Friday, September 26, 2008
Mens water polo treads rough waters
Men’s Water Polo had a brutal
match in the Junker Pool on
Thursday night as they faced the
Mercyhurst Lakers.
This game involved some intense
play from both sides. The crowd was
very supportive as both teams fought
hard in the first quarter of play.
The Lakers had two goals, the first
by senior Oscar Calderon, and the
second by senior Trevor Mcllwaine.
For the Penn State Behrend Lions,
sophomore defender Matthew Pluta.
had a goal on a penalty shot to keep
the team alive while going into the
second quarter of play.
In the second quarter there was
much excitement with six more goals
all being scored for the Lakers, and
one for the Lions. The goal by the
Lions was scored by sophomore
defender Kevin Wolak.
In the third quarter of play, the
Lakers seemed to be giving up their
lead as they gave up two goals.
Passion for country. Passion
The United States Air Force
Marathon is the most unique
compared to all marathons
around the world.
It’s the only marathon that
salutes its runners with flybys of
U.S. Air Force fighter jets before
the start of a race. It takes place at
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base
in Ohio every year. The
marathon events include the half
Captain Castro and his friend, Fred Dummar, during the marathon.
By TJ Banus
staff writer
ljhs2l7@psu.edu
However they quickly struck back
with two of their own. The Lion
goals were scored by sophomore cen-
“We are looking forward to
our upcoming matches against
other division rivals”
-Matthew Pluta
Sophomore Defender
ter Derek Sieber.
In the final quarter of play, the
Lakers were able to hold off the
Lions as they scored three more
goals, ending the game with a score
of 13-4 in favor of the Mercyhurst
Lakers.
The Lakers will have one less
starter in their upcoming match, due
to the hard working performance of
freshman driver Robby Gausman.
Alex Moggridge of the Lakers
slammed Gausman’s face in frustra
tion in the second quarter of play. “I
was sprinting back on defense and I
marathon, 10k, and 5k race,
Running involves a lot of pas
sion and endurance. Each year
many members of the U.S. Air
Force are excited and ready to
particpate in one of these events.
People come from all parts of
the country just to take part in
one of these running events.
Runners plan 3-11 months in
advance to run in one of these
saw the ball coming toward my
man,” said Gausman. “He took pos
session of the ball and illegally
kicked me in the face in frustration. It
kind of hurt.”
Another player with much impact
in the match for the Lions was soph
omore defender Pluta, who had three
of the Lion’s four goals.
“We played pretty well, for it being
the beginning of the season, and we
are looking forward to our upcoming
matches against Mercyhurst, and our
other division rivals,” said Pluta.
Though the Lions lost to the
Lakers 13-4, they showed a lot of
positives. “We played a complete
game,” said sophomore driver Keith
Meehan.
The Penn State Behrend Lions
now look ahead to their next game
which will be at Washington and
Jefferson on September 19 at 7:30
p.m.
Athlete
By Connor Sattely
sports editor
cisso6o@psu.edu
In a game where kicks to the face, vicious
hits, and constant action are the norm. Jon
Bacon found his niche. Water polo provided
Bacon the under-the-radar sport which had
enough excitement to keep him interested.
The Behrend sophomore has been playing
water polo for six years. Growing up in Los
Angeles, his high school had no team. So. he
started his own.
“I was part of the group that started the
school’s club,” he recalls. “It was in my fresh
man year of high school. It was getting really
popular on the west coast and it was really fun
to start the club.”
Water polo came as an easy choice after
Bacon decided not to join his high school
swim team. “I liked swimming, but water
polo was just more exciting,” he says.
In his sophomore year, he transferred
schools to a high school which already had a
water polo program. Pursuing it through
school, he knew that water polo would quick
ly become his own hidden passion.
After graduation, he was recruited by
Division I schools to play water polo, but
decided upon Behrend.
“It was truly the balance of education and
athletics. The quality of play here really nar-
events, each runner being certain
that a hotel room is reserved, and
their flights booked.
The U.S. Air Force 5k was the
only running event that took
place on its own day. Before the
start of the U.S. Air Force sk, like
all of the U.S. Air Force running
events, a F-22 Raptor flew over
all the runners at the starting line.
This serves as a salute before the
start of the race.
With my passion for running
and being a member of the U.S.
Air Force, I just had to participate
in the U.S. Air Force sk. While I
was running the race I made it a
point to others that I will not
accept any water at the hydration
stations because my military
brothers and sisters in Iraq and
Afghanistan don’t get water
while running into combat.
At the finish line of the race, a
U.S. Air Force Colonel awarded
me the U.S. Air Force 5k medal
for completion of a race that hon
ors those serving in the U.S. Air
Force.
I shook the Colonel’s hand,
addressing him “Thank you
Colonel! It’s an honor.” I placed
187 out of 894 runners. The
course consisted of constant
Jon
By Daniel J. Smith
staff writer
djss223@psu.edu
inclines; only a quarter mile of
the race had a flat surface.
This year’s marathon had a his
torical moment. U.S. Air Force
General Carlson awarded U.S.
Army Captain Ivan Castro, with
the U.S. Air Force Marathon
medal upon a memorable com
pletion of the race. Castro was
attacked with a mortar round on a
rooftop outside Youssifiyah, Iraq
in September 2006.
According to Castro, all he saw
was a bright flash and then per
manent darkness. Since Castro is
blind now, and has been for two
years, he was guided by his
friend. Fred Dummar, during the
marathon race.
"Once you're blind, you have
to set new goals," said Castro. He
certainly met his goal by com
pleting the U.S. Air Force
Marathon with pride and determi
nation.
Castro placed 704 out of 1,798
runners of the marathon race. He
also completed the 112th Boston
Marathon on April 21 of this
year, placing 18,106 out of
21,948 runners. This was one of
his new goals that he promised
himself to do.
Castro is 41 years old and is
This Week’s Matchup
MIFL Week HV
Pit vs
Team Starters
Att Cmp Yds
59
Passing
BALT-
Rushing
BALT - Willis McGhee
PIT - Rashard Mendenhall
Receiving
PIT - Hines Ward
PIT- Santonio Holmes
BALT -Derrick Mason
BALT - Mark Clayton
Spotlight:
Bacon
rowed it down." says Bacon. He was able to
pass up the Division I schools after seeing the
quality of play and academics at Behrend.
He also knew that Behrend gave him one of
the best chances to actually play.
“I knew that if 1 went to some Division I
school. I would't be playing much." he says.
The competition at those schools would like
ly force him onto the bench for at least a year
or two. At Behrend. he knows the situation is
different. "Here, it's still a ton of fun and
great competition, and I can actually play."
Sophomore Jon Bacon defends in a water polo match at Behrend.
Ben Roethlisberger
Joe Flacco
for running.
still serving in the U.S. Army at
Fort Bragg. NC.
The first place finisher of the
U.S. Air Force Marathon was
Nathan Peters, a 19 year old from
Grayling, Ml. Peters mentioned
to the US. Air Force General that
awarded him the marathon medal
that his first place victory of the
race does not match the high
hr if those who
General Carlson shakes Captain Castro’s hand at the finish line.
The Behrend Beacon I
39
28
Yds
64
258
Avg
4.3
2.8
48
Car
10
Rec
15
10
Avg
11.3
14.5
10.8
7.0
After two years on the team, he knows he
made the right choice. "It’s an awesome envi
ronment. Coach Tristan is from California
too. and he has a ‘California Spark' which
makes it like I played in LA. He recruits from
both the east and west coast, which truly
makes it a special team."
Bacon plans to stay at Behrend for all four
years of his college education. He will pursue
a finance degree, but will continue his partic
ipation in Behrend sports until he graduates.
serving their country.
Overall, the runners enjoyed
the events. Castro proved to his
fellow servicemen and women
that it is possible to overcome
adversity with hard work and
determination.
Castro will finish his term of
service in the Army and plans to
retire with an officer’s pension.