Shippensburg University Hall of Famer Glenn Thompson ‘85 is in his eighth season assisting the SU Track & Field coaching staff in 2018-19, offering his expertise in the realm of throws – particularly the shot and the discus.
Thompson has instructed SU athletes who have rewritten the men’s and women’s records in the shot and discus by a total of six athletes. Travis Nye, Tamara Ovejera, Bryan Pearson and Grant Smith were all formally recognized as outstanding field performers at PSAC Championship meets.
Pearson, in particular, completed his career as a three-time NCAA All-American in the discus, a two-time PSAC Outdoor Championships Most Valuable Field Athlete, and the 2018 PSAC Outdoor Field Athlete of the Year. He established a new PSAC discus record of 182-10.
Thompson also mentors high school throwers. Included on Thompson’s honor roll is Ryan Whiting, who set two state records (70-0 and 201-10) and was named the 2005 Gatorade National Boys Track & Field Athlete of the Year before matriculating to Arizona State. At ASU, Whiting broke the NCAA indoor shot record (21.73 meters) and came within three centimeters of the outdoor record (21.97 meters) while winning five shot titles (three indoor, two outdoor) and one in the discus. Whiting won IAAF World Championship indoor titles in 2012 and 2014 and was a 2012 Olympian (ninth).
He has also coached Joe Kovacs (Bethlehem Catholic), the PIAA AA state record holder in the shot put. Kovacs went on to become the 2015 IAAF world champion and grabbed silver at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Also on Thompson’s honor roll are Kyle Long (Arizona State All-American and PIAA AAA discus record of 202-10), Jeremy Silverman (UCLA and PIAA AA shot record of 64-5) and David Lucas (Penn State and 2018 NCAA champion in 35-pound weight).
In total, Thompson has overseen six PIAA shot put/discus records, 16 PIAA championships, eight state champions and numerous silver and bronze medal winners. His students have earned scholarships to schools such as UCLA, Alabama, Penn State, Virginia and Arizona State.
As a collegiate athlete, Thompson helped Shippensburg win three PSAC outdoor track and field championships (1982, 1984, 1985). He was a three-time NCAA Division II qualifier and participant and two-time PSAC Champion in the shot put. Additionally, he won a PSAC Championship and was a PSAC runner-up in the discus. As a senior, Thompson placed ninth at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, missing All-America honors by one place.
A team captain in 1984 and 1985, Thompson held the school record in the indoor shot put until it was broken in 2005, the outdoor shot (55-7/glide) until 2013 and the discus (163-0) until 2003.
As a senior, Thompson was named Most Valuable Field Athlete at the PSAC Outdoor Championships after winning conference championships in both the shot put (55-feet, 5 1/2-inches) and discus (155-feet, 5-inches).
Thompson continued to compete after graduating from Shippensburg and has career bests of 61-3 in the shot put (qualified for and competed in the 1999 USATF Championships) and 180-4 in the discus.
Thompson is the founder and former publisher of the quarterly throws magazine Long and Strong (
www.longandstrong.com).
