What more can a three-time All-American achieve after rewriting N.C. State’s track and field record books in his sophomore season? For Ryan Hill, there is still plenty left to accomplish.
The native of Hickory, N.C., has had an immediate impact since stepping foot on campus over two years ago. In his first cross country season with the Wolfpack, Hill garnered ACC Rookie of the Year honors on his way to a 13th-place finish in the conference championships. After redshirting both the indoor and outdoor track and field seasons, Hill improved on his freshman cross country campaign by earning All-American recognition for his 23rd-place finish at the NCAA Championships in 2009.
“When you start with the talent level and take the level of commitment he has to the sport, you’re going to be successful,” coach Rollie Geiger said. “He has a real innate ability for racing. He just has a feel for it. All you have to do is put him on the track and point him in the right direction.”
In his first full indoor season with the Pack, Hill finished fifth in the 3,000m and eighth in the 5,000m at the ACC Championships before breaking the school record in the 1,500m and 5,000m during the outdoor season with times of 3:40.22 and 13:44.36, respectively.
But Hill’s most recent appearance in the Wolfpack record books occurred Feb. 12 at the Husky Invitational in Seattle, Wash. Hill broke a 20-year-old program record in the 3,000m with a time of 7:50.78, besting the previous record by more than five seconds. He also met the automatic qualifying mark for the NCAA Championships with the performance.
For Geiger, Hill’s record-setting performance in the 3,000m was not unexpected.
“I wasn’t surprised at all,” Geiger said. “He made some huge breakthroughs in the outdoor season last year when he ran the 1,500-meter in 3:40 and some change. What did surprise me, however, was how much he beat the old record by.”
Although he already holds two school records in track and field, there is still one thing Hill would like to achieve—running a sub-four-minute mile. The indoor season’s 1,500m run is virtually the equivalent of the outdoor season’s mile run, only 100 meters shorter. Based on his previous finishes in the 1,500m race, Hill believes he has the ability to do it, but will have to wait until next indoor season because he will not compete in the event at the conference championships.
“If you look at my other times, I think I’m definitely able to run under four [minutes] if I get into the right race,” Hill said. “If I get the chance to do it next year, I think I’ll have to capitalize on it and really try to break four minutes. It’s tough to run the mile during the indoor season because the races are so limited but I definitely think it’s attainable.”
Instead of running the mile, Geiger will use Hill in the 1,500m and distance medley relay events at ACC’s. Hill will be looking to build off last year’s fifth-place finish at the championships.
“I was coming off the flu last year so I thought I could’ve done better,” Hill said. “This year, I want to anchor the distance medley relay team to a win and also win the 3K as well. Anything but winning would be disappointing.”
The Wolfpack’s relay team will begin with Adam Henken running the 1,200m portion, followed by an undecided sprinter running the 400m, Greg Dame running the 800m and then handing off to Hill who will run the mile as the team’s anchor.
Hill said he expects the distance medley relay team to be very competitive at the ACC Championships.
“We definitely have a great squad and a squad that can win,” Hill said. “Virginia Tech and Virginia are very good as well so it’s going to be a tight race.”
Unlike many other sports where athletes squeeze in extra last-minute practices, there is not much runners can improve on in the week leading up to a major race, according to Hill.
“In the week leading up to a major event, the hay is already in the barn,” Hill said. “We’ve already done all the hard work in January and early February. We’ve really just been tuning up this week and making sure we’re prepared.”
Hill and the rest of the Wolfpack travel to Blacksburg, Va., today to kick off the ACC Championships at Virginia Tech’s Rector Field House.
