Hall of Fame
Glenn Thompson helped Shippensburg win three PSAC outdoor track and field championships in 1982, 1984 and 1985. He was a three-time NCAA Division II qualifier and participant, two-time PSAC champion in the shot put and one-time champion and one-time runner-up in the discus.
A team captain in 1984 and 1985, Thompson still holds the outdoor school record in the shot put with a throw of 55-feet, 7-inches. He also held the school record in the indoor shot put until it was broken in 2005 and the discus until it was broken in 2003.
As a senior, Thompson was named Most Valuable Field Athlete at the PSAC outdoor championships after winning the conference championship in both the shot put (55-feet, 5 1/2-inches) and discus (155-feet, 5-inches). He also placed first in the shot put at the PSAC meet in 1984 with a mark 55-feet, 3-inches while finishing second in the discus at 152-feet, 2-inches.
Thompson is one of just six student-athletes to record a throw of over 55-feet at the PSAC outdoor championship and one of just three to do it twice.
In 1985, Thompson qualified for the first NCAA Division II Indoor Track and Field Championship while he also qualified for the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championship in both 1984 and 1985. As a senior, he placed ninth at the outdoor meet, missing All-America honors by one place.
At the age of 43, Thompson continued to compete as one of the best Masters (age 30-plus) throwers in the nation, winning numerous national titles. At 36 years old, he achieved a career best throw of 61-feet, 3-inches in the shot put, qualifying him for the 1999 USA Track & Field Championships where he finished 15th. This past summer he tossed the discus 180-feet 4-inches, more than 17-feet better than his old school record.
Thompson has also helped develop some of the best high school throwers in the state of Pennsylvania, serving as the personal coach for Jeremy Silverman of Annville-Cleona who was a three-time PIAA state champion and Ryan Whiting of Central Dauphin who was the 2005 Gatorade National Boys Track & Field Athlete of the Year and holds records in shot put and discus at the school, Mid-Penn, district and state levels.
A staunch promoter of track and field on the national and international level, Thompson is the founder and publisher of the bi-monthly magazine The Long and Strong Throwers Journal that is the only publication of its kind in the world. He has also generously continued to help the throwers at Shippensburg by discussing their technique and training plans.
