Name: Sam Hill

School: St. Charles North, junior

Sport: Boys cross country

What he did: At the DuKane Conference Championships, Hill won the boys race, running three miles in 14:57.6, becoming the first-ever individual champion for the North Stars. He also paced the team to the team title, setting a conference record with 26 points.

Hill was selected as the Kane County Chronicle Athlete of the Week based on an online vote.

Here is his Q&A with sports reporter Joel Boenitz.

What was the feeling of winning the individual conference title?

Hill: It felt really good. Our school has never had an individual win the DuKane Conference title, so that felt pretty good to etch my name into history. But at the same time, it felt like a building block as I prepare for state.

What was your mentality heading into the race?

Hill: As soon as I found out it was supposed to rain, even though it didn’t end up raining during the race, I just thought back to my freshman year when I won the freshman/sophomore race. It was pouring rain the entire time and it wasn’t that bad. So I just kind of kept thinking about that, how it’d be okay, and just to take it out from the gun and my plan worked.

When did you realize that you had the individual title on lock?

Hill: Probably when the race started. I’m a pretty confident person, and based on the statistics and the times and where I knew I could push myself, I knew I was probably going to win from the start. But in terms of guaranteed, probably when I hit the track. When I made the turn, I saw how far (Batavia’s) Eddie Polaski was behind me, and I knew I had it on lock.

You also led the North Stars to their first DuKane Conference team title as well. How did it feel to have the team perform like that.

Hill: It felt really good. None of us, including myself, felt like we had a perfect race. But the fact that we felt like no one had their best day and to still win it by such a large margin and setting the lowest score by a team, it was huge. But we kept telling ourself that it’s just one race, we still have a lot of work to do. But we think we’re in a great spot.

Your team’s 26 points is the lowest recorded score in the conference meet. What type of statement do you think that is heading into the postseason?

Hill: I think we just told everyone that we’re a team not to mess with. We’re nowhere from where we were last season and in the regular season. Our true talent as a team wasn’t shown because we weren’t taking every race so crazy. We knew we had to stay true to our beliefs. And seeing that we won conference by such a large margin, even without our number two runner, it just shows that we’re here to stay.

Any superstitions?

Hill: Usually during warm-ups, we do this one drill called butt kickers. And I always know that I’m going to have a good day if my heel touches my butt all the way without strain. If I’m that loose, I know I’m going to have a good day.

Favorite pre-meet meal?

Hill: The night before I like to have some frozen alfredo that I get from Target. And then recently for breakfast, it’s been an egg, four strips of bacon and then some toast with jelly on it. That’s all been really working for me.