KEENE, N.H. – The postseason recognition for the Little East Conference champion Keene State College men's indoor track and field team continued to roll in when the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) released their 2026 regional awards on Thursday.

Roark, in his fourth season as the head coach after his hiring in March of 2022, has continually elevated the Owls year over year – never more evident than this year when KSC captured their first LEC indoor track and field championship in 18 years when they accumulated 145 points and won the league by 20 points.  The Owls also had Tyler Bolaske qualify for the NCAA championship in the mile and would have had a second entrant Aidan Law in the long jump if it weren't for an injury he sustained in the Tufts University national qualifying meet.  A senior, Law qualified for the NCAA championship a season ago in the long jump and just barely missed the final, placing 11th.

KSC's men featured eight top-ten northeast region performances, including Law who had the best long jump in the region.

Owl assistant coach Dylan Flewelling, a 2025 Plymouth State University graduate, was also named the assistant coach of the year in the region after his distance runners came up with huge performances, including accounting for 64 of KSC's 145 points at the LEC championship.  Bolaske set a conference record in the mile and qualified for the NCAA championships in the mile with his 4:11.00 mark, reaching the final and achieving second team All-America honors.

"I am so happy for Dylan to be honored, as he has worked so hard this year and was a big asset to our staff," said Keene State head coach Dan Roark.  "I am honored to be chosen as coach of the region, but it does not happen without my incredible assistant coaches and a team of athletes who trust us to help them compete at the highest level."

The Owls have ascended on both sides in recent years, and this season saw representation from both the men and the women on the national stage for the first time since 2014.  The men qualified for the NCAAs for the third time this decade in addition to winning their first LEC title since 2008, and that came on the heels of Bolaske also reaching the NCAA cross country championship this past fall under Roark and Flewelling.

"It is exciting to be chosen for an honor like this in my first year coaching, though I can't take too much credit," said Flewelling.  "I was fortunate to learn a lot of skills from Dan during cross country that I got to employ myself over the indoor season.  It is also easy to look good when you have guys who are fit and racing well."

Roark and his staff were previously selected as the Little East Conference coaching staff of the year for men's indoor track and field.

The USTFCCCA recognizes 10 regions across the country, including the Great Lakes, Metro, Mid-Atlantic, Mideast, Midwest, Niagara, North, Northeast (which includes the Owls), South, and West.

KSC's outdoor season begins next weekend at the University of Massachusetts Lowell.