AUSTIN, Texas – Handal Roban and Evan Dorenkamp each earned First Team All-America honors on the final day of men's competition at the 2023 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships. Roban finished as the bronze medalist in the 800 meters with the fourth-fastest time in school history while Dorenkamp earned an eighth-place standing in the 1500 meters.
"What a great weekend for Penn State men's track and field," said head coach John Gondak. "To come here with six entries and leave with three First Team All-Americans is fantastic. Handal [Roban] ran amazing to finish third in the 800 after his third place indoors. Coach Foster has done a great work with him this year. Evan [Dorenkamp] came in ranked 50th in the NCAA and placed eighth, earning himself First Team All-America honors as well. We're very proud of this crew scoring the most points for Penn State since 2018."
Roban's effort netted the Penn State men six points and, joined with Tyler Merkley's two points from Wednesday's hammer throw and Dorenkamp's point in the 1500, the squad finished with nine team points, its most at the outdoor championships since the 2018 season. The Nittany Lion men finished as the fourth-ranked Big Ten team, tied for 27th overall in Division I.
Dorenkamp took to the track first for Penn State in the 1500. Starting from lane three, Dorenkamp put on an excellent performance, finishing 0.21 seconds ahead of the NCAA leader in the event at 3:44.20 for an eighth-place finish. He becomes Penn State's first outdoor 1500-meter First Team All-American since Brannon Kidder in 2016.
In the 800, Roban put on a show in the final 100 meters, closing hard to break 1:46.00 for the first time in his career, setting the No. 4 time in school history at 1:45.95. The freshman became the first Nittany Lion since Isaiah Harris' in his title-winning 2018 season to earn First Team All-America recognition in the 800 meters. Roban is also the first Nittany Lion track athlete since Harris in 2018 (silver indoor, gold outdoor) to medal in the same event in both the indoor and outdoor NCAA Championships in the same year.
UP NEXT
Faith DeMars will wrap up competition for the Nittany Lions at this year's championships when she runs in the women's 5K finals tomorrow night at 10:55 p.m. ET. DeMars' race can be viewed on ESPN2.
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