June 21, 2006

Indianapolis, Ind. – Thomas Hilliard, a junior on the South Carolina track and field team, will run in the prelims of the 400m hurdles at the USA Championships on June 22 at 4:45 pm in Indianapolis, Ind. Hilliard, a native of Raleigh, N.C., played soccer his first two years at Carolina before joining the track team last season. An NCAA qualifier after finishing fifth at the NCAA Regional meet in the intermediate hurdles, his times have dropped dramatically in the last year. He also ran a leg of the NCAA East Region 4x400m relay champions. Meet Thomas Hilliard.

USC: You ran a 52.51 last season in the 400m hurdles and this year your personal best is 50.55. What is a couple of contributing factors? Did you run this event in high school?

Hilliard: The big difference this year is that I didn’t have to spend the whole year learning the 400m hurdles. That’s probably the biggest difference. Probably my teammates rooting me on whenever I PR’ed. Having my teammates rooting me on all the time helped a lot. When I started dropping my times, I got more confidence and that helped. But having people there with you is better than confidence. I just ran the 110m hurdles in high school.

USC: What are your goals at the USA Championships?

Hilliard: To go 49 seconds and make it to the semi-finals.

USC: Running at the NCAA Championship a couple weeks ago, what lessons did you learn that should help you at USAs?

Hilliard: I have to be able to handle a big-time event. I got too nervous at NCAAs and let it overwhelm me. You have to control your emotions and do what you have to do. It’s real simple, you just have to think of it as another meet and not let the meet be bigger than others.

USC: Running at USAs you will run against a number of professionals. Anyone you look forward to seeing run or someone you admire that you would like to meet?

Hilliard: I would like to run against Kenneth Ferguson because he has helped me out since I started running in college and so it would be cool to run against him. He has always been encouraging, along with Jason (Richardson, sophomore at USC). Kenneth tried to give me some clues on how to run the race because he understands my stride pattern. He’s just really encouraging. He’s a great mentor. My two mentors, being Jason and Kenny, are both world champions (juniors) and they were pioneers in their event. Even though they are young I have to look up to them.

USC: In just your second season of college track, is it difficult to train so long (many athletes were finished in May)?

Hilliard: Most of the sprinters are still around up until this point and my main training partner Jason Richardson is also still around. If he wasn’t around, it would be hard because we try to feed off each other. As long as my main training partner is around it’s ok. We joke around to take the pressure off one another and that keeps us relaxed through the week and at the meet.

USC: Have you thought about your goals for next season yet? When will you establish those – in the fall or when the outdoor season begins next year?

Hilliard: I think myself and Jason and Coach Frye have already kind of thought our goals individually and as a hurdle group. I think both of our goals are to double – run the 110m hurdles and the 400m hurdles. Jason’s place will more than likely be higher than mine, but for me, I would just like to double along side him and put my name under some of USC’s great hurdlers.

USC: You came to USC to play soccer and played for two years. What position did you play and how different is competing on the track team than competing on the soccer team?

Hilliard: I played defensive back for USC on the soccer team. It’s a big difference because one is a team event and one is comprised of individual events. We try to keep a team aspect with the track team and they do a great job of that. I was surprised by how much of a team we are, the chemistry we have. The only difference is on the soccer field is that I had 10 other people I could pull along or that could pull me along. But when I get in a race, in lane five, it’s just me. They can’t run my race for me. It’s just me.

USC: Are you watching the World Cup? Obviously you’d like to see the USA advance, but do you watch for other countries results? Any favorites? Dark horse to win?

Hilliard: Oh yes! I am enjoying the World Cup this year. It’s good to see the USA ranked as high as they are. It’s good to see them becoming a soccer powerhouse. It’s just great to watch because I have an appreciation for the game. I always keep an eye on England. I enjoy watching Brazil and France play. But I think the World Cup winner is pretty much up in the air. I don’t have a clear-defined winner. I don’t think Brazil will win this year. I think it will be an upset this year.

USC: You are also an excellent student and do quite a bit of community service with Team Gamecocks. How do you find time to balance your schedule? Do you have any suggestions for up and coming athletes?

Hilliard: I guess the top lessons I learned are time management and setting priorities. That’s the only way to make it through. It’s easy to be a student and it’s to just be an athlete, but to be a student-athlete and try to maintain a GPA above regular students takes tremendous effort. You might not have a social life. Your social life will get cut and you have to know how to manage it and only do the things that will benefit you the most. I love being a student-athlete. (big smile). It’s a great title to have and it makes it even better when you can tell others your GPA after you worked hard. When people ask me, I can say ‘I say I have a 3.5’ and they are a bit taken aback. I think some of the stereotypes for student-athletes are not to have as high of a GPA and I want to show people it can be done. It can happen.

USC: Doing anything fun this summer? Are you working anywhere or going to summer school?

Hilliard: I am doing an internship with Bank of America. I am working in the mortgage division. And just getting ready for next year. I want to go to the beach if I can find time.

USC: Any messages for Gamecock fans?

Hilliard: Keep supporting us. Our athletic community is only going to get better with support.