Best of the Best
Jim Geist's notoriety has flipped over the years.
After he etched his name on the Butler County area all-time boys honor roll in the javelin with a throw of 210 feet, 4 inches — a Knoch school record — in 1985, he moved on to Slippery Rock University and set records there as well.
When his son Jordan was born, people at events would say, “He's Jim Geist's son.”
Fast forward to Jordan's high school career, which included school records and top spots on the all-time honor roll in both the shot and discus.
“Now, it's, 'Hey, you're Jordan's dad,'” Jim said, chuckling.
Jim and Jordan Geist are the only father/son tandem on the all-time honor roll.
That has a special place in the heart of both Knoch alums.
“It's very cool,” Jordan said. “It's really cool how all that stuff has come full circle.”
Jim only picked up the javelin because Knoch didn't have a baseball team when he was there. He took to it quickly.
“I ended up getting so good at it, I didn't care about baseball anymore,” Jim said.
Jordan only briefly dabbled with the javelin when he hit high school.
“I had to let my dad keep one record,” Jordan joked.
Instead he excelled in the shot and discus to such an extent, not only locally, but also nationally, that he earned for himself some colorful nicknames, such as “The Knochness Monster.”
He made setting records a matter of routine and is still doing so at the University of Arizona.
Jordan currently holds the best throw in the shot in Butler County area history at 74-9 — 13 feet farther than the next best effort.
Jordan will compete for the USA 23U team at the Pan-Am Games in Peru in August.
“I'm really excited,” Jordan said. “It's been awhile since I've had the chance to wear USA across my chest.”
Jordan Geist isn't the only name that appears on the all-time honor roll atop more than one event.
Moniteau's Maura Kimmel owns the top spot in both the girls shot and discus.
But Butler graduate Liz Simms appears at the top three times.The recent graduate leads all 1,600-meter runners with a time of 2 minutes, 14.40 seconds and is also part of Butler's 3,200- and 1,600-meter relays that earned No. 1 positions.“Being one of the fastest athletes in Butler County is such an honor,” Simms said. “I know some amazing athletes have come through here and to be able to say I'm competitive with the best of the best really blows my mind.”Simms established her best time in the 1,600 in the last race of her career in a Golden Tornado uniform at the PIAA Track and Field Championships in Shipppensburg over the Memorial Day weekend.It was an emotional run for Simms, who was happy to leave with her best effort.Simms, though, is aware there is always someone lurking to break her records.“I'm sure greater talents will come through here and I hope they do,” said Simms, who will compete at Davidson College next year. “I love having such a competitive county for running and I really what that mentality to continue.”Simms' former teammate, Noah Beveridge, also shows up on the all-time honor roll in the top spot in the 3,200. He is also second in the 1,600.Like Simms, his name shows up three times overall.“It's something I would have been very happy with as a freshman coming in and trying to make my mark,” said Beveridge, a 2018 graduate who is a distance runner for the Syracuse men's track and field team.Some numbers pop out on the list.One such scintillating time was turned in by Slippery Rock's Erin Cranmer-Hart at the state meet in 2004.Cranmer-Hart finished the 1,600 in less than five minutes (4:59.95).No one has been able to crack the five-minute mark in the Butler County area since.“I know I was very excited when I saw that time at the state meet, but I didn't think it would stand for so long,” said Cranmer-Hart, now Erin Knutson and living in Ashburn, Va., with her husband and two young sons. “There's been a lot of great runners since and it's such an incredible honor to still be at the top of the list.”Some other notes about the Butler County all-time track and field honor roll:There are 98 individuals and relay teams on the boys honor roll and 32 have landed on the list in this decade alone. On the girls side, of the 96 individuals and relay teams, 29 have broken into the top 5 since 2010.Not every event has been as easy to dent. No one has been able to record a top-five time in the girls 300-meter hurdles since 2002 when Slippery Rock's Melissa Sopher established the top time (43.78) and Butler's Jillonna Rekich slipped in at fifth (44.96). Those two became teammates at Slippery Rock University as assaulted the record books there as well.The oldest mark still at No. 1 is Union's Bob Butler in the boys 200-meter dash. His time of 21.6 seconds has stood since 1967.Annessa Schnur's name appears the most and in the most events of any athlete in the honor roll. Now Annessa Steele, her name comes up 11 times in seven events.All five spots in the girls 1,600-meter relay belong to Butler teams, ranging from 1997 to 2017.
