On Top of The Big Ten, And the World!

With her teams garnering 3rd place (Men) and the Championship (Women) of the Big Ten Indoor Track and Field season, Coach Beth Alford-Sullivan has been selected as the Big Ten Coach of the Year.  Congrats!

And Assistant Coach and honorary PSU Track Alumni (Golfer) Ryan Whiting  is competing today at the IAFF Championships in Sopot, Poland. (Cause when I think Indoor Track, I think Poland...)  Ryan is also the centerfold spread in the newest Track and Field News.  We're still working to get him on the links at the Coach Groves Tourney.

Addendum:  Ryan just threw 72' 4" for the win and the defense of his Indoor World Title.

In Track Training, What Goes Around, Comes Around

In early season track workouts for my daughters, I have noticed a similarity to some of our own distance workouts in the times of yore at PSU.

Their first workout was "The Two-Headed Monster" which consisted of a warm-up to a valley between two hills on a lightly traveled road. Then repeats going up and down either side until either tired or vomiting.  Which was exactly like our repeats at North Oak Lane in the Park Forest neighborhood.

North Oak Lane:



Then there is the "Mexican Moguls" which is a hill with 4 separate "hills" built in.  These are run like our very own Julian Pike although it more resembles our Four Hills on Big Hollow Road.

Four Hills:



Julian Pike:



Except that my kids won't miss dinner at the end of the hill repeat workout!

The Original Dance Marathon And They Are Just Making Science Up Now

A fair number of you somehow knew that Steve Black was in the very first band to play at the very first Four Diamonds Fund Dance Marathon in the White Building in 1979 (oh so many years ago). (The Dance Marathon actually started in 1973, but the Four Diamonds Fund came in in 1977. The White Building was first used in 1979.  I was kind of surprised that so many knew Stave was involved.  Steve played bass guitar for Milo Thunder and the Road Hogs.  My efforts to find anyone else involved in the band or photos were in vain however.  And for you youngsters, there wasn't YouTube either! Man, I wish there was YouTube! I remember being there in the rather small crowd with just a few others cheering on the dozens of dancers.  Things have really changed, haven't they? I probably gave them a $1 bill for the cause.  Which was probably my week's expense money.

On the Science Front, another "scientific" study now shows 4 types of heel strikes in distance runners.  As if.  I can't tell you how ticked off I get when "scientists" talk about midfoot strikers (there is no such thing) and now atypical heel strikers. The gist of the whole foot striking thing is It Does Not Matter how you strike the ground.  Speed up and you will magically change! If you break the tape ahead of your rival running on your hands, you will still be declared the winner.  Trying to change running styles by any large degree is fraught with disaster. Switching from one kind of injury pool potential to another injury pool potential does no one any good. The injuries are often worse after switching.  But don't take my word for it, I'm only a lone voice in the wilderness without any semblance of relevance.*

*I'm a 27 year practicing podiatrist with Board Certification in both Surgical and Non-Surgical Orthopedic Podiatric Medicine.  I'm also a published biomechanics student, studying various foot types and foot strike patterns relating to injury rates. (Medicine and Science in Sports and Medicine) And you thought I was just a mediocre Blogger!  Don't get me started, and stay off my lawn....  hee hee hee

It's Time to Practice For The Coach Groves Golf Tourney

As Allen Iverson would say, "Practice, PRACTICE?"

Coach Schwartz attended last year's Reunion and Golf Tourney as our special invited guest.  And I'm hoping he comes again, as his fan base in Happy Valley puts mine to shame.  It looks like he is prepared for the rigors of anything the Mountain View Country Club can unleash!

The Reunion will be at the Damon's next to our Official Hotel, The Hampton Inn (Remember the code PST for the special rate) on Friday May, 16th at 7:00PM.  We have a room and an outside deck and look forward to as many of us that can make it.  Stay tuned for word on sign-ups and costs involved.

There will also be the highly-anticipated Alumni "Run" at 9:00AM on Saturday May 17th at the Outdoor Track.  Remember, this is a social event and "running" is only encouraged, even if it's only the firtst lap of the track before the die-hards head out to campus for a spirited 3 miles or so.  Come drink some coffee (Dunkin Donuts, not Starbucks or Tim Horton's!) and shoot the bull with me and Coach Groves and maybe even appear on that day's podcast!
 
The Golf Tourney will be on Saturday May 17th at 12:00 ("the crack of noon") at the Mountain View Country Club (formerly the Elks Club Course).  It will be a shot-gun start, which should get you back for the Awards Dinner at Damon's again at 7:00PM or so.  There will also be the traditional Climb of Mt. Nittany for those not golfing.  We will conquer the mountain for the 7th year in-a-row for the PSU Track/XC team!

Girls Got Guts

While the men and women of Penn State were competing at Big Tens over the weekend. The PTFCA Indoor Championships were held at the Horace Ashenfelter III Indoor Track.

In a display of true toughness. Brianna Schwartz from Shaler Area won the girls mile in a state record time, despite collapsing 5 meters before the finish line. She managed to crawl to a 4:42.58.

Video of Brianna's final 100 meters

 

Also at the indoor state meet. Coach Steve Shislers boys secured a victory in the 4x800 meter relay. 7:50.72 for 800 High!

 

 



The Ones Who Started It All

Two years ago, we had the pleasure of welcoming Horace Ashenfelter, Al Porto and Bob Parsons to our Alumni Reunion and Golf Tourney.  Eight decades worth of PSU Track and Field and Cross Country Alumni got together for the very first time.  I doubt if other Alumni Groups can boast the same!

I learned several things from them at the time:

1. Al Porto and Horace Ashenfelter are both better golfers than I.  Bob told me he no longer golfs. SO I got him beat.
2. A long run for those 3 NCAA Champions was considered anything over 3 miles.  A 5 mile run was the longest they went.  And never on Sunday.
3. All three of them credited Curtis Stone for encouraging them to run.

With the help of our new friend from British Columbia, George Brose, I have been pointed to some great stuff.  His Blog, Once Upon a Time in the Vest is a treasure trove of great stuff from the 50's, 60's and 70's of Track and Field, and is well worth a visit.  Prepare to spend some time.

Curt Stone is, of course, familiar to a lot of us.  He was quite a remarkable character and ran in 3 Olympics, after what he calls "his prime" during the cancelled 1944 Games. He also ran in the 1952 and 1956 Games.

Penn State Coach Chick Werner with 3 1952 Olympians, Bill Ashenfelter, Horace Ashenfelter and Curt Stone.

Here is a great 3-piece article about Curtis Stone detailing his Olympic Exploits, his PSU career and more, including some interesting tidbits about revolutionary "two-a-days and fartlek".

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Curt Stone's 1948 Spikes.

Coach Chick Werner's patented shoes. Photo from Phil Scott collection.

Chamois insides of Coach Werner's sockless shoes. Photo from Phil Scott collection.

Mark Heckel's Day 2 Report From the B1G Indoor Championships!

Fan Support!

PSU is 800 U

Or is it?

Well, Saturday was a great day to be a Nittany Lion, especially if you were in Geneva, Ohio!

I was much busier on Saturday (handling protests and putting out fires) than I thought I would be, but I did get to see some things.

Jon Hendershot looked good in the high jump, taking 5th at 2.12m on fewer misses. The high jump, which is in the north end of the area, got a good bit of attention as the winning jump was 2.15m, and four jumpers cleared 2.12.

Brian Leap finished 7th in the LJ, a centimeter out of 6th, while Marlene Ricketts fnished 6th in the women's TJ. Steve Waithe finished a mere centimeter from the gold in the men's TJ, with Leap adding more team points in 6th.

Alyssa Robinson was the early leader in the women's weight, but everyone was chasing Purdue's Dani Bunch. Robinson threw well, but finished back in the pack. Her two teammates, however, stayed in hot pursuit of the Boilermaker. Melissa Kurzdorfer and Rachel Fatherly kept pushing, but couldn't make up the last little distance, finishing with silver and bronze respectively. I though technically they both looked good, and more importantly, their combined 14 team points here (and 10 from the SP) were valuable in the women's team race.

In the other WT competition, the expectation was that we might see a collegiate record from Wisconsin's Michael Lihrman. While that didn't happen, it was a good contest none the less. Will Barr was in the thick of the competition, but I was most impressed by his last round 21.50 that moved him to 5th. Barr told me after the event that he had been stuck at 69'11 3/4" since the NCAA indoor lat year, and that the 21.50/70'6 1/2 was finally a monkey off his back. He said I must be good luck for him, as he seems to throw well when I'm around! (I don't know about that, but hey, if he believes it, all the better!)

Pentathlete Tal Ben-Artzi came off her pentathlon 6th place finish to add more points by taking 5th in the women's HJ, Sarah Palmer adding more points taking 8th. Robert Cardina had a solid second day, but couldn't gain any ground on the medalists and remained 4th.

Other palcers included: Marta Kelebe (8th mile); Robby Kreese (7th) and Wade Endress (8th) in the mile; Kiah Seymour outsped everyone else in the 400 for the gold, with Dynasty McGee adding 3 teams points in 6th; Bernard Bennett-Green was on the medal stand with bronze in the men's 400, with Byron Robinson adding team points in 8th; Mahogany Jones was silver (and oh, so close to gold) in the women's 60; Klebe added another team point to the growing women's total in the 800m; Evonne Britton brought home silver in the 60 hurdles, with the hard working (and very busy after the pentathlon and LJ) Brittany Howell finishing just out of the points in 9th; Leigha Anderson added a 4th in the women's 5000;

The men's 800m only had 5 schools represented in the 8 finalists, but three of the finalists wore Nittany Lion blue. Brannon Kidder, Za'Von Watkins and Ryan Brennan helped assure State's top three team finish with a strong showing - making sure people know that Penn State is "800 U". Kidder won the event in a close race (.04 faster than Wisconsin's Austin Mudd) while Watkins and Brennan finished 5th and 7th.

The women's team race had gone back and forth through most of the meet between Michigan and Penn State. Each would surge, only to be caught by the other. One of the key events was the women's 200. Mahogany Jones and Kiah Seymour had the fastest qualifying times, so State looked to score some serious points in the event. Michigan advanced only 1 athlete to the final. Seizing on the opportunity, Jones and Seymour captured 18 highly valuable points by going gold/silver, while Michigan's Cindy Olfili faded to 4th - a 13 point swing for the Lady Lions.

So, after most all was said and done, and the points had been tallied from all the other events, it literally all came down to the 4x4 relays. In case you didn't know (or remember) the Big 10 seeds the 4x4 based on the team point standings going in to the event. Both Penn State squads were in the top 6, so both ran in the second section of their respective events. The women were up first, trailing Michigan by a mere 1/2 point, and the men were in an uneasy 3rd, just 1.5 points ahead of Illinois.

All Penn State's women needed to do was finish ahead of Michigan to lock the team title. But the race between the 2 schools, wasn't ever a race. State's foursome of Jones, McGee, Rhodes and Seymour ran a good race to win the event . . . while Michigan appeared to be running a nice, easy Sunday morning jog, finishing more than 12 seconds slower than the Lions and DFL. With the relay win, the women iced the team title by 10 points of the Lady Wolverines, and the women's party was on! Coach Beth Sullivan was seen sprinting through the stands, then down on the field with the team and a Big Ten network interview. It was a great time to be a Nittany Lion!

The men still had some work to do in their race. Leading Illinois by only 1.5 points, they had to stay close, and not finish more than one place behind the Illini. With Wisconsin and Nebraska well out in front, the localk interest was in the duel with Illinois. Brandon and Bernard Bennett-Green, Byron Robinson and Aaron Nadolsky did what they had to do. They kept Illinois in their sights, finishing 4th to the Illini 3rd, surrendering 1 point but holding on for a team 3rd place overall.

Wow! A Busy 2 days at the SPIRE Institute, but a fun and exciting 2 days. The Lady Lions were on top the medal stand, and the men taking 3rd - I was, as we should all be, very proud of our Alma Mater. What was more impressive was the level that our future alumni competed at, yet they were never cocky or arrogant. It was what we expect to see in a Penn Stater - and they made us proud both on and off the track.

Roar, Lions, Roar!

More Old-Timey Goodness From All Over

We've had an influx of new members to our group, and some increased activities from "old" members too.  We've also had some nice notes of encouragement from other Alumni Groups wondering just what the heck are we up to.

I tell everyone who asks that question the same thing.  Without any hesitation or hint of doubt, I tell them we are working to become the largest and most active Track and Field Alumni Group in the whole world.  And I have no doubt.  We all belong to the largest College Alumni Group* in the world already, so its only a matter of time.

New member Steve Bratt brings us this great photo of the 1975 Cross country team:

Some great things I see on there are:

1. John Zeigler's glasses!
2. Mark Parker's glasses! (what's up with that!)
3. Bill Sheskey's hair!
4. Tim Backenstose's hair! (and he's as skinny as Ziggy!)
5. That's Steve Bratt next to Bill Sheskey with the same smile as Coach Groves!

Steve also submitted a results page for the 1978 Nittany Valley Marathon, which backs up my previous story of helping three of our better milers to their first run over 15 miles in their lives (actually 17 in the PSU tradition!).  I "taught" Larry Mangan, Mike Wyatt and Tom Rapp to hold back at the start of the race and only increase pace every five miles.  We made it all the way to third place at 20 miles before I faded. (In my defense I had pneumonia only 3 weeks earlier!)  All 3 went on to beat me in quite remarkable times considering the cold and snow-covered roads and the fact that they never ran more than "15" before.  Also note how I had to scramble to beat Liz Berry and Coach Groves! It also may be the only time I ever beat Gary Black! Also note the 53 year-old Hersh Leibowitz running a 3:25 marathon!  He gets more amazing to me every year looking back at things. (RIP Hersch).

 

Here's a pic dedicated Golfer  Bill Malchano dug out of his "Way Back" drawer, showing that like Paul Souza, he once had hair! (Hey Bill, I remembered the "A" this time!)

Bill Malchano in the Ice Palace!

*Ah, heck, maybe Michigan or Ohio State has a larger group.  I'm not even going to look it up. I feel like John Belushi asking "Did we quit when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor...?" (RIP Harold Ramis)

An Inside Look at Day One of the Big Ten Championships From Mark Heckel

Brannon Kidder, Za'Von Walkins, Brandon Bennett-Green, Ryan Brennan and Coach Gondak.

When I ask Mark Heckel to jot down a few notes (or contribute the recent obit for a PSU great!), he comes through like the true champion he is.  He posted this in our Facebook site and I am cross posting it here for a bigger audience.

Getting to serve as the field referee at a major championship, you are kept busy with many things. I didn't get a chance to see much on the track today, but I did get to see a lot of the field events. Here's what I observed . . . .

It was a spirited day at the first day of the Big 10 Indoor championships at the SPIRE Institute. While I will not bore you with results and stats (you can find that on-line), I wanted to give you all a sense of the meet atmosphere.

State was definitely in the thick of the meet, with some great performances on both sides of the ledger. Our future alumni ran, jumped and threw well, setting up what should be a good day 2 in a few hours.

I would have to say (and yes, it is a bit biased) that Penn State had the best, most consistent, most vocal, most involved cheering section all day. The cheering, chanting and support for their fellow athletes was great, with more than just a few "WE ARE . . ."chants echoing through the facility. The teams were energized and excited, from the opening of the multi's to the end of the women's LJ. It was a good day to be a Nittany Lion.

I did get to see parts of the men's DMR, and it was a much more tactical race than I think anyone thought it would be. Illinois lead early, but State stayed in the race, eventually pulling away to win. I saw the later half of the finals of the women's shot, and all three of our finalists competed well.

Brittany Howell finished a single point out of bronze in the Pentathlon, with Tal Ben-Artzi 6th. Robert Cardina sits in 4th in the men's heptathlon after day one, a scant 29 points out of the bronze, and fewer than 60 points from silver. I liked his performance in the HJ, and if he can have a good day today, will definitely be in the hunt for some hardware.

In other finals, the seeded section of the 3000 belonged to State's Tori Gerlach by 2 seconds; the womens' DMR was 9th; Lexi Masterson picked 1/2 point in the women's PV; Brian Leap (7th) and Sgeve Waithe (8th) combined for 3 points in the men's LJ; Rachel Fatherly (4th), Melissa Kurzdorfer (5th) and Alyssa Robinson (8th) combined for 10 team points in the women's SP; and Darrell Hill grabbed 6th in the men's SP.

Advancers to today's finals include: Marta Klebe (mile), Robby Creese and Wade Endress (mile), Kiah Seymour and Dynasty McGee (400), Bernard Bennett-Green and Byron Robinson (400 - Brandon Bennett-Green the first man out by .01!), Mahogony Jones (60), Klebe (800), Brandon Kidder, Ryan Brennan and Za'Von Watkins (800), Evonne Britton and Howell (60 hurdles - Shelley Black the first woman out by .01), Jones and Seymour (200 with the #1 and #2 qualifying times).

The most interesting event for me today will definitely be the men's weight throw. 6 of the top 10 weight throwers in the nation are entered, with Will Barr representing the Lions. It should a great competition, only a little more than 3 feet separate the top 6 on the performance list.

Hopefully, I can write more tomorrow, if I can get home before the "snowmageddon" on Sunday!

The Eagle Has Landed

Penn State has arrived at SPIRE for the Big Ten Indoor Championships. Events start at 10am with the heptathlon 60 meter dash (meet schedule). For updates follow @bigtenchamps or the live results page.

Big Ten Time!

 



The USATF Indoor Was Out of Control

Nothing has energized the track and field world as much as the recent episodes of rage, corruption, incompetence and skullduggery at last week's Indoor Championships.

Matt previously brought us a smuggled video of one of the confrontations between Alberto Salazar of Nike's "Crips" and Jerry Schumacher of Nike's "Bloods".



Now more video has emerged of the botched awards ceremony with Gabrielle Grunewald of Nike's "Jets" and Jordan Hasay of Nike's "Sharks".




Not immune to the mayhem, even Andrew Bumbalough of Nike's "Hatfields" bumped shoulders and limbs with Galen Rupp of Nike's "McCoys".  Hilarity ensued.  Or is that sued?



Thank goodness the USATF authorities were there to make things right!

Big Ten Time!

The official pump up video for the Big Ten Indoor Championships this weekend. Video produced by Billy Cvecko.

Penn State Track & Field - Big Ten Championship Pump Up Video from Billy Cvecko on Vimeo.

Meet information including event schedule and ticket sales.