June 5, 2015
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - By Astrid Diaz, GoPSUsports.com Student Staff Writer UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - In the spring of 1985, Penn State track and field student-athletes Vince Watson, Steve Shisler, Chris Mills, and Randy Moore ran the fastest 4x800-meter relay of their career finishing in 7 minutes, 11.17 seconds - a Penn Relays Carnival and Penn State University record-breaking time.
In the spring of 2015, the relay record celebrated its 30th anniversary and Steve Shisler, now coach at State College High School, celebrated by watching his son, Alex, run on the winning Championship of America Sprint Medley Relay.
"We knew [we ran] a good time [in the 4x800-meter relay] when we were in it and we all had the sense that it would last for a while. It's a special achievement," said Shisler. "But the best part about that weekend is that Alex was a part of a Championship of America sprint relay. It was a great thing to see."
Junior Alex Shisler is a sprinter for Penn State track and field and it was at his first Penn Relays in the 10th grade, when he decided that he would uphold the Penn State tradition in his family and eventually become a Nittany Lion.
"My parents loved going [to Penn State] but [they] wanted me to go wherever I wanted to go," said Alex. "Since sophomore year of high school I knew I was going to run collegiately and in my mind I had it made up that I was going to go to Penn State. Both of my parents ran here and are on the school records here and I wanted to carry on that legacy."
Alex is a sprinter while his parents were middle-distance runner but, nonetheless, the pride of being a Penn Stater allows for a strong family bond and a supportive, understanding, and very dedicated cheering section.
The Penn State track and field tradition is also strong among three other current student-athletes and their families - freshman Elyse Skerpon, junior Robert Cardina, and freshman Megan McCloskey. The Skerpons Freshman Elyse Skerpon's (Sprints/Hurdles/Relays) father, Donald Skerpon, was a pole vaulter at Penn State during his college career.
After spending his first year at the University of Rhode Island, Skerpon decided to set his sights a bit closer to home. After a few phone conversations with then-head coach Harry Groves, Skerpon found his way to Happy Valley.
He spent the rest of his undergraduate career as a Nittany Lion and started a family tradition that carried down to his three children - Luke (class of '12) was a member of the Blue Band, Taylor is a senior on the baseball team, and Elyse is just beginning her career with the track team.
"It's a great experience as a parents. You have a lot of the same anxiety but it's great to see them work hard and make things happen," he said. "You build such great memories...and it's great to be able to come back [to State College]."
"After my dad came here, we've had season football tickets and we've been coming to football game since I was born, basically," said Elyse. "Coming here all those years made me want to be here and continue what my family started."
Since his track and field days, Donald Skerpon says the program still remains the flourishing team he was once a part of but thinks the commitment has changed quite a bit. Click here to read more.