November 7, 2024

Multi-event track and field athlete talks experiences

Two school records were broken at the Multi-Events All-Ohio Championships Feb. 9, by Emily Hilt, senior track and field athlete. 

Hilt set the record for the 60-meter hurdles and the overall points record in the pentathlon event. She ran the 60 meter-hurdles in 9.30 seconds, which beat her previous record by 0.01 seconds. Hilt also received a pentathlon score of 3,223 points, which beat her previous record of 3,211 points. 

Hilt on the 60 meter hurdles, photo credit to Joe Maiorana.

She was just 0.01 meters short of matching her personal record in the high jump this weekend. In the next event, Hilt beat her personal record in the shot put with a 9.47 meter throw. 

Hilt holds a total of five school records: 60 meter-hurdles, indoor high jump, indoor pentathlon, outdoor 100 meter-hurdles, and outdoor heptathlon. 

“I feel very honored to be able to hold these records and represent Capital at these meets and to be able to go and compete and just show all of the school spirit that we have,” Hilt said. “It’s like nice having all the support from the community and from my team and everything so it’s just really uplifting.”  

Photo Credit: Joe Maiorana

Being a senior on the team, Hilt tries to be a good leader and role model for the younger athletes. She hopes to make them feel that they can come to her for anything and that she’s a friend rather than just a teammate. 

“Being a pentathlon, or multi-event athlete in general, it just takes a lot of mental toughness,” Hilt said. “Because you are doing a lot of events and all the different areas of track, you’ve got a distance, you’ve got throwing, you’ve got jumps, sprints. So, you really have to be able to adjust your mindset going into each event.” 

The events are scored unevenly and the shot put event is scored the least; therefore, shot put is a fairly relaxed event for multi-event athletes.  

“I don’t spend all my time there, but I’ll go practice with the throwers once a week and Josh has really played a huge factor in my ability,” Hilt said. “And other coaches obviously but Josh always makes sure that he’s there, like he was there this past Sunday and my meet last year, to really give me that oomph.” 

Hilt had the honor of being the OAC Female Field Athlete of the Week for the third time in her career. She received the honor earlier this season due to her performance at the Ashland Open.  

Hilt on long jump, photo credit to Joe Maiorana.

This week, Hilt was also named Crusader of the Week for her performance at the All-Ohio Multi Championships. 

Hilt’s favorite events are the hurdle events and the high jump. Her least favorite event is the 800 meter because it is such a mental battle and she said it is very difficult for her. 

She will be competing next at the All-Ohio Championships this weekend, Feb. 15, at Otterbein University.  

Author

  • Mason White

    Mason White is a senior film and media production major. He has worked with the Chimes in previous years as a sports reporter, but he currently works as a videographer for online content.

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