UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Three members of the Penn State track & field team were recognized by the USTFCCCA with postseason awards on Thursday afternoon following the completion of the 2023 outdoor campaign. Handal Roban took home Mid-Atlantic Region Men's Track Athlete of the Year, Faith DeMars earned the region's Women's Track Athlete of the Year award, and Mallory Kauffman collected Women's Field Athlete of the Year honors.
The Nittany Lions sweep the regional outdoor track athlete of the year awards (men's and women's) for the third time since 2007, and the first time since Isaiah Harris and Danae Rivers took home the awards following the 2018 season. Roban and DeMars are also the first Penn State athletes to take home regional track honors since Harris and Rivers in 2018.
Kauffman's recognition on the field side is the first for Penn State since David Lucas and Maddie Holmberg in 2021.
THE HONOREES
Handal Roban – Mid-Distance
Roban concluded his first season in the Blue & White with a third-place finish at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the 800-meter run, setting a personal-best 1:45.95 in the championship finals. The freshman's time puts him at fourth in school history in the event with just one year of competition under his belt.
Penn State's freshman phenom earns his second USTFCCCA Mid-Atlantic Region honor of the year, completing an indoor-outdoor track sweep of the men's award, the first Nittany Lion to do so since Harris in 2018.
Faith DeMars – Distance
DeMars made her first career trip to the NCAA Championships this season. She concluded her campaign with a 17th-place finish in the 5K in all of Division I. During her 2023 outdoor campaign, she set the No. 2 5K time in school history and became the Big Ten champion in the event before running in the NCAA Championships.
The Nittany Lion distance specialist collects her first career USTFCCCA Mid-Atlantic Region honor.
Mallory Kauffman – Throws
Kauffman's 2023 outdoor season was one for the record books. She shattered the Penn State school record in the shot put at the NCAA Championships, finishing sixth in the country and becoming the first Penn State woman, indoor or outdoor, to hit 18 meters in the shot put.
The All-American collects her second USTFCCCA Mid-Atlantic Region honor, as she was named the Field Athlete of the Year following her 2022 indoor campaign.
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