Pack's Ryan Hill runs to track record in 3K

Ryan Hill crossed the finish line at the Flotrack Husky Classic in Seattle, Wash., exhausted from a furious final lap that made him a champion.

Everything around the N.C. State five-time All-American runner seemed to move in slow motion. His teammates swarmed him, while his coach Rollie Geiger grinned nearby. He looked at the time on the clock and couldn't quite process what it meant.

Hill saw: 7:43.08.

Then it hit him.

"For the first time in a while I was legitimately shocked by the time," said Hill, a redshirt junior from Hickory. "It was beyond what I was even imagining to run."

It was his personal best and now stands as the fourth-fastest 3,000 meters ever by a collegiate runner of any nationality, according to Track and Field News and U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.

It wasn't the fastest collegiate time ever. That record belongs to Ireland's Alistair Cragg, who ran 7 minutes, 38 seconds in 2004 while at Arkansas.

But, Hill's time was significant. He broke the N.C. State and ACC record in the event. He holds the all-condition fastest 3,000-meter mark this season, moving him into prime position as the ACC and NCAA indoor championships approach over the next several weeks.

With a blazing final lap, Hill moved from second to first and surged past Northern Arizona's Diego Estrada.

"I just went all for it for the finish line," Hill said. "Like most times, I was able to out-kick the guy."

Since he arrived at State - one of the more accomplished high school cross country runners in the state - Hill has grown into a dynamic track and field athlete. He won the 3,000 meters at the indoor ACC Championships last year.

A three-time cross country All-American, he feels comfortable at both long and short distances. On Feb. 3, in his first indoor meet of the season, he ran a 3:58.33 in the mile during the Virginia Tech Elite meet in Blacksburg, Va. With that finish, he broke the school record held by four-time All-American Jim Wilkins and became the first in school history to break a four-minute mile.

Hill followed that with an impressive performance at Washington's Dempsey Indoor Track. He thumped Estrada by 1 1/2 seconds.

"That's unbelievable," N.C. State volunteer assistant coach and former State All-American Bobby Mack said. "He's basically running a 4:07 pace for 2 miles. That's pretty fast."

Steady progression

Hill, a sports management major, has been gradually picking up steam. Last year, he ran 7:50.38 in the same race. As a freshman, his best time was 8:10 in the 3,000 meters, Geiger said.

"It's been a progression," Geiger said. "Not just one race and all of sudden he's running fast."

Geiger said Hill's competitive nature has pushed his performances and motivated his practices. He said the junior has made the transition with patience, chipping time from finishes with a concentration on technique and speed.

"He has a terrific rhythm when he runs," Geiger added. "He has a very efficient gait when he runs. That's part of it too, there is not waisted motion."

On Saturday, in the marquee event, Hill ran the fastest time by an American collegiate runner in the indoor 3,000 meters, Geiger said.

Hill missed the record books by a technicality. Track and Field News and U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association only recognize indoor record times set on tracks measured at 200 meters. Washington's track is measured at 300 meters.

Thus Hill's time, run on an oversized track, will not be considered by those organizations for the American collegiate record. He ran a time superior to Oregon's Galen Rupp, and surpassed the national champion's mark of 7:44.69, considered the previous fastest American collegiate indoor 3,000-meter time.

Rupp, a U.S. Olympic team member and professional runner, won first place in three events during the 2009 NCAA men's indoor championship. He distinguished himself among the nation's elite.

Hill said he enjoyed running a time comparable to Rupp's best, though wasn't yet putting himself in the pro's track spikes.

"It's really great," Hill said. "But at the end of the day, it's just a time. I know I have to run well at nationals. That's the kind of thing that Galen Rupp does. He runs fast and he wins championships."