Aurora Central Catholic ace Patrick Hilby roars home with another state title this past May.
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The 5-foot-10, 160-pound senior middle-distance talent won a national title and set a state record in the 800-meter
event at the New Balance Nationals Outdoor this past season, earning All-American honors. Hilby's
time of 1:47.55 ranked No. 1 nationally among prep boys this spring and is No. 6 clocking in U.S. prep history. He
also swept the 400 and 800 at the Class 3A state meet. At the national Brooks PR Invitational, he took second with a
time of 1:47.92.
Hilby has volunteered more than 100 hours locally through various projects associated with the Feed My Starving
Children initiative, which packages and distributes food to undernourished children worldwide. He has also
donated his time at the Marie Wilkinson Food Pantry's Community Gardens and on behalf of the Angel Tree gift -
donation drive at Holy Angels Catholic Church. "It's not often that a high-schooler can throw down a fast 800 time in
the early season and remain durable enough to have great results at season's end, but Hilby did just that in winning
a national title," said Rich Gonzalez of PrepCalTrack.
Hilby has maintained a 3.98 GPA in the classroom. He has signed a National Letter of Intent to compete on
scholarship at the University of Wisconsin this fall.
Hilby joins recent Gatorade Illinois Boys Track & Field Players of the Year Daniel Watcke (2022-23, Hinsdale Central
High School), Ryan Watts (2021-22, Edwardsville High School), Brandon Battle (2020-21, Edwardsville High School)
and Josh Methner (2019-20, John Hersey High School), among the state's list of former award winners.
