The last four years for Ryan Hill have been nothing but excellence. With two straight years of being an All-American and four years of being on the All-ACC team, the senior runner has been the quintessential workhorse the Wolfpack cross country team needed.
But going into this season, the legacy was not complete—Hill had yet to stake his claim as the best in the ACC.
Saturday, he did just that.
Hill won the individual championship at the conference championships Saturday, finishing the 8K course with a time of 23:06.3. Not only did Hill finish at the front of the pack, but his teammate, redshirt sophomore Andrew Colley , finished just three seconds behind him to win the conference championship for the second time since Hill joined on with N.C . State.
Technician sat down with the Hickory native to discuss his triumph this past weekend, his college career and he divulges on what the men’s cross country team is doing for “No-shave November.”
Technician: This weekend was a big weekend for not only you, but for the team as well. Which one was more important to you?
Ryan Hill: The thing about cross country is, if you worry about your own goals, the team goals will take care of themselves. Before the race started, all I was worried about was the team goals. I wanted us to win as a team. But when the gun goes off, I was strictly thinking about, ‘I need to win this race.’ When I got across the finish, I started trying to find out where everyone else finished. I was very happy.
Technician: How important was it for you to have someone like Colley behind or with you throughout the entire race?
Hill: Me and Andrew had the strategy of going right to the front, putting pressure on the leaders and beat all of them. We both have been in so many big races alone that we don’t particularly need each other to do our best, but it’s always great to see your teammate there when you beat guys from Florida State and UNC . I guess it’s just more fun to have a fellow N.C . State guy with you.
Technician: Without competing against ACC opponents throughout the year on a consistent basis, how important is it for you to prove that you are the best in ACC in the Championship?
Hill: It’s funny how those rivalries build and the intensity builds, and it’s all just anticipation for this one big race for the conference championship. And it’s all on the line, so it’s a lot of pressure, but at N.C . State we seem to thrive under the pressure. We don’t really mind having it all on the line at one time.
Technician: This past weekend was obviously huge for you, but have there been any other accomplishments thus far that measure up to that feeling?
Hill: The two ACC Titles as a team have been huge for me. It’s always hard to get a group to do things together, so it’s extra special to be able to have guys to share that with. Even when we won the distance-medley in track, that was special, too. What I’ve done at Nationals is at a much higher level and means so much to me when I look at my post-collegiate career.
Technician: Can you tell us a little bit about what the team is doing for no-shave November?
Hill: It was kind of started by fifth-year senior Adam Henken . He’s got this big red beard that he started back in the summer, so the rest of us kind of latched on to it and said, ‘We really need nice beards for Nationals.’ Most of us started in October to have nice beards by November, so our whole top-5 has some nice facial hair going on right now. So just look for the nastiest beards out there, that’s gonna be the Wolfpack .
