UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) announced Thursday that Penn State track & field sophomore Sincere Rhea has been selected as the Mid-Atlantic Region Men's Track Athlete of the Year.
Rhea made Penn State history this past weekend at the Big Ten Indoor Track & Field Championships, becoming the first Nittany Lion to claim the conference title in the 60-meter hurdles. His time of 7.80 in the event finals was the second best of his collegiate career and ranked second in the Big Ten this season.
"An honor like this is so humbling and really does leave me speechless," Rhea said. "Being a sophomore and winning this award, I feel like everything I have worked towards coming into the NCAA is coming true one step at a time, and it really does show that working hard will lead to success."
𝗕𝗶𝗴 𝗧𝗲𝗻 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗼𝗼𝗿 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽𝘀
— USTFCCCA (@USTFCCCA) February 27, 2021
What's it with @bigten, the SPIRE Institute and close finishes this morning?
Here are the times of the top-5 men in the 60-meter hurdles...
7.80
7.81
7.82 (7.816)
7.82 (7.817)
7.82 (7.818)
Watch it for yourself! pic.twitter.com/9JTjdaiuph
The Philadelphia, Pa., native becomes the first Penn State athlete to claim the award for men's track since Isaiah Harris in 2018. David Lucas won the Field Athlete of the Year award in 2018 and 2020.
Each of the nine regions – Great Lakes, Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, Mountain, Northeast, South, South Central, Southeast and West – honored both genders' top track athletes and field athletes as well as the top men's and women's head coaches and assistant coaches.
Award winners were determined by a vote of USTFCCCA member coaches. Only those individuals from USTFCCCA member programs are eligible for awards.
The NCAA announced Wednesday that Rhea was selected to represent Penn State at the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships scheduled for March 11-13 in Fayetteville, Ark. The 60-meter hurdles semifinals are slated for Friday March 12 at 3:15 p.m. ET.