Track & Field
Matt Hillenbrand - Track & Field - University of Kentucky Athletics

MattHillenbrand

  • class Senior
  • High school Saint Xavier

Collegiate Bests
800M: 1:48.07 | 1,500M: 3:39.84 | Mile: 3:57.00 | 3,000M: 7:59.55 | 5,000M: 13:49.24

Three-time Second-Team All-American (2013 1,500m, 2014 Mile and 1,600m)
Three-time SEC Champion (2013 Mile, 2014 Mile and 3k)
Three-Time First Team All-SEC
Five-Time Second-Team All-SEC
School Record: Indoor mile and outdoor 1,500m

2013-14 (Senior)
Outdoor – Second-team All-America placing 13th in the NCAA 1,500m … SEC Bronze Medalist in the 1,500m … Set the UK 1,500m record 3:39.84 in Portland.
Indoor – Double SEC Champion winning the mile and 3k on consecutive days … Second-team All-America placing 10th in the NCAA Championships mile final … Advanced to his first NCAA final … Broke the UK school record, joining the sub-4-minute mile club running 3:57.00.
Cross Country – All-SEC selection after finishing 12th at the Southeastern Conference Championships with a 8,000-meter season-best time 24:17.2 … Ran a 10k personal best time 29:59.6 by quite a bit at the NCAA Southeast Regional Championship … Finished in the top-15 in four of six meets, in the top-50 in five of six and in the top-75 in all six of his competitions during 2013.

2012-13 (Junior)
Outdoor – Advanced to the NCAA Championships for the first time where he earned All-America honors at 1,600 meters …Runner-up in the SEC Championship 1,500 meters … Won his QF heat at NCAA East Prelims … Ninth in the 5K at SECs … Won the 1,500 meters with a PR time 3:46.92 to help lead UK (Commonwealth team) to a win over Indiana and Notre Dame at the Kentuckiana Border Battle … Placed second in the mile behind Keffri Neal at the Heart of the Bluegrass Classic … Ran 9:16.23 in the 3,000-meter Steeplechase at one of the nation’s top early-season distance meets, the Stanford Invitational.
Indoor – SEC mile champion … surged into the lead on the last 30 meters of final straight-away in the SEC mile final to win with a time of 4:01.55 … PR mile time 4:00.23 came at the Notre Dame Alex Wilson Invitational last chance meet … Also posted a PR 3K time 8:10.04 in a win at the home meet Rod McCravy Memorial.
Cross Country – UK’s No. 2 finisher at the first two meets of the season … 8K season-best 25:24.00 came at the Greater Louisville Classic … Posted a time of 33:14.7 at the 10K NCAA Southeast Regional … Ran 15:37.3 at the 5K Belmont Season Opener.

2011-12 (Sophomore)
Outdoor: – Ran a PR at 800 meters with a time of 1:51.07 at the Billy Hayes Invitational in early May … Also set a new personal-best 3:47.20 performance at 1,500 meters during the Payton Jordan Cardinal Invitational … Reached the 1,500-meter final at the SEC Championships, and also competed at 800 meters at SECs

Indoor – Season-best indoor mile time of 4:06.33 came at the Notre Dame Alex Wilson Invitational … Part of Distance Medley team for Kentucky at the SEC Championships … Also participated in the mile at SECs.

Cross Country – Competed in one event as a sophomore, finishing 25th at the Belmont-VU Opener … Finished the 5K event in 16:14.43.

2010-11 (Freshman)
Outdoor – Top time in the 800-meter run came at the Kentuckiana Border Battle … Crossed the finish line at the conference championships with a time of 3:51.48 … Had his best 5,000m run at the Sea Ray Relays.

Indoor – Competed in the one-mile run at the Husky Classic in February, finishing with the second-best time on the team (4:10.25).

Cross Country – Recorded his best 8K time of the season at the Greater Louisville Invitational, finishing with a time of 26:18.80 … Finished in 43rd place overall at the San Francisco Invitational, his highest finish of the season.

High School
Led team to cross country state championship (2009) … Cross country state runner-up (2008) … Cross country regional champion (2008-2009) … finished as the 4×800 state champions in outdoor and indoor track (2009) … completed the 2008,2009 season as Track and Field state runner-up … won two indoor track state championships (2007,2009) … track and field EE National Champion (2009) … regional 800M champion (2009) … Regional 1600M champion (2009) … named to the cross country all-state team (2009) … Named to the all-state Track Academic Team … was a member of the Ryken Service Club, Saint Joseph of Arimathea Society and Environmental club in high School.

Personal
Full name is Matthew James Hillenbrand … son of Jim and Brenda Hillenbrand … Has one sister, Brooke … majored in biology.

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