Hi All,
Just a quick post to let you know that Penn State advanced to the semifinals of the NIT and earned a ticket to Madison Square Garden. We are going crazy here on campus and some of us are making plans to go to the Garden to watch the festivities on next Tuesday night. One of those people is me - I can't wait to see us get announced!
We play the winner of the Kentucky v. Notre Dame game which tips off tomorrow night at 7:00 PM on ESPN 2.
Other than that, life in Happy Valley has been pretty subdued. We are experiencing an early Spring cold spell and are looking forward to warmer weather. I have my first track and field meet on Thursday (it was supposed to be Saturday, but got cancelled due to an expected rain storm).
- Tracker
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"Success doesn't come to you…you go to it."- Marva Collins
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Friday, March 20, 2009
Hartman Race
Hi All,
This past Saturday the Adaptive Sports Foundation hosted the annual Ralph Hartman Tribute Race. It was a great event and fun was had by all! I saw the best conditions that I have ever seen for a Hartman Race and it really allowed everybody to showcase the improvements they made over the course of the season! I finished with a silver medal and am already looking forward to next season!
I am now back in Happy Valley after my Spring Break, so I've been very busy with work as I had to give a speech on Tuesday and a big test on Thursday. Now that the week is over, I can breathe a bit easier and look forward to the weekend.
Unfortunately, the Penn State Men's Basketball Team got robbed of an NCAA berth and wound up with a #2 seed in the NIT as our consolation prize. Some students are extremely disappointed, but I have chosen to move on and enjoy the fact that we have a postseason. Also, a huge plus to being in the NIT instead of the NCAA is the opportunity for home games.
Since we were the #2 seed, we played George Mason at home on Tuesday. George Mason was a #7 seed that gave us a run for our money! We almost lost and, as a matter of fact, trailed for the majority of the second half. With 4.8 seconds left and George Mason up by one, we fouled one of their players who made both of his free throws. Down by three, our star player, Taylor Battle, got the ball and ran down the court and released the ball with under a second left from beyond the arc. The ball went in and the game was sent into overtime! We wound up winning that game and moving on to the second round! It was a great game to be at!
The second game was held last night (Thursday) and was against Rhode Island, a #6 seed that we lost to earlier in the season. Many people blame our loss to Rhode Island as one of the many reasons that we did not get an NCAA berth. The game was marketed as "REVENGE" and it was revenge that we got! We never trailed in the game and won by 11 with a final score of 83-72. We thought it would be a bit closer as one of our captains did not play as he injured his shoulder. Our underclassmen stepped up and the game was a pleasure to watch! I had great seats for the game as I was in the first row of the student section at center court. I was literally right between the two TV announcers and was on TV for the pregame and halftime talks. It was so cool!
We play the winner of Florida and Miami (a game that is on ESPN U at 7:00 PM tonight). Ideally, we want Miami to win because Florida is the #1 seed which would mean we would have to travel. If Miami wins, we get one more home game this season. If we win our next game (whether it be home or away) we are in the final four and play at the Madison Square Garden!
As you can see, ski season may be over, but I am still extremely busy between schoolwork and sporting events! I am already looking forward to ski season next year, but am kind of excited for the warmer weather and baseball season.
I hope everyone had as great of a season as I did!
- Tracker
------------------------------------------------------------------
"No matter how long the winter, spring is sure to follow." - Proverb
This past Saturday the Adaptive Sports Foundation hosted the annual Ralph Hartman Tribute Race. It was a great event and fun was had by all! I saw the best conditions that I have ever seen for a Hartman Race and it really allowed everybody to showcase the improvements they made over the course of the season! I finished with a silver medal and am already looking forward to next season!
I am now back in Happy Valley after my Spring Break, so I've been very busy with work as I had to give a speech on Tuesday and a big test on Thursday. Now that the week is over, I can breathe a bit easier and look forward to the weekend.
Unfortunately, the Penn State Men's Basketball Team got robbed of an NCAA berth and wound up with a #2 seed in the NIT as our consolation prize. Some students are extremely disappointed, but I have chosen to move on and enjoy the fact that we have a postseason. Also, a huge plus to being in the NIT instead of the NCAA is the opportunity for home games.
Since we were the #2 seed, we played George Mason at home on Tuesday. George Mason was a #7 seed that gave us a run for our money! We almost lost and, as a matter of fact, trailed for the majority of the second half. With 4.8 seconds left and George Mason up by one, we fouled one of their players who made both of his free throws. Down by three, our star player, Taylor Battle, got the ball and ran down the court and released the ball with under a second left from beyond the arc. The ball went in and the game was sent into overtime! We wound up winning that game and moving on to the second round! It was a great game to be at!
The second game was held last night (Thursday) and was against Rhode Island, a #6 seed that we lost to earlier in the season. Many people blame our loss to Rhode Island as one of the many reasons that we did not get an NCAA berth. The game was marketed as "REVENGE" and it was revenge that we got! We never trailed in the game and won by 11 with a final score of 83-72. We thought it would be a bit closer as one of our captains did not play as he injured his shoulder. Our underclassmen stepped up and the game was a pleasure to watch! I had great seats for the game as I was in the first row of the student section at center court. I was literally right between the two TV announcers and was on TV for the pregame and halftime talks. It was so cool!
We play the winner of Florida and Miami (a game that is on ESPN U at 7:00 PM tonight). Ideally, we want Miami to win because Florida is the #1 seed which would mean we would have to travel. If Miami wins, we get one more home game this season. If we win our next game (whether it be home or away) we are in the final four and play at the Madison Square Garden!
As you can see, ski season may be over, but I am still extremely busy between schoolwork and sporting events! I am already looking forward to ski season next year, but am kind of excited for the warmer weather and baseball season.
I hope everyone had as great of a season as I did!
- Tracker
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"No matter how long the winter, spring is sure to follow." - Proverb
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Back to Back Races
Hi All,
I have my Spring Break this week - smack dab between two of the ASF Race Team's races. Unfortunately for me, it actually feels like Spring out there and not Winter. The snow is really starting to melt away which makes it very difficult for those of us with outriggers to ski in because it is so thick. Oh well - snow is snow (even if it is melting)!
This past Saturday we had our Michael Gray Memorial Race which is in memory of a Windham Mountain Instructor who passed away a few years ago. While the conditions were variable, the race team made the best of it and we enjoyed our second to last race of the season.
I won the silver medal and ASF Race Team newcomer, Jake Cassidy, won the gold medal in the Physically Disabled category. My father made his racing debut and came up with a lightening fast time of just over 40 seconds. It was certainly a great time had by all!
Unfortunately, I did not have a chance to ski on Sunday because I caught a nasty bug that forced me under the covers for 21 hours straight!
This coming Saturday is the big Ralph Hartman Tribute Race and Pasta Dinner. Over 80 disabled racers usually compete in the race which is for everyone from beginners to experts! I can't wait for this race because it truly represents what the Adaptive Sports Foundation is all about and embraces the DSUSA motto, "If I can do this, I can do anything!"
I will update my blog again after my last tracks of the season, so have a great week!
- Tracker
---------------------------------------------------------
"You carry on no matter what are the obstacles. You simply refuse to give up - and, when the going gets tough, you get tougher. And, you win." - Vince Lombardi
I have my Spring Break this week - smack dab between two of the ASF Race Team's races. Unfortunately for me, it actually feels like Spring out there and not Winter. The snow is really starting to melt away which makes it very difficult for those of us with outriggers to ski in because it is so thick. Oh well - snow is snow (even if it is melting)!
This past Saturday we had our Michael Gray Memorial Race which is in memory of a Windham Mountain Instructor who passed away a few years ago. While the conditions were variable, the race team made the best of it and we enjoyed our second to last race of the season.
I won the silver medal and ASF Race Team newcomer, Jake Cassidy, won the gold medal in the Physically Disabled category. My father made his racing debut and came up with a lightening fast time of just over 40 seconds. It was certainly a great time had by all!
Unfortunately, I did not have a chance to ski on Sunday because I caught a nasty bug that forced me under the covers for 21 hours straight!
This coming Saturday is the big Ralph Hartman Tribute Race and Pasta Dinner. Over 80 disabled racers usually compete in the race which is for everyone from beginners to experts! I can't wait for this race because it truly represents what the Adaptive Sports Foundation is all about and embraces the DSUSA motto, "If I can do this, I can do anything!"
I will update my blog again after my last tracks of the season, so have a great week!
- Tracker
---------------------------------------------------------
"You carry on no matter what are the obstacles. You simply refuse to give up - and, when the going gets tough, you get tougher. And, you win." - Vince Lombardi
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Let It Snow!
Hi All,
Just a quick update to tell you about my weekend skiing on the snow (or ice, depending on how you look at it). The rain from last week took a lot of the snow that Windham had and turned it into ice, but anytime you can go skiing is a great time!
I realized how spoiled we were throughout this season when I went to put my skis on outside of the ASF deck on Saturday and stepped onto a complete sheet of ice. That was not going to stop anybody from taking in some of the final tracks of the season, though, and everyone cautiously ventured off the deck onto the ice to pop into their bindings.
We spent the entire weekend getting used to the icy conditions that we were skiing on, but by the Sunday afternoon the race team was back to normal and having a great time! Over the course of the weekend, we practiced turning on glare ice on Wonderama and ventured onto some of the steeper terrain like Whistler (some of the race team members even did Upper Wolverine)!
On Sunday morning, the head coach of the race team, Mary Bozzone, and I were filmed for a special suprise! Keep your eye out over the next few months to see if anything new pops up onto the website! Speaking about suprises, the entire race team is beginning to prepare a few suprises for spectators the weekend of the Hartman Race! It will be very cool!
We have our second to last race on Saturday afternoon, the Michael Gray Memorial Race, and all proceeds go directly to the Adaptive Sports Foundation. The race is open to the public, so if you want to race in it you can download the registration form on ASF's Website!
Apparently, Mother Nature rewarded Windham once again as over 6" of powder were dumped on the mountain on Sunday night! I have my Spring Break next week and can't wait to hit the slopes once again!
Until then, let it snow!
- Tracker
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude." - Thomas Jefferson
Just a quick update to tell you about my weekend skiing on the snow (or ice, depending on how you look at it). The rain from last week took a lot of the snow that Windham had and turned it into ice, but anytime you can go skiing is a great time!
I realized how spoiled we were throughout this season when I went to put my skis on outside of the ASF deck on Saturday and stepped onto a complete sheet of ice. That was not going to stop anybody from taking in some of the final tracks of the season, though, and everyone cautiously ventured off the deck onto the ice to pop into their bindings.
We spent the entire weekend getting used to the icy conditions that we were skiing on, but by the Sunday afternoon the race team was back to normal and having a great time! Over the course of the weekend, we practiced turning on glare ice on Wonderama and ventured onto some of the steeper terrain like Whistler (some of the race team members even did Upper Wolverine)!
On Sunday morning, the head coach of the race team, Mary Bozzone, and I were filmed for a special suprise! Keep your eye out over the next few months to see if anything new pops up onto the website! Speaking about suprises, the entire race team is beginning to prepare a few suprises for spectators the weekend of the Hartman Race! It will be very cool!
We have our second to last race on Saturday afternoon, the Michael Gray Memorial Race, and all proceeds go directly to the Adaptive Sports Foundation. The race is open to the public, so if you want to race in it you can download the registration form on ASF's Website!
Apparently, Mother Nature rewarded Windham once again as over 6" of powder were dumped on the mountain on Sunday night! I have my Spring Break next week and can't wait to hit the slopes once again!
Until then, let it snow!
- Tracker
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude." - Thomas Jefferson
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