North Carolina State University Athletics
Hill Off To Races Again
2/4/2011 12:00:00 AM | Track
Feb. 4, 2011
RALEIGH, N.C. – Last year, Ryan Hill used his handful of indoor track meets as a redshirt freshman merely as a springboard for the outdoor track season, a strategy that worked well enough for Hill to become a school-record holder, an ACC champion and an NCAA All-American.
Beginning Friday, when he competes in his first indoor meet of the season at the Virginia Tech Elite Meet in Blacksburg, Va., the three-time All-American runner has raised significantly his expectations for running on the indoor track.
“I’m really doing something I’ve never done before and that is look at indoor as its own season,” Hill said. “In this first event, I just want to get out there and shake some of the rust off. But my expectations are way higher this time around.”
Hill hasn’t competed since the 2010 NCAA Cross Country Championships on Nov. 22, where he finished 22nd and won his second consecutive cross country All-America award. He took a little time off, but is anxious to get going again.
Later today, he will run the mile race at Virginia Tech’s Rector Field House, as the Wolfpack distance runners make their 2011 indoor debut. Next weekend, he and teammate Andrew Colley will travel to Seattle to compete in the Husky Invitational, with the hopes of reaching the NCAA automatic qualifying time in the 3,000 meters.
Calendar year 2010 was pretty good to Hill, as he broke the school record and won All-America honors in the 5,000 meters, broke the school record and finished ninth at the USA Track & Field Outdoor Championships in the 1,500 meters and won the ACC championship in the 10,000 meters.
He capped it off with his second All-America finish in cross country. Not surprisingly, both he and head track coach Rollie Geiger have big expectations for his sophomore season on the track.
“I have a whole other year of big-race experience,” Hill said. “Physically, I’m way stronger and have put in a lot more mileage since then. I know how to race and how to put things together in a race better now. I’m an all-around better athlete from last year.
“I have whole new thresholds, as far as what I can handle and the amount of mileage I do and the workouts I do. Now, workouts that used be strenuous are not as hard as they used to be. I definitely accomplished the training objectives I wanted to.”
Geiger still has a big picture in mind for Hill, thinking of how to keep him prepared not just for his indoor debut, but for the upcoming and future outdoor seasons and his final year of cross country. But he knows that Hill is excited to get back in action.
“His training has been solid,” Geiger said. “I think his confidence is pretty high.”
Following is a schedule for the two-day Virginia Tech Elite Meet. Results are available at www.flashresults.com.
• By Tim Peeler, tim_peeler@ncsu.edu.
Virginia Tech Elite Meet
Friday, Feb. 4, 2011
5 p.m. Women Long Jump
5 p.m. Men Long Jump
5 p.m. Women Weight Throw
5 p.m. Women Pole Vault – UNSEEDED (if needed)
7 p.m. Men Weight Throw
7 p.m. Men Pole Vault – UNSEEDED (if needed)
5 p.m. Women Mile Run
5:25 p.m. Men Mile Run
5:45 p.m. Women 60m Hurdles Qual. Heats
6 p.m. Men 60m Hurdles Qual. Heats
6:10 p.m. Women 60m Dash Qual. Heats
6:20 p.m. Men 60m Dash Qual. Heats
6:35 p.m. Women 800m Run
6:45 p.m. Men 800m Run
6:55 p.m. Women 3000m Run
7:20 p.m. Men 3000m Run
7:55 p.m. Men 60m Hurdles Final
8 p.m. Women 60m Hurdles Final
8:05 p.m. Women 60m Dash Final
8:10 p.m. Men 60m Dash Final
8:15 p.m. Women 400m-Invitational Section
8:20 p.m. Men 400m-Invitational Section
8:25 p.m. Women 200m Dash-Open Section
8:40 p.m. Men 200m Dash-Open Section
Saturday, Feb. 5, 2011
11 a.m. Women High Jump
11 a.m. Women Pole Vault-SEEDED
12 p.m. Men Shot Put
12 p.m. Women Triple Jump
12 p.m. Men Triple Jump
1:30 p.m. Men Pole Vault – SEEDED
2 p.m. Women Shot Put
2 p.m. Men High Jump
1 p.m. Women Distance Medley Relay
1:15 p.m. Men Distance Medley Relay
1:30 p.m. Women 400m Dash-Open Section
1:45 p.m. Men 400m Dash-Open Section
2:05 p.m. Women 200m Dash-Invitational Section
2:15 p.m. Men 200m Dash-Invitational Section
2:20 p.m. Women 5000m Run
2:40 p.m. Men 5000m Run
3 p.m. Women 4 x 400m Relay-Open Section
3:15 p.m. Women 4 x 400m Relay-Invitational Section
3:20 p.m. Men 4 x 400m Relay-Open Section
3:30 p.m. Men 4 x 400m Relay-Invitational Section
