Blast from the past! Hempfield Track 1967!

Let's go back about 43 years and visit the Hempfield Track Team from 1967. Digging through the old track files we find names like:

Head Coach Warfel
Assistant Coach Ketz
Bob Smith in the triple jump
Joe Texter in the shot put
two mile relay of: Jeff Hunt, Dennie Frey, Charlie Roehm, and Dean Zeamer
Mike Siepietowski in the hurdles and high jump
Dick Milley in the two mile run
mile relay of: Scott Johnson, Ike Rittenhouse, Miles Harriger, and John Murse
Jack Rote in the discus
Doug Nauman and Ike Rittenhouse in the javelin
Steve Spiese & Ed Dinkel in the pole vault

That year five people qualified for the district meet: Gordie Moore in the two mile, Bob Smith in the triple jump and broad(yes that is the long) jump, Mike Siepietowski in the low hurdles and high jump, Kirk Liddel shot put and Doug Nauman javelin. The team finished with 8 wins & 3 losses and third place in the County Meet.

Our Hempfield Track tradition started in the 1960's! That is where Hempfield Track & Field was born! Hopefully, this season, the 2011 track & field will continue to write new stories to keep Hempfield Track one of the top track & field programs in the state!

Anyone wishing to add to these stories please contact Jim Albright at:
jwasja0215@comcast.net

Coaches of the 70's!

Here are three coaches of the seventies! The boys program was in great hands with head coach Marv Cochran(in the middle) and his two assistants Brain Peters(on the left) and Dwight Bomberger(on the right).

Indoor Track Begins for 2009-2010

Thanksgiving always is a great time of year. Families get together, food, football & of course the beginning of indoor track season! The Hempfield indoor track team has continued to grow & have success that catapults the team into the spring season of track & field. The indoor season allows athletes to gradually prepare for the vigorous & demanding competition in the spring & also allows athletes from othe sports(lacrosse, baseball, soccer, etc) to experience the world of track & field.

The numbers seem to grow every year! With over 60 boys & 50 girls on the team, the trend continues! And with cold & snowy weather, over 15" of snow before Christmas, the attendance & work ethic has been awesome!

Visit the Hempfield website at:
http://www.hempfieldsd.org/
At the school website you can keep up with the latest results & follow the Hempfield athletes as they compete this season!

Next post will cover the Hempfield athletes running in college.

Bradley Retirement Party & 50 Year Track & Field Reunion

Well we did it!!! Many thanks to - Nancy Bradley, the Merris', Curt Rogers & all others that contributed in anyway! We never can thank all the people enough and someone is always missed, so a BIG THANKS TO ALL!!

Retired coaches were awesome! Between the history of Coach Kane, the great stories of Coach Warfel, and the special words from Coach Cochran the tradition of Hempfield Track was obviously built of a solid foundation! And to the SMOOTH handoff from Coach Bradley to the new coach Curt Rogerss - the program is in excellent hands!

Hempfield Alum! Drew Nesbitt and Nate Kraft provided great insight into an athletes perspective into the program! And allllllllll the other Alum! I know Coach Bradley wanted to talk about you all, from the atlethetes that have set records to the athletes that may have only scored 1 varsity point - YOU ALL WERE CRITICAL TO THE SUCCESS!!!

From my perspective, Hempfield Track will have another great 50 years! And the girls are next! In a few years they will have a celebration! The early years we were two seperate programs & now we are one! This Blog will begin to follow both progarms from this point - so welcome ladies!!

I will continue to share stories, pictures, old articles and the latest track news! And, if you have any comments or suggestions be honest & I will try to keep the blog flowing!!!

Coach Albright

The Story behind the State Champ Pole Vaulter - David Patzer

Here we go:

The dream of a state individual championship was there, but the the road to the championship was not what we expected! After jumping 14 feet indoors in the Lehigh meet, the idea of jumping 15 feet & possibly winning the state outdoor pole vault title was possible. Especially, if David could jump on the new 15 foot pole!!

Season started out fine, bad weather & one or two nights a week we could jump and not freeze or be blown off the pit! The meets started & David was our top sprinter. The plan was to pole vault & run the 100 meters & 400 relay. Winning the McCaskey meet was key in winning the section one title. David finished second in the 100 meters & ran the 400 relay. We won the meet, but David had pain in the groin area. Not good. He was out indefinitely and the long wait started! One week, two weeks, therapy & doctor visits was the new schedule not vaulting into the pole vault pit!

After 30 days off, David took one jump against Penn Manor and won the meet at 12'6". Then 5 jumps in the Blue Streak Relays and 13 feet added to 12'6", won the relay at 25'6"! Next the quad meet against Donegal, Annville-Cleona & Lancaster Mennonite. It rained Monday, pole vault was canceled & we finished at Annville-Cleona. Still on 13 feet & districts may need a higher height to get in. One more meet to do it - the League Meet.

The boys pole vault started at 4 PM with 33 competitors! At 6:30 Dave finally strted to jump! And around 8:15(with the lights on) it was down to two jumpers - David & the McCaskey jumper. The good news David made 14 feet which secured a district spot, but lost to Harbuck from McCaskey on misses - 2nd place at leagues. We will take it!

Districts - now the goal is to qualify for states! Competition was great & we were ready - David jumps 13'9", finishes fouth & qualifies for states - top 5 in district 3 automatically go to states!

States - The State Meet is always a goal for any successful track athlete! Just getting there is very, very difficult! The competition was amazing! We started with 23 jumpers, all made openning height of 12'6". All jumpers made 13', 17 made 13'6" and 12 jumpers cleared 14'! David was still in it - 12 jumpers left for 8 state medals! The bar is now at 14'6", this would be a school record for David! Six jumpers cleared 14'6" AND DAVID WAS ONE OF THE JUMPERS! School record 14'6"!!!!!

Ok, 6 left to jump at 15', David already has a state medal! One of the jumpers was Olover Harbuck, from McCaskey. He beat David at leagues and at Districts. Also, Chris Dodd from Wilson, a 15 foot jumper. And the other three were also great jumpers! Well, EVERYONE missed their first two attempts! Six on the last attempt. First jumper missed, he is out, now it's David's turn. Last attempt at 15 feet. He races down the runway, drives & rocks back like never before - gets vertical and flies over 15!!! He is in the lead!! Four more jumpers at 15'! They all miss - David is the PIAA State Pole Vault Champion at 15'!!! I repeat:

David Patzer - PIAA State Pole Vault Champion at 15'!!!
David Patzer - PIAA State Pole Vault Champion at 15'!!!
David Patzer - PIAA State Pole Vault Champion at 15'!!!

Hempfield's first ever Pole Vault State Champ!!!
What a day for David & Hempfield Track & Field!!!

STATE CHAMPS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is the email that was sent out by Coach Bradley:


David Patzer earned state gold in the Pole Vault with a school record jump of 15' 0".
Kevin Hull put on a clinic for the state as he placed 2nd in the 800, 3rd in the 1600, and ran fast relay legs on the 6th place 4 x 400 Relay team.
Kori Meshaw earned a 3rd place in the 300 Intermediate hurdles and ran a pair of 49s on the relay.
Steve Feister earned a sixth place in the javelin with a nice toss of 189' 9".
Hansel picked up seventh in a lightning fast 400 m. His time of 48.62 sets a new school record for Hempfield. Hansel ran 48.3 and 48.5 as anchor on the 4 x 400 Relay.
Forrest Moul, Kori Meshaw, Kevin Hull, and Hansel set the 4 x 400 school record in the trials and then broke it again in the finals on Saturday to place 6th in the state.

Here are a few tidbits:
Yesterday at the state meet, the Hempfield boys (and girls) performed like champions. This meet demonstrated that track and field is a game of inches. Our 4 x 400 qualified for the finals by 0.01 seconds. They scored 3 points in the finals. Hansel Akers ran 48.62, and qualified for the finals by 0.02. He scored two points in the finals. Steve Feister threw the javelin the same distance as the athlete from Altoona, but had a better second throw - +2. Kevin Hull who barely qualified for the 800 race, created a masterpiece on the Shippensburg track as he took charge of the race from the beginning, strung out the field and held on for the silver medal. Dave Patzer, who only began vaulting again four weeks ago, realized his great potential as he mastered his "big pole" to vault to a new school record by 9 inches and claim gold. He is the first state champ for us in 10 years. And Forrest, who likes to make us laugh, was nothing but business on the track and ran a superb set of 51's. We needed consistency and he did just that. Kori, just did his thing. And we won by two. Everything that could go right did.
I could not have scripted a better way to conclude my career as a head coach.
By the way, PCN did not know what they were talking about - The DQ of Abington hurt us - Altoona picked up 2 points by moving from 2nd to 1st, and we only picked up one point by moving from 7th to 6th (Scoring: 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1).

District Champs

What a day! It comes down to the 4 X 400! For you old guys out there, just like 1986 League meet - McCaskey & Hempfield tied - and we win it!

Here are the comments from Coach Bradley:

Coach’s Comments:
"It came down to the 4 x 400 Relay. The team score was tied: Wilson 54, Hempfield 54; 41 other teams trailed. Forrest Moul was running the event for the first time in big meet competition. Anticipation in Seth Grove Stadium was high. Kori Meshaw started strongly and gave the Knights a lead with a solid 49.8 split. Forrest fell behind on the backstretch and around the final turn. But, coming onto the final straight, he surged and almost pulled even with first place Wilson. Kevin Hull, who already had a gold medal 1600 and 800 meters in his legs, held his position and put anchor runner Hansel Akers three meters behind the first place Wilson team with 400 meters remaining. The 400-meter School Record Holder ran even with the Wilson team until the 200 meter mark and then exploded around the turn to open up a 10 meter lead which he held until the end. Hempfield won the 4 x 400 Relay and its first ever District 3 team title in school history. Score Hempfield 64, Wilson 62. And the celebration began!!
There were many story lines behind the victory. The Javelin throwers started it off on Friday by scoring 11 big points with a 3-4 finish. Alec Bleacher set the school record on his first throw of the competition. Sophomore Steve Feister improved on every toss. David Patzer looked like his sprained his ankle on his first attempt, but was able to come back strong and make 13’ 9” on his first attempt. We thank Oliver Harbuck of McCaskey who beat Wilson’s top-seeded vaulter. Kori Meshaw was not a top 8 seed in the 110 HH, but was able to come up big and place 7th in the event. He then chased the defending state champ in the 300 IH to place 2nd and set the Hempfield school record. Hansel Akers soared from the moment the gun went off and chased the top seed all the way to the finish and placed 2nd, and he too set a new school record. And, of course, Kevin Hull had his way with the field in the 800 and 1600 as he controlled these races from the beginning. Kevin becomes Hempfield’s first time three-time District gold medal winner."

Another one of those great days in the history of Hempfield Track & Field! 50 years & the stories keep coming!!!!