What do basketball superstar Isiah Thomas, Olympic sprinter Carl Lewis, and baseball all-star Will Clark all have in common?
Besides being multi-million dollar athletes, all were once participants in a U.S. Olympic Festival. Hoping that their careers will take a similar path, 17 Penn State athletes are among the 3,000 amateurs gathered this week in Los Angeles for the 1991 U.S. Olympic Festival. A showcase of the nation's developing athletic talent, the 30-sport, nine-day competition will continue through the end of the week.
"Historically we have had the student-athletes who have the ability, drive and dedication to set this (the festival) as a goal and be able to meet it," said Associate Athletic Director Ellen Perry. "I think the high number of athletes is a validation of the quality of our coaches and athletes here at Penn State. It is a great reflection on the University."
Eight members of the field hockey team highlight this year's Penn State contingent. Kirt Benedict, Michele Brennan, Stacy Greburg, Christine McGinley, Jill Pearsall, Amy Stairs, Jen Stewart and Eleanor Stone are all in uniform for the East squad.
The field hockey squad is coming off a strong season in which it was 18-2, captured the Atlantic 10 title and earned a berth in the NCAA Final Four.
Stone, who was third on the team in scoring, will lead the group to Los Angeles. She scored 23 goals and was an All-American last fall.
Along with the high-scoring Stone, goalkeeper Brennan collected 14.5 shutouts and compiled a .907 save percentage. Brennan's accomplishments eanred her second team All-America honors.
Helen Holloway and Carla Coleman are a part of the 12-player East women's basketball squad. Holloway, the 1991 Atlantic 10 Freshman of the Year, and Coleman, a sophomore preparing for her second collegiate season, outlasted a field of 242 players to qualify for the squad.
In last night's competition, the East squad bounded to a 70-54 victory over the West. Seven players scored seven or more points for the East, which improved its record to 1-1. The West is 0-2.
Leading the men's track squad is Assistant Coach Bill Whittaker. Whittaker, who is the coach of the East team, will accompany four members of the Nittany Lion men's track team. Phil Caraher will compete in the shot put, Andy Scott in the steeplechase, Mason Ternay in the pole vault and Brian Kelly in the decathalon.
Caraher, an All-America shot putter, will try to build on his successful spring season. Caraher earned a silver medal at the Penn Relays and was the Nittany Lions' lone contestant in the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Oregon, where he captured ninth place.
Kelly, a versatile multi-event sophomore, will face a tough test in the decathalon. Big meets, however, are nothing new to Kelly. In high school, he struck gold at the Massachusetts Track and Field Championships in the 800 meters (1:55.0) as a junior and in the 300 intermediate hurdles (38.2) as a senior.
"In the Olympic Festival, you run into some strong competition," said Men's Track Coach Harry Groves. "They are not the best athletes in the world, but they are young developing talents. They are what the festival is all about."
On the women's side of the track, Pam Connell and Carmen Mann will compete in the heptathlon while Shelley Mitchell will take part in the 400 meter hurdles. "The girls have been working hard," said Women's Track Coach Teri Jordan. "They have been putting in a great deal of effort. It is really tough to make the competition and I am sure they will do fine."
Coming off a succesful junior year, Mitchell will be looking for a strong performance. In addition to winning several large invitational races, Mitchell captured the gold medal in the ECAC Championships 400 meter hurdles for the second straight year. In the process, Mitchell established a Penn State record with a time of 57.88 seconds. Mitchell placed 14th in the NCAA meet in May and 12th at the TAC meet in June.
Connell is fresh from a fourth-place finish in the NCAA heptathlon in May. A graduate student who completed her last year of eligibilty in the spring, Connell is an alternate for the Pan American Games in Jamaica later this summer.
