UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State Track & Field's Handal Roban and assistant coach Ryan Foster have earned regional recognition from the USTFCCCA following sensational indoor seasons. Roban earns Mid-Atlantic Region Track Athlete of the Year honors while Foster takes home Mid-Atlantic Region Women's Assistant Coach of the Year laurels.
Roban adds yet another accolade to his incredible freshman indoor season. He takes home Mid-Atlantic Region honors following his First-Team All-American performance at the NCAA Indoor Track & Field National Championships where he finished third overall in the 800-meter run.
Foster, in his second season as the middle-distance/distance coach at his alma mater, earns his first coaching award since arriving back in Happy Valley. Penn State middle-distance/distance women collected four medals at the 2023 Big Ten Indoor Track & Field Championships under Foster's guidance.
THE FOSTER FILE – RYAN FOSTER – MIDDLE-DISTANCE/DISTANCE ASSISTANT COACH
- In his second season as the middle-distance/distance coach at Penn State, Foster coached Hayley Kitching to Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors, capping off a year where Nittany Lion women earned four medals at the Big Ten Indoor Championships, with two individual titles.
- Foster is no stranger to USTFCCCA honors, earning USTFCCCA Atlantic Region Women's Cross Country Coach of the Year in 2017 and Atlantic Region Men's Track & Field Assistant Coach of the year in 2018 at Division II Edinboro.
- During his time as a student-athlete at Penn State, Foster was a 3x All-American and a 3x Mid-Atlantic Regional Indoor Track Athlete of the Year.
THE PHENOM – HANDAL ROBAN – MIDDLE-DISTANCE
- Fresh off earning Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors, Roban adds yet another award to his list of accolades.
- He becomes Penn State's first Mid-Atlantic Indoor Track Athlete of the Year since Sincere Rhea in 2021.
- Since 2009, Nittany Lion men have earned the honor in 10 out of 15 years.
- Roban earned First-Team All-American honors for his third-place standing in the 800-meter run at the NCAA Division I Indoor National Championships.
- FINISHED as the No. 1 freshman in the country, posting a 1:47.28 in the championship finals.
- Became the seventh indoor 800-meter First Team All-American (eight instances) in Penn State history and the first Nittany Lion 800-meter NCAA medalist since Isaiah Harris won silver in 2018.
- Earned Second-Team All-Big Ten honors for his silver medal-winning performance in the 800-meter run at the Big Ten Indoor Championships.
- Tied Brannon Kidder for the third-best 800-meter time in Penn State history, with his 1:47.01 qualifying time that sent him to the NCAA Championships.
- Ran a 1:16.91 in the 600-meters early in the season which now ranks as the No. 6 time in Penn State history in the event.
INDOOR SEASON AWARD ROUNDUP
NCAA & USTFCCCA First Team All-American
- Handal Roban – 800m
USTFCCCA Mid-Atlantic Region Male Track Athlete of the Year
- Handal Roban – Middle-Distance
USTFCCCA Mid-Atlantic Region Women's Assistant Coach of the Year
- Ryan Foster – Middle-Distance/Distance
Big Ten Freshman of the Year
- Handal Roban (men) & Hayley Kitching (women)
All-Big Ten First Team
- Faith DeMars (women's 5,000m)
- Rachel Gearing (women's 800m)
- Olivier Desmeules (men's 800m)
All-Big Ten Second Team
- Hayley Kitching (800m)
- Handal Roban (800m)
Big Ten Sportsmanship Award
- Darius Smallwood (men) & Zoey Goldstein (women)
Big Ten Athlete of the Week
- Olivier Desmeules (Twice) – Mid-Distance
- Mallory Kauffman – Shot Put
LOOKING AHEAD
The Nittany Lions return to action on Saturday, March 18, beginning their outdoor schedule with a trip to Philadelphia for the Penn Springtime Invitational.
Full Outdoor Schedule
Mar. 18 – Penn Springtime Invitational | Philadelphia, Pa.
Mar. 23-25 – Raleigh Relays | Raleigh, N.C.
Mar. 25 – Miami Invitational | Coral Gables, Fla.
Mar. 31-Apr. 1 – Florida Relays | Gainesville, Fla.
Apr. 6-8 – Duke Invitational | Durham, N.C.
Apr. 8 – LSU Invitational | Baton Rouge, La.
Apr. 15-16 – Bucknell Invite | Lewisburg, Pa.
Apr. 21-22 – Virginia Challenge | Charlottesville, Va.
Apr. 22 – Bucknell Team Challenge | Lewisburg, Pa.
Apr. 27-29 – Penn Relays | Philadelphia, Pa.
May 5 – Jim Thorpe Open | University Park, Pa.
May 12-14 – Big Ten Outdoor Championships | Bloomington, Ind.
May 24-27 – NCAA East Preliminaries | Jacksonville, Fla.
June 7-10 – NCAA Outdoor Championships | Austin, Texas
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