Long-awaited but under-celebrated. That’s how I would describe the state championship that was earned last May by the State High boys track and field team.
Anyone who knows anything about local sports realizes that State College Area High School has long been dominant in track and field. Legendary coach Jackson Horner guided the Little Lions’ track team for 38 years—plus 37 years in cross country–and he wasn’t in the habit of losing. By the time Horner took off his whistle in 1993, State High’s track and field boys had gone undefeated in dual meets for a total of 28 seasons, and they had captured numerous state titles in relays and individual events.
But despite Horner’s many accomplishments, no State High boys team had ever won a PIAA team championship in track and field. (The girls team won state titles in 1978, 1980 and 2011.)
Then last season, Steve Shisler suddenly ascended from assistant coach and won the state crown in his first year as head coach. Amazing.
Shisler humbly notes that ‘everything had to align for us to win it.’ And he’s absolutely right about that. Indeed, not only did the Little Lions beat Downingtown West by just one point—54 to 53—but many point-yielding outcomes were decided by razor-thin margins.
Even more importantly, the coach emphasizes that the team title stemmed from remarkable efforts by his athletes—especially those who overcame fatigue while competing in multiple events.
‘They were on a mission,’ Shisler says of his runners, jumpers and throwers. ‘And that will stay with me forever.’
Kellen Valentine soars for key points in the long jump. (Photo by David Beyerle)
Unfortunately, the track team’s 2016 heroics didn’t resonate with the community as deeply as I would have expected. Of course, several local media outlets provided coverage of the PIAA meet, and the high school hung a championship banner in the gym. But to illustrate the lack of a buzz that followed this achievement, I personally talked with three former State High captains this winter who had still not heard about the team’s championship effort. (Other below-the-marquee teams have experienced a similar fate. For example, Coach Mike Shapiro’s tennis squads of an earlier era were little noticed despite going 11 years without a loss and featuring a multi-year state champ, Paul Roose.)
NOT FAVORED TO WIN
State College arrived at Shippensburg University with a strong team — but not one that was expected to grab the title. Downingtown West was everyone’s favorite to finish first. The Whippets had already won the state cross country title and the state indoor track and field crown, and they were paced by two stars — Josh Hoey, the mile winner at April’s Penn Relays, and his older brother, Jaxson.
But regardless of the pre-meet prognostications, State High showed up with competitive fire. And the Little Lions got a few breaks at critical times:
Griffin Thompson, a strong contender in the pole vault, was able to put aside some early struggles. Thompson had missed twice at an earlier height, and another miss would have ended his competition. But Thompson cleared that height and eventually claimed the vaulting title with a mark of 16 feet and 3 inches. Thompson’s win not only gave the Lions a huge provision of 10 team points but, coupled with Kellin Valentine’s seventh place finish in the triple jump, it got the them off to an encouraging start on Friday night’s opening session.
In the 1600 meter run, State High’s Alex Milligan — now running for the University of North Carolina — pulled off a key upset by defeating Josh Hoey in the 1600 meters. While Milligan surprised Hoey to claim 10 team points for first place, even more stunning was the fact that Seneca Valley’s Mike Kolor took second place by one-hundredth of a second — thus allowing Hoey to contribute only six team points via a third place finish.
Similarly, in the 800 meters, Carlisle’s Matt Wisner edged Jaxson Hoey for second place by 11 hundredths of a second. Again, the Whippets missed out on the two point difference between second and third.
Alex Milligan rejoices in capturing the 1600 meter title. (Photo by David Beyerle)
Finally, it all came down to the 4 x 400 relay. Due to storms the previous night, it was not possible to run a qualifying race before the finals. That meant that the 29 teams were divided into four heats, and the final placings would be determined by their times. Downingtown West and State College would meet in the final heat, and the Whippets were strongly favored. State High didn’t need to capture first place in the relay to secure the team title, but second place was necessary. And second place looked much less likely after Milton Hershey ran 3:16.66 in the third heat — significantly lower than any of State High’s times throughout the season.
GOING FOR THE WIN
Shisler felt his runners would perform better in the relay if he could reduce the pressure stemming from pursuit of the team title. ‘I knew we had second place (in the team competition) locked up,’ he says, ‘and they give team trophies for the winner and the runner-up. So I said, ‘Look, we’re going home with a team trophy, so I’m already happy.’ Well, Noah Oesterling was our leadoff runner and one of the quietest kids you’ll ever meet. But he stepped up and said, ‘No, Coach, we’re going for the win!’ ‘
And they did — despite the fact that Alex Milligan and Tony Degleris were both about to run their third highly-competitive race of the day. Oesterling, Milligan, Degleris and Noah Woods somehow found the energy to post State High’s fastest time of the year, and the resulting 3:16.57 edged Milton Hershey for second place in the relay by nine hundredths. Downingtown West had won the relay, but State College had won the cherished team championship. Shisler, meanwhile, described his joyful experience as only a former runner would do. ‘I almost pulled a hamstring up in the stands, jumping up,’ he said.
A variety of other strong performances helped State College to reach its 54 point total. Tristan Daman, now sprinting for Penn State, closed out his high school career with fourth place in the 100 meter dash. Kellin Valentine added a sixth place in the long jump to his earlier placing in the triple jump. In the 800, Nick Feffer grabbed fourth and Degleris took eighth.
Tristan Daman sprints to fourth place in the 100 meters (Photo by David Beyerle)
‘800 HIGH’
And then there was the 4 x 800 relay team. A truly exceptional group of runners — Owen Wing, Feffer, Degleris and Milligan — trounced Abington by a margin of nearly seven seconds to capture first place. The Lions’ time of 7:37.25 broke State High’s school record by 4.25 seconds and stood for a while as the best high school effort in America last spring. In the process, the runners legitimized their own pre-race boast that State College should be known as ‘800 High’ just like Penn State is called ‘Linebacker U.’
State College’s 4 x 800 team celebrates its ‘800 High’ victory. From left are Owen Wing, Alex Milligan and Nick Feffer with Tony Degleris turned away from the camera. (Photo by David Beyerle)
Regardless of when they learned about the team’s success, a number of former Little Lion athletes have voiced their excitement:
• Jack Walmer, Class of 1965, was a member of State High’s famous two-mile relay team that not only won the PIAA title but also briefly held the national high school record. Says Walmer, ‘It was a real thrill because track and field is such a team sport. And then, beyond that, it was really neat to see the way they keep producing incredible 800 meter runners. I’m loving the ‘800 High’ tradition!’
• Norman (‘Nibs’) Gordon, Class of 1968, was a versatile runner in everything from 400 meters to cross country at State High, and in the steeplechase at Lock Haven University. The first track and field coach at George Mason University, he coached either men or women at GMU from 1975-1999 and gave oversight to five Olympians and 10 national champions. ‘Even though I don’t know any of the kids who were involved, I was proud when I heard about it,’ says Gordon. ‘It’s something that’s so hard to achieve that you really can savor it, because you know what you put into it. And it’s going to be an inspiration for the next group of kids.’
• Andy Pigott, Class of 1970, was a district champion in the two mile. After working for the Christian and Missionary Alliance church in Taiwan for 18 years, Pigott returned home and now serves as associate pastor of the State College Chinese Alliance Church. ‘I think it’s great,’ says Pigott of the track team’s achievement. ‘And now I’m wanting to promote track and field here among the Chinese kids!’
• Andy Ramsey, Class of 1970, served as a track and field captain along with Pigott and Phil McMullin. Ramsey, an A.F.S. exchange student who came to State High from Australia, offers his congratulations as only an Aussie could do. ‘More strength to their arm!’ he says. ‘I hope some of them go on and we can hear that kids from State College High School have completed in the Olympics. I’d love to hear on a national broadcast in Australia that some kid on the track for America had started his career in a little place called State College. It always tickles me pink when I hear State College mentioned here on telly.’
Shisler, meanwhile, has kept his feet on the ground despite his team’s championship and his own selection as Pennsylvania Boys’ High School Coach of the Year.
Says Shisler, a standout Penn State runner in the mid-1980s, ‘I made the comment shortly after the PIAA meet that there’s nowhere to go but down from here — because it’s the pinnacle of high school sports to win a state title. Who knows if we’ll ever get there again, but it was a great way to start.
‘There’s a sense of pride to know that State College has put itself on the track and field map in a new way. With all the success that Coach Horner had, I suspect this would have meant a lot to him.
Fans who want an early 2017 glimpse of the reigning state champions can attend State College’s opening meet next week. The Little Lion boys track and field team will host Harrisburg High School on Tuesday at 4 p.m.
The State High boys celebrate their first ever team title in the PIAA track and field championships. (Photo by David Beyerle)
