Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1535618
J U N E / J U L Y 2 0 2 5 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, 2020 Professional athletics were tentatively resuming in the summer of 2020, and collegiate sports administrators found themselves warily eyeing the NBA, WNBA, NHL and Major League Baseball to see whether it would be possible to bring back their own activities in the fall. A wide variety of COVID-mitigation measures were still in effect, but Penn State had put together a return-to- campus plan in the hope of resuming in- person classes. That plan required any student who tested positive, as well as any of that student's close contacts, to isolate for 14 days. The athletics department instituted a protocol built around frequent testing. In the interest of transparency, PSU vowed to release its results publicly every two weeks. In late July, it announced that it had conducted 466 tests encompassing multiple teams, with eight tests com- ing back positive and 66 still pending. In its two previous announcements, the department hadn't reported any positive test results. It was unclear at that point whether Penn State's efforts, and those of its Big Ten brethren, would allow for a football season, but the team was preparing as if it was going to return to the field at some point that fall. One of the mea- sures it took was to move the weightlift- ing equipment into Holuba Hall, giving players more room to spread out. "I trust the medical staff here," line- backer Ellis Brooks said. "I trust the coaching staff. I think we're all doing the things that we can do to help mini- mize exposure, wearing a mask in work- outs, masking in meetings, doing online meetings. All I can do is focus on myself, really, and just continue to be safe and practice social distancing whenever I'm out." 10 YEARS AGO, 2015 Led by All-America finishes from Bran- non Kidder and Steve Waithe on the final day of competition, the Penn State men tied for 10th place at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships June 10-13 in Eugene, Ore. It was the Nittany Lions' highest finish since they tied for eighth in 1966. "It's a great feeling finishing in the top 10 as a team," said John Gondak, head coach and director of Penn State cross country and track and field. "This meet is full of so many great competitors, and scoring points is hard. It's a challenge. To be able to finish in the top 10 is great for Penn State, it's great for our men's pro- gram. I'm really proud of our team this year." Kidder finished second in the 800-me- ter run with a time of 1:49.36, a 10th of a second behind champion Edward Kem- boi of Iowa State (1:49.26). Over the final 200 meters, Kidder posted the fastest split (24.63). Waithe finished eighth in the triple jump after being seeded 17th going into the event. He scored one team point, giv- ing the Lions 17 points. 25 YEARS AGO, 2000 The winningest season in Penn State baseball history came to an abrupt end when the Nittany Lions dropped con- secutive games to host Texas at an NCAA Super Regional June 2-3. Penn State had earned its ticket to Aus- tin by winning four of five games at an NCAA Regional in Upper Montclair, N.J. It was a celebratory moment for the Nit- tany Lions, four of whom — third base- man Shawn Fagan, pitcher Scott Russo, catcher Chris Netwall and second base- man Eric Spadt — would go on to be se- lected in the 2000 Major League Baseball Draft. The Lions also had a first-team All- American in outfielder Michael Campo and a standout freshman pitcher in Kevin Damiano. However, the Longhorns proved too much for Penn State, winning the first game 7-3 and the second 10-0. The Nittany Lions finished their season with a 45-19 record, the best in program history, and they placed 19th in Baseball America's season-ending poll and 18th in the USA Today coaches' rankings. "It was my freshman year, so it was my introduction to college baseball," Dami- ano recalled in a 2020 story published by GoPSUSports.com. "To be able to make it as far as we did and play against Texas in the Super Regional was an unbelievable experience." — Matt Herb This Month In Penn State Athletics History Brannon Kidder's second-place showing in the 800-meter race helped Penn State place 10th at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in 2015, the program's best finish since 1966. PHOTO COURTESY PENN STATE ATHLETICS