This site is about the sports doings of the high schools in Venango County, Pa. Contact: pennyweichel@gmail.com
SCHOOL TRACK RECORDS
The Here and Now...
Terry Andres was probably the fastest Venango County had ever produced, running sub-10s in the 100 yards dash for Cranberry in the late 1960s.
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And then along came Chris Conway, who was clocked in 10.68 for 100 meters (that's a 9.7 for 100 yards) in the mid-1980s. He was also state long jump champion for Oil City and later ran track and played a little football for Edinboro.
...But BACK IN THE DAY
It was 1976 -- an Olympics year -- so all the "big names" skipped the Boston Marathon to prepare for the Games.
That left the field open for such unheard runners as Franklin's Jack Fultz (who sat in front of me in math class.)
Fultz took advantage and won the thing.
He did try out for the Olympics in May, but came in "20-something" in a race in which "big names" Frank Shorter and Bill Rodgers were 1-2.
Fultz was in the top 10 after the 21st mile, but hit the wall and that was that.
The linked story -- written by your's truly -- appeared on Page 1 of the April 20, 1976, edition of The Derrick.
Scott Moon Elected to PA. Track and Field Hall of Fame
From the Scranton Tribune
Scott Moon, a two-time PIAA 3A state javelin champion for Oil City in 1981 and 1982, was elected to the Pennsylvania High School Track and Field Hall of Fame.
He'll be inducted at next year's state meet, on May 23, at Shippensburg.
Moon's winning throw of 230-8 in the 1982 state meet broke the meet record of 230-0 set in 1969 by Ray Mushinski of Ambridge. It was the third-oldest record in the books and still ranks No. 4 all-time.
Moon was also the Athletics Congress national junior meet champion that year when he was a Track & Field News third team All-American selection.
Earlier that season, Moon led Oil City to its second straight District 10 team championship by sweeping the shot, discus and javelin, giving him six individual district titles. His throw of 218-4 in the javelin was a D-10 meet record.
Moon was a three-time District 10 champion in the javelin. His winning throw as a junior was 215-6. He also won the shot that season.
Moon was a 50-foot shot putter who approached 160 in the discus for coaches Bob Craig and Mike Mitchell at OCHS.
He was named Athlete of the Year for the Class of 1982.
The Franklin 880 relay record stood for 34 years until it was broken in 1959, and Ed Treadwell was involved (coach, AD) with both teams. Herb Eckert, Floyd Smith, John Stuttler and Dick McDowell ran a 3:40.4 on May 22, 1925. That record stood until Frank Fultz (Jack's brother), Ted Judson, Bert Moyar and Bill Cozad broke it on May 23, 1959, at the state meet. Coach Wayne Eakin is also pictured in the photo.
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Schools were running track meets in the 1920s, but, as with girls basketball, the sport fell by the wayside for a while before making a gallant comeback mid-century.
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Evolution of FHS javelin mark
In 1927, Franklin's Paul Shaffer threw the javelin 147-6, gobsmacking everyone since it smashed the school record he set earlier that season by 28 feet, six inches.
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Lou Fogle of football fame threw the javelin 169-6 1/2 in 1960. Later on it was Rich Hancox at 193-3 in 1967. First big throw from Bay Lawrence was 192-4 as a junior in 1968....​
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Tracks were 440 yards around through 1979. Metric tracks came in 1980. A few schools converted their school records from yards to meters using a conversion chart. (Yes, there is such a thing.) Most decided just to start a new batch of records. Cranberry chose conversion when it came to Terry Andres in the 100. He ran the 100-yard dash in under 10 seconds five times in 1969. That's still something you don't see everyday.
Pictured here with coach John Kaufman at Mitchell Avenue Field, Charlie Winger was a three-tine state champion.
Put her anywhere in the lineup...she was primarily a middle distance runner for Oil City and earned four state medals.
Rocky Grove boasted two state champions in 1959 -- Bob Flickner in the 100 and DeWitt Green in the pole vault.
