Hillis won the men’s 3000 meter steeplechase at the Southern Conference Outdoor Championships, according to a May 11 announcement from East Tennessee State University. The event was hosted by Western Carolina in Cullowhee, North Carolina.
The win marks an important achievement for Hillis and the East Tennessee State track and field team, as it is their first medal of the championships this year. Hillis ran a personal best time of 9:14.53, overtaking Furman’s Colton Kempney on the final lap with a strong finish. He beat Kempney by more than 11 seconds after closing a four-second gap late in the race.
Hillis became the first Buccaneer to win this event since Noah Charles did so in 2019. His performance earned ETSU ten points toward their team total. Another senior contributed three points with a sixth-place finish in the same race, clocking in at 9:52.76.
Additional points came from another athlete who placed sixth in pole vault by clearing 4.45 meters before exiting competition. In preliminary races, Overly and Luisi advanced to Tuesday’s finals in the men’s 800 meter run; Overly posted a time of 1:51.23 while Luisi set a personal best at 1:51.39.
Other athletes set personal bests and qualified for finals across multiple events including hurdles and sprints. With six out of twenty-one events completed, ETSU is tied for fifth place with Wofford and VMI at sixteen team points each, while Samford leads overall standings with fifty-one points followed closely by Furman with fifty.
For more information on ETSU men’s track and field results or upcoming events, readers can visit ETSUBucs.com.
