Freshman distance runner Kelsey Hildreth, 5-foot-3, isn’t the most physically dominating presence in a room of track and field athletes. Her accomplishments on the course are what speak to her domination.

Hildreth broke the NIU indoor 3K record in her track debut Saturday at the Gene Edmonds Cup in West Lafayette, Ind.

“She’s a really quiet girl. Small. Definitely a lot of fire in a little package,” said junior distance runner Hannah Savage. “Honestly, meeting her you just would never think that she would be the girl that would go out there and just be able to crank out these super fast times. I loved her from the beginning. She’s funny, and we love having her around.”

Record smasher

Hildreth’s latest accomplishment came on the heels of arguably one of the greatest individual cross country seasons in NIU history. During the fall she broke the school’s 5K and 6K records, and she and senior runner Meghan Heuer became the first Huskies to be named to the All-MAC and All-Region teams.

As for Hildreth’s response when she finds out after a run that she broke a school record: “She’ll give a little smirk or a little smile,” said volunteer assistant coach Ashley Lucas. “She’s a very humble individual. … She’s one of the hardest workers that I’ve ever met.”

For Hildreth, individual accomplishments are “exciting,” but her focus is on positioning the team in the most opportune position to succeed.

“I just kind of do my thing, and I just try to race my best every time and do my best to get the most points I can for the team,” Hildreth said. “And that’s really what matters.”

At the collegiate level it’s a different mindset for Hildreth than she had in high school. At Byron High School in Byron, she said she would focus on setting personal records in her races because the race would start and she’d already be far ahead of the competition.

Coming out of high school Hildreth “had a few” collegiate offers but chose NIU because she “loved the team and it’s close to home.”

Calm, cool and collected

Lucas said when she first met Hildreth during cross country season in the fall semester her biggest takeaway was the composure Hildreth presented herself with.

“She’s very calm and collected,” Lucas said. “A lot of freshmen, I feel, can get overwhelmed by coming from high school and being a big dog to coming to college and there’s a lot of good people. She doesn’t ever seem fearful of her competition. It’s just like any other race, even if it’s a big race it’s just like any other day.”

That mentality will be put to the test when Hildreth takes to the course Saturday at the Illini Classic in Urbana. Normally running long-distance races, she’ll be running the mile for the first time collegiately at the indoor meet.

“That’s not really my strongest event, so I’m just excited to see what I can do in that and have a lot of competition,” Hildreth said.

Sold on Hildreth

Whether or not Hildreth breaks another school record this weekend, she’s already earned from her teammates the respect of a seasoned, veteran runner.

“We knew coming in that she was obviously really good,” Savage said. “We knew her times. But, I never expected her to come in and start, first attempts, just breaking these records. It’s really exciting, and I love having her on the team. She just sets the standard higher than it has been probably ever before. I love that.”