Editor’s Note: Every week, StateCollege.com will highlight a Penn State student as Athlete of the Week based off of his/her performance in the previous week. Nominations are welcome at terry.casey@statecollege.com.
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One year meant a lot for Ryan Foster.
As a college student in Australia, Foster faced a freshman year troubled by personal injuries and his coach’s death. Once heavily recruited as high school graduate, he was looking to transfer with few options.
“I probably sent 40 or 50 e-mails. I think I got one response,” said Foster, a native of Tasmania, Australia. “Since I had been out of high school for a while there was not much interest in me as an athlete.”
Through John Mahoney, a past Penn State track athlete and recent graduate, Foster got in contact with John Gondak. The assistant coach for Penn State track talked to Foster and eventually gave him an offer to transfer.
“He liked what he heard and I liked what I heard,” said Foster. “It was really an easy decision to commit to Penn State.”
The junior track captain had continued success through the PSU Northeast Challenge on Saturday, breaking the school’s 1,000-meter record and becoming the Big Ten Track Athlete of the Week.
“I think the beauty of the run was that it was so well managed,” said Head Coach Beth Alford-Sullivan “He looked so capable and so smooth on it.”
Foster had run under 2:20 during practice, but made it official by running 219.60 to win the 1,000-meter. Despite past training, Foster was still surprised by his time.
“That was a huge deal for me and a huge deal for my family as well,” said Foster. “It is really nice to have friends and fans around to celebrate.”
This was not the first major victory for the 2009 Outdoor All American. Last year, Foster won Big Ten gold in both the indoor and outdoor 800-meter races.
“He has been able to be consistent,” said Sullivan. “His work ethic has been very good.”
Foster’s success and personality have made him a leader to fellow runners.
Sophomore teammate Vince McNally said Foster “really brought the team around.”
“The work atmosphere he creates is that when you’re at the track you work hard, and when you’re not at the track you are not stressing about track,” said senior teammate Kevin Fuller.
Foster believes senior leadership was important in his smooth transition sophomore year.
“They were all supportive of me and they helped me get through some of the worst of the homesickness,” said Foster.
Foster noted that rural atmosphere of both Penn State and his home in Tasmania also aided in the transition. His biggest issue was adjusting to minor cultural differences, such as driving on the right side of the road and word usage.
“I had trouble ordering Subway for a while,” said Foster. “I got it down pat now. I’m a pro.”
Though his accent has lessened over time, Foster still holds onto his Australian heritage and shares it with his teammates. To pay homage to home country, he painted his bike the colors of the Australian flag.
“We like to hear his stories from the homeland,” said Sullivan. “Just hearing the basics of things and knowing where he came from.”
Foster stays in weekly contact with his family, but was unable to go home for winter vacation. McNally made up for it by giving him a Christmas gift.
“With some effort I was able to find Vegemite,” said McNally. “It is a brown salty paste they eat in Australia.”
Said junior teammate Owen Dawson: “It was a gross, but he liked it.”
