June 6, 2007
With the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships set to start today – Wed., June 6 and run through Sat., June 10 – South Carolina qualified nine men and women plus three relays (women’s 4x100m, women’s 4x40m and men’s 4x400m relays). The Gamecock women are gunning for their 12th straight top 10 finish. The USC women are one of just three programs to have finished in the top 10 the past 11 years straight with Texas’ women and Arkansas’ men joining with the Gamecocks women in this accomplishment.
The meet will be shown live on CBS on Sat., June 9 from 1 – 3 pm EST.
Uscsports.com visited with NCAA East Region 110m hurdles champion Thomas Hilliard (TH) prior to the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Sacramento where he talked about getting ready for the meet and the last few weeks.
USC: With NCAA Championships right around the corner, are you doing anything different to prepare for them than you did in preparation for the Regionals?
TH: Not really, just a lot of mental preparation. Running my race through my head. Just trying to think about the conditions so when I get to the line it’s not going to be a shock.
USC: You won the 110m hurdles, were second in the 400m hurdles and ran the second leg of the 4×4 that finished second at the NCAA East Region meet — what accomplishment are you most proud from the Region Championships?
TH: Probably the comeback between the 110m and 400m hurdles. At nationals I hope to make it to the finals of the 110s and an hour later is the semifinals of the 400 hurdles. I honestly think that that’s what the whole season amounts to because if I can’t comeback from the finals of the 110s to the semis of the 400 hurdles it doesn’t really matter how hard I worked all year because I want to be in the finals. I think that accomplishment, coming back and running a 49.8 was a real accomplishment.
USC: Is there one event that your most looking forward to competing in this week?
TH: Probably the 400m hurdles. I really want to go to finals. It’ll be the last day and I won’t have any races before that. A lot of the meets before this I’ve had to run the 110s and usually I come in a little bit fatigued, but I think that’ll be the final day where I won’t have a race before that and I can just get up and go all out and hopefully I can run 48 seconds.
USC: Do you have any new goals for NCAA’s?
TH: Still to run around 13.5 on the hurdles and I’m pretty sure that’ll get me back to finals. I want to run 48 seconds in the 400 hurdles and in the 4×4 we’re looking to go as low as possible and try to win.
USC: Having come to Carolina with expectations of playing soccer would you have ever thought of finding the end of your collegiate sports career at the NCAA Track & Field Championships?
TH: No, not really, not ranked as high as I am. Not in the position I have been in. I wanted it to happen when I made the transition, but reality hit me a couple times and I didn’t think it would happen. But I kept dreaming and committing myself to excellence and it’s worked out pretty well.
