The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/85079
T BY BRUCE WINKWORTH he headlines thus far might say that NC State's men's track and field squad in 2012 has been "The Ryan Hill Show," but that's really unfair. Yes, Hill is off to a spec- tacular start, but as a team the Wolfpack appears strong across the board, with po- tential scorers up and down the roster. ■ PREVIEW MEN'S TRACK "Right now, our team is ranked in the top 25 in the country," Geiger said. "You don't do that without some kind of balance." That said, Hill's start to 2012 is historic. On Feb. 3, the redshirt junior ran the first sub-four-minute mile in school history (3:58.33 at the Virginia Tech Elite Meet). Eight days later, he broke the American col- legiate record for the 3,000 meters (7:43.08 at the Flotrack Husky Classic in Seattle). Hill's mile time marked his fourth school record in track. The previous school record for the mile was held by four-time All- 76 ■ THE WOLFPACKER Led By Distance Runner Ryan Hill, The Wolfpack Is Poised Balanced EFFORT For A Strong Outdoor Season American Jim Wilkins, who ran a 4:00.05 mile in an outdoor race at NC State's Derr Track in the spring of 1973. That was the longest-standing track record in the NC State record book. Hill's record in the 3,000 meters at Seat- tle, which broke his own school record, not only was the fastest ever run by an Ameri- can collegiate runner, but the fourth-fastest ever by a collegiate runner regardless of nationality. A year ago in the same event, Hill broke the NC State and Atlantic Coast Conference marks for the 3,000 meters with a time of 7:50.38. He demolished that mark this time around. "Ryan now holds the school records for the mile, the 1,500, the 3,000 and the 5,000," Geiger said. "You put him on the track, point him in a direction and tell him to turn left, he's pretty good at that."