UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Big Ten Conference announced Penn State track & field’s Handal Roban was awarded the Big Ten Men’s Track Athlete of the Week for his NCAA top-five performance in the 800-meter run at LSU’s Lloyd Willis Invitational on Saturday.
Roban, a 2023 NCAA First Team All-American in the indoor 800-meter run, clocked a 1:47.29 at LSU’s Lloyd Willis Invitational on Saturday to jump into the No. 4 slot in the country in the outdoor 800m. The freshman claimed first place in the competition, leading the NCAA top-ranked Penn State men’s 800-meter squad to an excellent finish in Louisiana that propelled the Nittany Lion men’s squad to a No. 16 ranking in the USTFCCCA poll. He is the first Nittany Lion to earn a Big Ten outdoor track weekly award since Isaiah Harris on April 26, 2017.
In addition to being No. 4 in the NCAA this season, Roban leads a Penn State sweep of the top four times in the Big Ten as well, with Darius Smallwood, Callum Dodds, and Olivier Desmeules joining him atop the conference standings.
It marks sixth Big Ten Track & Field athlete of the week honor for the Nittany Lions this season, the most combined (indoor/outdoor) track & field weekly awards for the program in one year since the 2016 squad also earned six. Big Ten Indoor 800m Champion Desmeules earned men’s track recognition twice this year, while throwers Mallory Kauffman and Merkley, along with jumper Cecelia Bacon, each have collected one apiece on the field side.
PENN STATE’S 2022-23 BIG TEN WEEKLY AWARD WINNERS
April 12 – Handal Roban – Middle-Distance – Men’s Outdoor Track Athlete of the Week
March 29 – Cecelia Bacon – Jumps – Women’s Outdoor Field Athlete of the Week
March 22 – Tyler Merkley – Throws – Men’s Outdoor Field Athlete of the Week
Feb. 1 – Olivier Desmeules – Middle-Distance – Men’s Indoor Track Athlete of the Week
Dec. 14 – Olivier Desmeules – Middle-Distance – Men’s Indoor Track Athlete of the Week
Dec. 7 – Mallory Kauffman – Throws – Women’s Indoor Field Athlete of the Week
LOOKING AHEAD
Penn State will stay close to home next weekend, traveling down the road to Bucknell for the Bison Outdoor Classic from April 14-16.
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