Tyrone native and Williamsburg resident Doug Hoover is featured in the latest edition of Penn State Altoona\u2019s Ivy Leaf magazine.
\nThe magazine presents the latest news from the college as well as a number of feature stories about the faculty staff and students.
\nHoover is a Penn State graduate and currently serves as Cross-Country coach at the Altoona campus.
\nThe article, titled \u201cRight on Target\u201d tells of Hoover\u2019s biathlon career, beginning in 1992 when he was still a student at Penn State.
\nThe biathlon combines the stamina of cross country running with the accuracy of rifle marksmanship.
\nWhile the rules may vary depending upon the race, the general idea is the same. Participants must run a cross country-type course, stopping at designated points to shoot targets in the prone and standing positions.
\nFinal times are then calculated based upon the runner\u2019s finishing time and the number of targets hit.
\nThe Ivy Leaf article discusses Hoover\u2019s introduction to the sport, his first competition and of course his first win.
\nBy 1996, Hoover was ranked in the top ten at nationals and was named to the national team the following year.
\nFrom then on, he traveled across the country and around the world training and racing.
\nFinally, 2006 proved to be a great year when Hoover earned his first National title. In November, he returned from the Summer Biathlon World Championships, which were held in Ufa, Russia, saying it was \u201cthe experience of a lifetime.\u201d
\nUnlike his last trip to the World Championships in 2003, in which he was the new face on the American team, Hoover entered the 2006 competition as the reigning National Champion. His initial performances at the world championships validated this title. In the men\\’s sprint race, Hoover produced what would be the best result of the American contingent as he took 19th place with two shooting penalties in the prone position and clean shooting in the standing stage.
\n\u201cI came into this competition thinking that if I got into the top-20, I would be thrilled. So, I am happy with that performance. But, there\\’s still room for improvement,\u201d Hoover said in a previous Daily Herald article.
\nAlso in the Ivy Leaf article, Hoover talks of the trials he had to overcome early on in his racing career as well as his determination and persistence over the years as he continued to striving to reach his goals.
\nHoover\u2019s dedication to this sport is apparent. Besides participating, he also organizes the annual Summer Biathlon locally at the Altoona Rifle and Pistol Club.
\n Participants travel from all over Pennsylvania, as well as several other states, including New York, New Jersey, Ohio, Virginia and Michigan to test their skills on the Sinking Valley course.
\nTo view the entire Ivy Leaf article featuring Hoover online, visit http:\/\/www.aa.psu.edu\/ivyleaf\/fa06\/sports4.htm or visit the Penn State Altoona campus website at www.aa.psu.edu and search the Ivy Leaf magazine, fall 2006 edition.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Tyrone native and Williamsburg resident Doug Hoover is featured in the latest edition of Penn State Altoona\u2019s Ivy Leaf magazine. The magazine presents the latest news from the college as well as a number of feature stories about the faculty staff and students. Hoover is a Penn State graduate and currently serves as Cross-Country coach […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-39601","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-local-news-in-the-tyrone-pennsylvania-area"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39601","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=39601"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39601\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=39601"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=39601"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=39601"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}