Colbin Hill '24 Recruiting Profile

My upbringing as a runner was to say the least, a little discombobulated.  In late 2019, my first 5K was about 45 mins.  Soon after that 5K, COVID hit and schools closed early.  I saw this as my opportunity to improve on that embarrassingly long 5k time and to also get away from my siblings that I was trapped in the house with.  Eventually, my time gradually decreased and before my freshmen year began I managed to shave off 15 minutes on my own.  My mom took notice of the growing potential in me and asked if I wanted to join my school's cross country team.  I am so glad I said, yes.  My first year on varsity cross country ( and later on the varsity track team) was difficult for a number of reasons; our coach was just helping out( he was a football coach not a running coach), we had to wear masks while running and we lacked motivating upperclassmen.  Not only did I survive this first season but I ended at Regionals with a PR of 19:58 while wearing the wrong shoes I was later told.  ( I guess I should have had on spikes for that race instead of trainers but coach didn't know.)  Using my freshmen year as a good base, I came into my sophomore year hungry.  With the help of a new coach, I was able to end that year with a PR of 17:58 and a bid to the State Championships.  As for my junior year, I made it to regionals for both cross country and track and took on the role of team captain.  My goals for my senior year are to make it to State for both cross country and track.  I have put in extra training with a personal running coach and a cross fit trainer in the off season to give me the best chance at meeting my goals.  In cross country, I  want to drop my time by at least a minute.  In track, I want to improve my scores in my the 3200m, 1600m, 800m and 4 x 800m.  I have also really enjoyed running the 7 mile bridge race and Key West's 1/2 marathons.  I look forward to these types of longer distances that college running can offer.  I plan to not only continue to work hard on my running but to achieve academic success as well.  It is always a hard thing to balance but I feel I have found my niche.  I may have started off a bit rough with my running career but with perseverance and grit I have improved in many ways.  I hope to have an opportunity to keep improving at the collegiate level.