Photo submitted by Coby Hilton: Marshall native Coby Hilton runs along a track while training in Paris. Hilton will be competing at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Eugene, Ore. tonight with the hope of qualifying for an opportunity to represent the United States at the Olympics in Paris in July.

EUGENE, Ore. — Marshall will have some local interest in the second day of the United States Olympic track and field trials tonight. Coby Hilton, a 2016 graduate of Marshall High School and a 2021 graduate of South Dakota State University, will be participating in the 100-meter dash preliminaries tonight with the opportunity to represent the U.S. at the Olympic Games in Paris in July.

“I definitely feel a lot more confident going into this one compared to the other events that I’ve been to, mainly because I just finished a circuit in Europe,” Hilton said. “[I was] racing people just as fast as me or a little bit faster than me, so I definitely feel more prepared this go-around than I have been.”

Hilton holds the Marshall High School record in the 100-meter dash. After having run a 10.97-second 100-meter dash at the 2016 Section 2AA championships to finish as the runner-up, he improved for a personal-best time of 10.95 at the Class AA state championships to finish 12th, setting a Marshall record that still stands today in the process. 

From there, Hilton only continued to grow. He ran a 10.23 in his senior year of college and won the Summit League Outdoor Championships with a 10.29 in his preliminary and a 10.37 in the finals.

Since his prep and college career, Hilton has continued to train. Now a Tracksmith sprinter based out of Colorado Springs, he’s qualified five times for the U.S. Championships and twice for the finals.

“I think I’ll be able to keep my cool a lot more. I’ve just had more experience this year than I’ve had in the past, so that just adds on to my confidence and readiness for the situation,” Hilton said.

On May 17, Hilton picked up his first international win at the Liese Prokop Memorial in St. Polten, Austria with a time of 10.16. He recalled then flying over to Paris the next morning, where he went on to pick up his second international win with a time of 10.17 at a race in France, finishing 0.9 seconds ahead of the runner-up.

“It was an experience. I had gotten along really well with the people that I was running against so I think that kind of helped ease the pressure,” Hilton said. “I saw them more as friends than my competition. But when I crossed that finish line, I was very, very happy… It just makes me feel like I belong and that I’m ready.”

Hilton’s top finish at the USA Track and Field Championships came at the 2022 indoor championships, where he placed seventh in the 60-meter dash. He set his personal-best time in the 100 meters a few months later when he ran a 10.14 100-meter dash at the Air Cadet Twilight Open in Colorado Springs, Co. He unofficially matched that time this year on May 19 in France just a week after running a 10.15 in Graz, Austria. 

Today marks the second day of the US Olympic Trials. The first heat of the mens 100-meter dash is scheduled to begin at 8:20 p.m. From there, the semifinals will be held on Sunday at 7:48 p.m. and the finals are slated for 9:49 p.m.

“[I’m looking forward to] just getting the experience under my belt,” Hilton said. “I’ve never done a trial before, this is just a little bit different than going to a USA championship. So I’m going to savor just being there and being blessed that I’m even able to qualify for this stuff. From my perspective, a lot of people have hit my phone up and been like, ‘Heyman, that’s so cool that you’re going to the trials, that’s such a cool experience.’ For me, it’s kind of like I expected it. I would have been upset if I didn’t make it. So it’s hard for me to really take in the moment and be like, ‘Oh man, I’m at the Olympic trials,’ because that’s what I expected out of myself. I mostly see it as a day in the office, just going out there and doing what I’ve been doing.”

Coverage of the event is available on NBC or Peacock starting at 8 p.m. on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. on Sunday.