Paul Souza and Ted Lyon (RIP) cover Olivia Newton John (RIP)

More Alumni Action Post World Championships

There are alums in action even following the World Championships. 

Joe Kovacs will continue his season in Europe, joined by Darrell Hill.  They placed first and third at the recent American Track League meet.

 

Brannon Kidder (4th) and Isaiah Harris (8th) also mixed it up at the same meet in the 800M.  The Womens 800M had Danae Rivers placing 8th.

And Doreen McCoubrie was the 5000M USATF (60-64yo) National Champion at the Masters Nationals in Kentucky.

Fullers And An Aussie Lion-To-Be Dominate Harrisburg Mile

 The Fullers arrived and kicked butt at the Harrisburg Mile yesterday.  Brian Fuller led the Elite Mile, while brothers Kevin Fuller and Mark Fuller placed 3rd and 14th.  In addition Katie Fuller won the Open Womens Division.

 Incoming PSU Freshman and Australian sensation Hayley Kitching won the Elite Womens Mile!  Welcome to Central PA, Hayley.

In a glaring failure on the part of the Interns, I failed to notice that Wendy Nelson Barrett won the Womens 50-54 age group! 

 

Mark "Beef" Heckel Knows Everybody!

 Another Silver Medal performance for Joe Kovacs at the World Championships.  Not bad if you consider that his competition is simply by far the best shot putter in world history.

The USA sweep in the shot put with Ryan Crouser and Josh Awotunde taking Gold and Bronze.

Mark even ran into 1977 teammate of our's Gary Williky.

Lions At The Top Of The Worlds

Larry Mangan, Phil Monastra and Joe Kovacs join Mark Heckel in Eugene! Joe is in the SP final tomorrow. 

As We Await More Nominations For Penn State Track And Field's Mount Rushmore, Here's Some Pics Of The Recent Reunion And Golf Tourney

 Make 4 nominations to:

dfbaskwill(AT)protonmail(DOT)com

 

Who Belongs On The Penn State Track And Field Mount Rushmore?

 

Figuring there is nothing better than fights, skirmishes and acrimony, let's see if trying to put four people on the Mount Rushmore of Penn State Track and Field will stir up some passions.

Anyone can nominate contenders from our entire Universe, both Men and Women, for the honor.  These nominations will be via my secure CERN-related email address.

dfbaskwill(AT)protonmail(DOT)com

Three separate nominations from my (dozens) of readers will be required to qualify for the ballot to come later.  Nominate up to 4 people at a time.

 

Go Ahead And Tell Me These Aren't The Best Singlets. I Dare You!

 

Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner

 

Alums are winning things all over the world!  Here's three recent first placers...

• Tyler McCandless won the Colfax Marathon in a new course record. He finished the race at elevation in Colorado in 2:21:07.
  
  
  
  
• Ron Moore won the Three Sisters Ultra in Tennessee, despite not knowing the runner he blew by at the finish was on the same lap as he was!  11 5K laps in 6:03:09.
• Joe Kovacs rebounded from a second place finish in Eugene to win the prestigious shot put title in the Czech Republic after a 36 hour travel nightmare.  He threw 72' 11"
  
  
  
  

Worlds Converge

Some of you know that my sister Susan makes Runner T-shirt quilts better than anyone else.

Others of you know that my Daughter the Elder was coached by the former legendary coach of Council Rock High School Bill Preston at Penn State Mont Alto where she placed 2nd at the PSUAC Conference meet several years ago.

Combine the two and you get a couple of beautiful quilts! Some of the Council Rock alums may recognize a few of these!

A Major Award

 Like a leg lamp, the Numbnutz Triathlon Trophy leaves one a little underwhelmed.  The head was repaired with Gorilla Glue 3 years ago, and somehow the golf club has been lost.  But it is still the third most coveted prize at our Reunion Weekend.

Todd Leggett took home the prize by winning the overall title, presented by Clark Haley.

 

And, oh by the way, Clark was finally awarded the Rusty Boot, the highest honor that can be bestowed on a Penn State Track Alumni Golfer.  In a juvenile display of Ivy League proportions someone purloined the bronzed javelin boot from my car while we dined on coffee and donuts at the Triathlon site.

Whine And Dine

 First up, the announcement by Clark Haley of the one-time rules change for the 20th Annual Coach Harry Groves Golf Tourney brought howls of protest from the "real" golfers among us.  The cacophony from the rabble rose to such levels at our reception, that I was worried there would be intervention by the authorities.

 

Announced as a 2 club maximum for each golfer in the foursome, it was soon amended to 3 clubs per golfer.  Still, chaos reigned.  Clark held firm at the 3 club maximum and not the "3 clubs and a putter" demand from the influential group of Fuller Brothers!

The anonymously sponsored open bar added to the general good cheer throughout the night.  The night concluded with a putting contest win by Mike McCahill.

The dawning of a new day led eventually to the start of the Coach Groves Golf Tourney.  While this was happening, an intrepid group continued the traditional climb of Mt. Nittany (started by Spouse the Better) followed by a trip to the Creamery.

Rain held off until well into the outing, and the torrential rains only lasted for one hole, followed by summer-like heat and humidity.  We always see a myriad of conditions on the Mountain View Country Club, although conditions were excellent overall.  The brief shower came over Skimont (or whatever it is called now), as if Bear Meadows knew that PSU distance runners were there and just wanted to say hello.

The 3-club maximum for each golfer led to strange shots throughout the day.  Try putting with a 5-iron! My "bag" consisted of a 5-iron, a pitching wedge and a putter; my 3 best clubs.  None of which I can still hit on a consistent basis.  I did, however, have a number of shots that counted and saved par a few times for our foursome.  The new rules added a fun element, and brought a new strategy and synergy to each foursome.  This format brought everyone closer together, which has always been one of Clark's stated goals.  

The longest drive was recorded by philanthropist Ken Brinker.  The longest putt of more than 22 feet was recorded by co-director Harry Smith (garnering the Smith family another year with the purloined Golden Putter).  Tim Brown placed his shot closest to the pin on the ninth hole.  The furthest traveled alum was Brian Boyer, who brought his family from Vienna Austria!

Overall, scores turned out better than anyone had predicted and there was a tie between 2 foursomes at one-under par for the victory.  The rules for ties were eventually thrown out and it was decided using a complex formula involving Elon Musk's new Twitter algorithm and the volume of whining from each group.

The foursome of Paul Mundy, Harry Smith, Gary Black and  Tom Shiffer were given the nod and will have their names engraved on the cherished "Cup".

The Awards Dinner was held at The Hyatt Place Hotel, and entailed a very good spread of grilled chicken, flank steak, baked potato bar and all kinds of other things.  The chocolate cake was especially enjoyed by Tourney Winner Paul Mundy. We had an inspirational speech from former XC and Track and
Field captain Che Arosemena, now attending the Army War College in Carlisle.