Mercury All-Area: Hillen’s cross country choice paid off in PAC championship season
Cross country? Or soccer?
That was the decision Naomi Hillen faced when she entered ninth grade at Pottsgrove High. She had an affinity for, and skills in, both sports; and while there was a possibility she could have participated in both at the same time, it was a course of action Hillen didn’t want to undertake.
“I thought about it,” she said, “but it would have put a lot of stress on my knees.”
So Hillen chose to run for the Pottsgrove girls cross country team. The Falcon sophomore validated the decision this fall with a solid showing capped by her being selected as The Mercury’s All-Area Girls’ Cross Country Runner of the Year.
Mercury All-Area Girls Cross Country Teams
Hillen won the Pioneer Athletic Conference girls’ race her first time out, that after breaking the tape in all five of Pottsgrove’s Frontier Division dual meets. She became only the program’s second female champ, joining two-time race winner Sheila Valentine (1993, 1994) in that distinction.
Naomi went on to place 24th in the District 1-AAA event at Lehigh University, a finish that put her atop the PAC’s field of contestants. One week later at the Hershey Parkview Course, she worked her way back from illness to place 62nd in the PIAA Class AAA race.
“I did cross country in eighth grade and liked it,” Hillen said. “It’s so much fun. Cross country is something that got me out of my shell. My best friends were on the team.”
She did point out, however, involvement in soccer – she remains a member of the ‘03 club team with Reading Rage – proved beneficial to her development as a distance runner.
“In soccer, I was a center midfielder,” Hillen said, “so I did a lot of running. A lot of random sprints.”
“I saw her in eighth grade, and I saw she clearly had talent,” Pottsgrove head coach Larry Rechtin noted. “But I didn’t get to know her until ninth grade. Halfway through, I could tell she was a good runner.”
Hillen found herself challenged by Spring-Ford senior Emily Smith throughout the post-season. She headed Smith in the PAC race at Heebner Park, covering the course in 19:34 while Smith was second in 19:45; and again at districts, albeit in a closer 18:59 to Smith’s 28th-place 19:04.
Smith got the better of Hillen at states, but not by a large difference. She placed 60th with a 20:41 run that topped Naomi by just two places and two seconds.
“I didn’t know anything about her,” Hillen said of Smith. “Does she do a fast sprint at the end?”
In the PAC race, Naomi called on her innate ability to “read” an opponent’s physical condition to make her winning move.
“When we got to the hill by the soccer field, she ran up it fast and got some distance,” Hillen recalled. “But I saw her steps were wobbly, and she was breathing faster, so I made my move.
“I always have an instinct for that.”
“She knows how to read a competitor … when to pass, when to wait,” Rechtin added. “In many races, she started far back but picked her spot.”
Naomi maintained her untopped status in the PAC at districts. More importantly to her, she achieved a personal best time by finishing one tick below the 19-minute mark.
“My main goal this year was to break 19 (minutes),” Hillen said. “I did it by one second at districts.”
“I wanted her to win the PAC and qualify for states,” Rechtin said. “For districts, 19 minutes was her personal goal. She was right on target, running an 18:59 in the district meet.”
Hillen’s state-level outing came off even though she had been on medication. The conditions on the modified Parkview course — a section near the end was replaced due to the wet fall season — was another factor.
“I wasn’t sure what to expect,” she said. “I wasn’t sure of the course conditions. Last year, the last kilometer changed. It was more secluded.”
Naomi’s showing this fall was no surprise to Rechtin.
“What makes her a good runner is talent,” he said, “plus, she doesn’t like to lose. That’s a hard thing to coach into a kid.”
“She’s a prototypical distance runner, with a smooth stride and surprisingly strong. She has a willingness to work. She never shied away from a workout.”
Another significant run for Hillen was in the PIAA Foundation event held near the end of September at Heshey Parkview. She placed fifth in 19:41 … another runaway outing in the PAC field, the conference’s next finisher Owen J. Roberts’ Hannah Kopec in 32nd place.
“At that point, we sat down to rethink her goals for the season,” Rechtin recalled.
Between now and the spring track season, Hillen plans to work with Brock Butler, a personal trainer and former runner for Villanova University. She will do that in lieu of taking part in the scholastic indoor-track season.
“He helps adjust little things … core work and strengthening exercises,” she said.
Next fall, along with her pursuit of another PAC championship, Hillen will also focus on lowering her personal-best time.
“Next season, I want to stay in the 18s,” she said. “I want to try for an 18:30 at districts.”
Beyond that, Hillen will be content to see how the 2019 campaign unfolds.
“I’m just taking it one season at a time. I’m not thinking about next year now.”
