Penn State Sports Magazine
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J U N E / J U L Y 2 0 2 3 17 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M FIVE YEARS AGO, 2018 Isaiah Harris saved his best for last. The Penn State middle-distance standout covered 800 meters in 1:44.76 at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Harris outkicked fa- vorite Michael Saruni of Texas El Paso at the end, turning in a personal-best time that gave him PSU's first national championship in outdoor track since Brian Milne won the discus in 1993. Named the Big Ten Track Athlete of the Year after winning the 800 at the league meet, Harris said he knew he was capable to pulling off an upset at Or- egon's Hayward Field. "There was no doubt in my mind that I could win this race," he said. "I know a lot of people didn't have their money put on me. It's been my mission, just to win. And now it feels like everything that I did and all the hard work I've put in this year paid off." Although Harris had another year of eligibility remaining, the race was his last as a collegian. He turned pro af- ter nationals and ran his first event as a Nike-sponsored athlete later that same month. But even though the Lewistown, Maine, native spent only three seasons at PSU, he made a lasting impact on coach John Gondak's program. "As an athlete, he's done some amaz- ing and special things for Penn State," Gondak said. "He's just a competitor. He doesn't like to lose in anything that he does. He has an uncanny ability like very few I've seen." 10 YEARS AGO, 2013 The Penn State football team was preparing for its second season under NCAA sanctions, but there were rum- blings that the school was making head- way in its efforts to earn some measure of relief from the scholarship reductions and bowl ban that had been imposed the previous summer. The recruits that Penn State was pur- suing in the summer of 2013 seemed re- ceptive to coach Bill O'Brien's message. That June, the Nittany Lions landed two of the top targets on their recruiting board in four-star quarterback Michael O'Connor and three-star defensive back Troy Vincent Jr. Penn State had already landed a five-star quarterback in Christian Hackenberg, but that didn't dissuade O'Connor. "They are a pro-style offense, which is big," he said. "Coach O'Brien is a great coach. It's just a good fit overall." Vincent, the son of former Philadel- phia Eagles Pro Bowl cornerback Troy Vincent Sr., was even more effusive. "Whenever the sanctions are over with — in 2016 or 2017 or whenever it is — we're shooting for a national cham- pionship," he said. "We aren't going to be playing around; we've got business to take care of. We've got to make up for some things." Vincent turned out to be more ac- curate than anyone might have thought at the time. The Lions went on to win the Big Ten championship in 2016 and narrowly missed the College Football Playoff. Alas, neither he nor O'Connor were part of that memorable season. Vincent flipped to NC State a few weeks before signing day for the 2014 class, while O'Connor transferred after redshirting as a true freshman. 25 YEARS AGO, 1998 Penn State shined in the field events at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Buffalo. George Audu and John Gorham finished fourth and sixth, respectively, in the long jump to pace the Nittany Lions. In addition, two PSU throwers were among the top dozen finishers in the javelin, with Carl Wolter placing sev- enth and Troy Burkholder 12th. Also, James Cook was 12th in the decathlon. All told, five Nittany Lion men earned All-America honors, the team's high- est total since six PSU athletes achieved that distinction in 1973. The Lions tied for 27th place overall with 8 team points, their highest finish since placing 20th in 1993. Penn State also found success in the women's field events, with Jen Pas- tore placing fourth in the javelin and Shakeema Walker seventh in the triple jump. — Matt Herb This Month In Penn State Athletics History Isaiah Harris caught Michael Saruni of Texas El Paso at the end of the 800-meter race to claim a national title for the Nittany Lions at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in June 2018. PHOTO BY ADAM EBERHARDT