Central Valley's Joseph Hilton battling for top spot in triple jump entering state meet

Excellence is a theme throughout the life of Central Valley senior Joseph Hilton.

Anything he does is top shelf.

It’s taken Hilton longer, though, to reach his desired caliber in track and field. More specifically, triple and long jumps.

Hilton will contend for 3A state championships in both events Thursday through Saturday at Mount Tahoma High School in Tacoma.

This is the fourth straight year he’s qualified for state in the triple jump, his favorite event. He’s a first-time qualifier in the long jump.

A two-time medalist in the triple jump, Hilton took seventh as a sophomore and sixth last year. But he’s aiming for gold this week.

For good reason. Midway through the season he leaped a career-best 47 feet, 1¾ inches, breaking the 37-year-old school record (46-11¼).

Hilton was No. 1 in 3A for five weeks until Carmelo Roper of Timberline jumped 47-5 last week. He took fifth at state last year, a spot ahead of Hilton.

Roper and Hilton are the lone returning state medalists.

Hilton is excited about facing off with Roper at state.

“I don’t know him incredibly well but I remember him from state,” Hilton said of Roper. “He made 45 and I was flirting with the 44-foot mark. He went past me (as state leader) Friday so now he gets to go into state as the No. 1 seed. There’s certainly some motivation there.”

Not so much to beat Roper but to beat himself. Hilton believes he hasn’t reached his potential.

Hilton said that even on his school-record jump, not all the phases in the event’s five-phase process were sharp.

“It was not a great jump,” Hilton said. “I had a lot of speed (down the runway), but there really wasn’t much jump to it. My arms were out of whack and my legs didn’t drive. That’s part of the reason why I’m convinced I can be going further. It was the best I had ever done while not feeling like the best I could do.”

Hilton understands the paradox.

At 6-foot-4 with sprinter-like speed, Hilton is built to triple jump. His long strides get him to the first board quickly, allowing him to start his vault off his left foot. Then the in-between jump is more like a hop off his left foot and the third jump he plants off his right foot leaping into the pit.

He’s dealt with a sciatic issue the last month. After hitting 46-2 on his first jump in the finals at the District 6 meet last week, he passed on his final two attempts to be fresh for the long jump.

In a competitive final, Hilton won with 22-¼, three quarters of an inch shy of his personal best.

“At this point, I’m dealing with it,” Hilton said of the sciatic flare up. “I’m either at a spot where it’s manageable or I’m rounding a corner to where it won’t be an issue at state.”

Hilton has impressed his coach throughout the season.

“You’ve seen it before where coaches like me tell you about an amazing kid and I know sometimes the meaning gets lost, but Joseph really is amazing,” CV coach Chuck Bowden said. “I can’t sing his praises enough.”

Hilton has made a four-foot improvement in the triple this season.

Bowden smiles when Hilton talks about being hungry for more.

“My (47-1¾) came very early in the season,” Hilton said. “I’ve gotten stronger since then. I haven’t had a meet where I’ve been … we’ll call it healthy. So I’m excited to go jump with adrenaline and theoretically the health that will come this week.”

Hilton envisions a distance he can reach.

“I would be incredibly happy to go 49,” he said. “I’ve had several approaches (to the board) where I’ve gotten myself to the point that if I just carry the last jump then I’m landing somewhere around 49 feet or further.”

In an attempt to nurse his injury along and not aggravate it, Hilton hasn’t attempted an all-out jump in practice or meets.

“I’ve been building towards something instead of trying to put out the final product,” Hilton said. “It’s now time to switch that.”

Hilton has bought into a challenge Bowden puts before all of his athletes every year.

“I believe him when he says he feels he hasn’t had his best jump,” Bowden said. “There has not been a young man on our team that has competed better and we’ve had a good season of kids really competing. When I stand in front of kids and ask them to compete, I’d rather they aim high and miss rather than aim low and hit.”

Hilton is seeded to medal in the long jump, and he expects a career-best effort in that event at state as well.

Giving his best applies to every facet of his life. Here’s a snapshot of Hilton the student:

He will graduate with a 4.0 grade-point average, having taken seven advance placement courses and scored 1,560 out of 1,600 on the SAT, a college entrance test. He is CV’s valedictorian.

He served as ASB president this year.

He qualified for regional and state competition as an orchestral musician. He plays the bass, which stands a foot taller than him. He self taught himself starting in the fifth grade. (He can also play piano and guitar.)

He was CV’s Greater Spokane League Male Scholar Athlete of the Year.

He will attend Baylor University in Waco, Texas, and plans to earn a double major in applied mathematics and religion and a minor in music. Through a merit scholarship and financial aid he has the $96,000 yearly tuition covered.

Hilton wears his Christian faith on his sleeve, hosting bible studies for friends. He could see himself as a pastor some day along with a combination of all of his interests.

He understands the term student-athlete.

As his team headed to Tacoma on Wednesday morning, Hilton stayed behind to do a three-hour test in AP government. Upon completion, Hilton rode to state in a school van with athletic director Robin Barnhart.

Hilton was supposed to take the AP test the day the GSL championships were held May 5, but he had to reschedule. Then the rescheduled date was fouled up and Hilton had no choice but to take the test Wednesday morning.

Hilton knew Bowden wasn’t pleased with the conflict.

“He told me, ‘Coach, I’ve got this, I’ve got this,’ ” Bowden said. “And I have full confidence that he’s got it.”

Hilton was prepared for the AP test, and he’s poised for his final athletic exams in Tacoma.