Is he still running? He was from the Youngstown, Ohio area. the kid was fast. I think he ran 2 miles in the mid 8:40's
Is he still running? He was from the Youngstown, Ohio area. the kid was fast. I think he ran 2 miles in the mid 8:40's
Who?
You may mean Alan Scharsu?
He means Alan Scharsu. In 1978 he ran 8:44.0 for 2 miles. At the time he was the third fastest high school runner in U.S. history. Went to Penn State and was top American finisher at NCAA's a couple of times.
I think he has lived in San Diego for the past 25 years.
http://arrs.auguszt.in/runner/5258George Atlas wrote:
He means Alan Scharsu. In 1978 he ran 8:44.0 for 2 miles. At the time he was the third fastest high school runner in U.S. history. Went to Penn State and was top American finisher at NCAA's a couple of times.
I think he has lived in San Diego for the past 25 years.
Scharsu was another high school stud that never came close to his high school exploits. An 8:44 2 miler as a prep, he never made a national championship final. Not in the NCAA. Not in the TAC. Wasted talent.
He posted either here or another board a few years back mentioning that he no longer trains hard because he was worried about oxidative damage to heart muscle in people who keep it up for years.
Amazing runner... I remember watching him from the other side of the track because I was 200m behind in a 2 mile (running a decent HS time).
I also remember the first time I saw him run. A bunch of guys in Austintown Fitch uniforms came to the line and we were joking about the 'hicks'. Then the gun went off and they destroyed everyone. Lesson learned.
the above link to an older letsrun thread is a good read. i was lucky enough to hang out with alan a couple of times in san diego while visiting old teammates/mutual friends back in the early 90s--he never let on how much of a stud he was, and i would dispute the earlier post claiming wasted talent.
he's no longer in san diego, though...
Wasted talent wrote:
George Atlas wrote:http://arrs.auguszt.in/runner/5258He means Alan Scharsu. In 1978 he ran 8:44.0 for 2 miles. At the time he was the third fastest high school runner in U.S. history. Went to Penn State and was top American finisher at NCAA's a couple of times.
I think he has lived in San Diego for the past 25 years.
Scharsu was another high school stud that never came close to his high school exploits. An 8:44 2 miler as a prep, he never made a national championship final. Not in the NCAA. Not in the TAC. Wasted talent.
Scharsu ran in the 1985, 86, and 87 TAC 5000 finals. He also made the 1986 US World Cross Country team.
He qualified for the 1988 Olympic Trials but didn't make the finals.
And those are just the races I recall because I competed against him or was watching.
You seem to know a lot about Scharsu. How did he do in those races?
Alan also was the guy who kept UTEP from achieving a perfect score at NCAA XC.
other random stuff wrote:
Alan also was the guy who kept UTEP from achieving a perfect score at NCAA XC.
2 runners kept UTEP from the perfect score.
be thruthful wrote:
You seem to know a lot about Scharsu. How did he do in those races?
I don't know any more than any other runner that competed in the mid-1980s.
I don't recall him finishing above middle-of-the field in those races.
The post about him never qualifying for an NCAA or TAC final was completely false. He also ran for AW after college.
I, and probably a few lurkers, ran off and on with Al for many years. It's an over-used compliment, but he's one of the most humble guys I have met. You had to pull his PRs out of him (13:32?). I never once heard him brag or boast about his running resume. Class act. He moved from San Diego a year or so ago. New job or wife's job or something.
Ha, the OP is having fun with names. Op's name jim zooshka is John Zishka, another one of the great HS runners from Ohio.
be thruthful wrote:
other random stuff wrote:Alan also was the guy who kept UTEP from achieving a perfect score at NCAA XC.
2 runners kept UTEP from the perfect score.
Wrong. Alan finished 4th running for the Penn State team. The other runner who finished ahead of UTEP's 5th was an individual qualifier, not on a team, so didn't count in team scoring. Your running nerd license will be revoked if you have another violation.
1+2+3+5+6=17
other random stuff wrote:
be thruthful wrote:2 runners kept UTEP from the perfect score.
Wrong. Alan finished 4th running for the Penn State team. The other runner who finished ahead of UTEP's 5th was an individual qualifier, not on a team, so didn't count in team scoring. Your running nerd license will be revoked if you have another violation.
1+2+3+5+6=17
Scharsu was 6th in the 1981 NCAA. Two non-scoring runners finished ahead of him. Alan was the perfect score blocker nonetheless. You can turn in YOUR nerd license now at the door.
rotten teeth jerkwad wrote:
other random stuff wrote:Wrong. Alan finished 4th running for the Penn State team. The other runner who finished ahead of UTEP's 5th was an individual qualifier, not on a team, so didn't count in team scoring. Your running nerd license will be revoked if you have another violation.
1+2+3+5+6=17
Scharsu was 6th in the 1981 NCAA. Two non-scoring runners finished ahead of him. Alan was the perfect score blocker nonetheless. You can turn in YOUR nerd license now at the door.
Pardon my semantically imprecise statement. Alan was the 4th scoring runner. Yes, he was 6th overall, but as you so cogently pointed out, two non-scoring runners finished ahead of him. My original post said he kept UTEP from a perfect score. You will have to pry my nerd license from my cold dead hand.