UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State track & field's Handal Roban is slated to compete in the preliminary round of the men's 800-meter run at the 2023 NCAA Indoor Track & Field National Championships in Albuquerque, N. M. on Friday, March 10. The top three runners in each heat plus the top two additional times will advance to the finals on Saturday, March 11.
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Roban's 1:47.01 qualifying time ranks as the No. 14 time accepted into this year's championship meet. The freshman slots in as the top newcomer in a field of the best middle-distance runners in the country.
Sophomore Yusuf Bizimana of Texas enters as the No. 1 runner in the field of 16, with a 1:46.03 qualifying mark.
The men's 800-meter preliminary round will take place at 9:45 p.m. ET on Friday, March 10, and the top eight runners will advance to the finals at 9:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, March 11. The entire meet will be streamed live on ESPN+.
THE COMPETITION
| 1 | Yusuf Bizimana | SO | TEXAS | 1:46.03 |
| 2 | Sam Austin | SO | FLORIDA | 1:46.06 |
| 3 | Crayton Carrozza | JR | TEXAS | 1:46.28 |
| 4 | Jason Gomez | SR | IOWA STATE | 1:46.53 |
| 5 | Navasky Anderson | SR | MISSISSIPPI STATE | 1:46.58 |
| 6 | Tarees Rhoden | JR | CLEMSON | 1:46.61 |
| 7 | Baylor Franklin | SR | OLE MISS | 1:46.74 |
| 8 | Cebastian Gentil | SR | IOWA STATE | 1:46.75 |
| 9 | Cass Elliott | SR | WASHINGTON | 1:46.76 |
| 10 | Ayman Zahafi | SR | MIAMI (FLA.) | 1:46.84 |
| 11 | John Lester | SO | STANFORD | 1:46.93 |
| 12 | Samuel Rodman | SO | PRINCETON | 1:46.96 |
| 13 | Mahamed Sharif | JR | CONNECTICUT | 1:46.96 |
| 14 | Handal Roban | FR | PENN STATE | 1:47.01 |
| 15 | Ethan Brouw | SO | NEW MEXICO | 1:47.21 |
| 16 | Will Sumner | FR | GEORGIA | 1:47.28 |
THE ROBAN FILE
This season, the Nittany Lions' freshman phenom tied Brannon Kidder for the third-best 800-meter time in Penn State history with his 1:47.01 at this year's Sykes & Sabock Invitational on Feb. 4. Roban carried that success into the Big Ten Indoor Championships, where he ran a 1:47.88 in the finals, crossing the line second to teammate Olivier Desmeules by just .01 seconds. His finish earned him Second Team All-Big Ten honors.
The Nittany Lions' 800-meter squad of Roban, Desmeules, Darius Smallwood, and Carter Fitzgerald finished the indoor season at No. 2 in the NCAA in USTFCCCA's #EventSquad rankings, with Desmeules missing a shot to join Roban at the NCAA Indoor Championships in the event by .01 seconds.
Roban also earned the sixth-fastest indoor 600-meter time in Penn State history this season, running a 1:16.91 at the Penn State National Open on Jan. 27-28.
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