he just had passed into New Jersey during his through-hike of the Appalachian Trail.  This was the only certified excuse for missing the event.  Others take warning.  

Turns out that The Cup was left behind on purpose by The Keeper of the Cup Harry Smith so that Owen Dawson would place it in a display for all to see year round at the Track Facility!  There is no Idiot quite like a Track Alumni Idiot Officer, me included!

All photos stolen from Hanna Humphries and Jim McClelland!

Most of the attending Alumni.

Beth Shisler, Doreen Statare McCoubrie, Vivian Riddick, Elaine LaFramboise Pino, Hanna Humphries.

The Mall

Coach Groves, the Ladies Man!

Coach Jordan, center.

The Alumni "Run" was well attended.

Fun despite the rain! Eric Schwartz, Don Ziter, Jim McClelland and Coach Gondak.

Coach Groves, center court, with his chauffeur.

Kierrun O'Brien.

Coach Gondak with a Penn Relays Wheel!

Coach Groves with the Rusty Boot.

It's a Long Way To Tipperary...

And also California.

Several PSU Track Alums came all the way from the Golden State to reunite and deserve accolades from some us us who complained about a two-hour drive.

Vivian Riddick came from LA and brought the family with her. They even climbed Mt. Nittany with my dog Pooky. (That's Mt. Nittany in the background!)  I'm sure they all had a good time.  She joined other women in welcoming back Coach Gary Schwartz to Happy Valley, who was no slouch in coming all the way from Arkansas!

Coach Groves and Coach Schwartz.  Photo by Mark Hawkins.

And a 50% Reunion of the 1985 Penn Relays 4 x 800 M Relay occurred on Friday at the Reception.  Chris Mills is actually from State College, but still traveled from near Modesto, California to meet up with teammate Steve Shisler and all the rest of us. Chris golfed with us on Saturday and posed in front of the rest of his foursome with Coach Groves.

Coach Kevin Kelly, Bob Gabel, Coach Groves, Che Arosemena with Chris Mills. Photo by Mark Hawkins.