 Penn State Nittany Lions field hockey head coach Charlene Morett in 2011 | |||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | December 5, 1957 (age 66) Darby, Pennsylvania, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||
Charlene Frances "Char" Morett-Curtiss (born December 5, 1957) is a field hockey coach, and former player from the United States. She was a member of the Women's National Team that won the bronze medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California.
Morett attended Lansdowne-Aldan High School, before applying to Pennsylvania State University to study physical education. A member of the Nittany Lions field hockey team under coach Gillian Rattray, she became the all-time leading scorer with 50 goals – a record which remained for 21 years. [1] She is the only player from the program to have been selected three times for the All-American first team. [2] Morett was also a member of the United States women's national field hockey team for the 1980 and 1984 Summer Olympics. Unable to compete in 1980 due to the US boycott of the Moscow games, [3] she won a bronze medal with the team four years later in Los Angeles. [4]
She was inducted into the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame in 2011. [5] As consolation for the 1980 boycott, she was one of 461 athletes to receive a Congressional Gold Medal many years later. [6] Morett has twice been inducted into the USA Field Hockey Hall of Fame, individually in 1989 and as part of the 1984 Olympic team in 2014. [7]
After graduating in 1979, Morett became an assistant field hockey coach at Old Dominion University under coach Beth Anders. In 1984, she took up the position of head coach at Boston College. Morett returned to Pennsylvania State in 1987, succeeding her retiring former coach. She has since become the longest serving field hockey coach at the college, winning a total of nine conference titles – two in the Atlantic 10 Conference and seven in the Big Ten Conference. [2] She retired in 2023 upon completing a 17-4 record in 2022 and advancing to the national semifinals.
Michael Marx is an American foil and epee fencer and fencing master. He is the brother of Robert Marx, who has also represented the U.S. in multiple Olympic fencing events. Michael and his brother were taught to fence by their mother, fencing coach Colleen Olney, who is considered by many prominent fencers to be "the mother of fencing in Oregon".
Karen Christina Shelton is an American former field hockey player and coach. Shelton served as head coach of the University of North Carolina's field hockey program from 1981 until her retirement in 2022. She was a member of the U.S. National Team from 1977 to 1984 and a starter on the team that won the bronze medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California. She attended West Chester State and was a member of four NCAA championship winning teams. Shelton also qualified for the 1980 Olympic team but did not compete due to the Olympic Committee's boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, Russia. As consolation, she was one of 461 athletes to receive a Congressional Gold Medal many years later.
Gwen Wentz Cheeseman-Alexander is a former field hockey goalkeeper from the United States, who was a member of the 1980 Olympic team that qualified for Olympics but did not compete due to the Olympic Committee's boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, Russia. She was one of 461 athletes to receive a Congressional Gold Medal years later. She was a member of the team that won the bronze medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California. She was also the goal keeper of the world in 1980. She coached many Division 1 teams and currently is a goalie coach at Washington and Lee University.
Sheryl Ann Johnson is a former field hockey player and coach from the United States. She grew up in Cupertino, CA, and attended Monta Vista High School. She was a three-sport athlete at the University of California Berkeley, playing field hockey, basketball and softball.
Julia Ann "Julie" Staver is a former field hockey player from the United States, who was a member of the national team that won the bronze medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California. She had previously qualified for the 1980 Olympic team but did not compete due to the Olympic Committee's boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, Russia. As consolation, she was one of 461 athletes to receive a Congressional Gold Medal many years later.
Louise Dorothy Ritter is an American former track and field athlete who won the gold medal in the high jump at the 1988 Olympic Games.
Benita Fitzgerald Mosley is a retired American athlete, who mainly competed in the women's 100 metres hurdles event. Currently, Benita is a CEO of the company Multiplying Good with their mission being "to inspire greatness through service to others."
John Gates Powell was an American track and field athlete who specialized in the discus throw. He set a world record at 69.08 meters in 1975, and his personal best of 71.26 meters ties him for ninth place in the all-time performers list.
Elizabeth Anne "Beth" Beglin is a former field hockey player from the United States, who was a member of the Women's National Team that won the bronze medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California.
Christine "Chris" Larson-Mason is a former field hockey player from the United States, who was a member of the Women's National Team that won the bronze medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California. She had previously qualified for the 1980 Olympic team but did not compete due to the Olympic Committee's boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, Russia. As consolation, she was one of 461 athletes to receive a Congressional Gold Medal many years later.
Maurice Malcolm "Mac" Wilkins is an American athlete, who competed mainly in the discus throw. He was born in Eugene, Oregon and graduated in 1969 from Beaverton High School in Beaverton, Oregon.
Robert Douglas Espeseth Jr. an American former competitive rower and Olympic medal winner. He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Pamela Ann Spencer-Marquez is a retired high jumper from the United States, who set her personal best on 1981-08-28, jumping 1.97 metres at a meet in Brussels, Belgium. She competed for her native country at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California, finishing in eleventh place.
Barton Williams is an American former hurdler. He attended California Polytechnic State University from 1975 to 1979. Williams is one of Cal Poly's all-time greatest track and field athletes.
Frances Anne "Francie" Larrieu Smith is an American track and field athlete. She was the flagbearer at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona for the United States of America. Larrieu Smith was the third female American athlete to make five American Olympic teams, behind the six of fencer Jan York-Romary and Track and Field's Willye White. The feat was later equaled by basketball player Teresa Edwards, track and field's Gail Devers, cyclist/speedskater Chris Witty and swimmer Dara Torres. After one of the longest elite careers on record, she retired from that level of competition.
Gay Kristine Jacobsen D'Asaro is an American Olympic foil fencer.
John Gregorek is an American former middle-distance runner who competed in the Summer Olympics in 1980 (boycotted) and 1984. His son, John Gregorek Jr., is also a competitive middle-distance runner, who competed in the 2017 World Championships.
James Hartung is a retired American gymnast. He was a member of the United States men's national artistic gymnastics team and won a gold medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics.
The Penn State Nittany Lions field hockey team is the intercollegiate field hockey program representing Pennsylvania State University. The school competes in the Big Ten Conference in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), although it was also previously a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10). The Penn State field hockey team plays its home games at the Penn State Field Hockey Complex on the university campus in State College, Pennsylvania. The Nittany Lions captured the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) national championship twice, in 1980 and 1981, and have won 10 regular-season conference titles as well as eight conference tournament championships. While Penn State has qualified for the NCAA tournament 30 times, and has made seven appearances in the semifinals and two in the championship game, it has never won the NCAA national championship. The team is currently coached by Charlene Morett.
Brenda Morehead is an American sprinter.
