This site is about the sports doings -- mainly football -- of the high schools in Venango County, Pa. Contact:
The Here and Now...
Waiting (hoping) for a photo of the Cranberry boys records.
Scott Moon
Abby Jones with coach Bill Keely
Beatrice Kolesar
Rocky Grove, home to 1959 state champions Bob Flickner (100) and DeWitt Green (pole vault) fielded track teams through 1968. Cause of death: lack of facilities. The school lost its track when the Rocky Grove Fire Dept. built its new fire hall on the fairgrounds -- location of the track. Officials were hoping to build a new track at the new elementary school being built at Sugarcreek. But alas. (From the Aug. 15, 1968, edition of The News-Herald.)
Bob Flickner
...BACK IN THE DAY
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.
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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