FEATURED SENIOR ATHLETE: Levi Hilton, Cloverdale

Levi is a senior at Cloverdale and participates in three sports, football, basketball and baseball.

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Banner Graphic: How important are sports to you, and what have you learned from them?

Levi Hilton: “They’re very important for me. They motivate me to do well in everything because I don’t think I’d care as much about a lot of things if it weren’t for sports. They’re a getaway from a lot of things in life. I’ve always played sports and learned a lot of things, like how to interact with people and how to get along with others.”

BG: Talk about your sports.

LH: “Football is something new for me. Coach Lotz has come in wanting to change the culture and I wanted to be a part of that. Basketball has been the hardest for me because I wanted to take a year off from it, and I did, but I came back to it because Cloverdale basketball is a great experience and something the school takes a lot of pride in. Baseball is my main sport and my favorite. I have a passion for that sport more than any other.”

BG: What’s the most embarrassing thing that has happened to you in sports?

LH: “The most embarrassing thing was shooting the basketball off the bottom of the goal at South Putnam.”

BG: What does your game day routine look like?

LH: “I have to make sure I have all the drip for the field. I have to make sure and have it organized in my car. Me and a teammate will always go to subway and play our music in the weight room.”

BG: Regardless of how it is the case, Cloverdale is the last team playing and the only team playing in the second week of the postseason. What’s it mean to get this extra week of practice?

LH: “As a team, this has been one of our better weeks of practice, having a chip on our shoulders of wanting to change the culture and do better. Being the only team practicing this week, we’re going to take advantage of this week, even if we don’t win Friday night.”

BG: Do you have any favorite college/pro sports teams or athletes you follow?

LH: “I really enjoy watching Bryce Harper play a lot. I like his swagger and complete energy.”

BG: What else do you do at school besides things involving sports?

LH: “No club. I just play sports here.”

BG: What do you like to do outside of school and sports?

LH: “I do photography for the girls’ teams as I can’t do it for the guys’ teams. Everyone should have an enjoyable experience and pictures are something they like. I enjoy snapping pictures and getting pictures of myself playing.”

BG: What are your favorites in movies, TV and music?

LH: “I like all music genres, including country, hip hop and rap. As for movies, I’m a big ‘Harry Potter’ guy as well as ‘The Fast and the Furious.’”

BG: Are you a person that wants to watch TV shows and movies or stream something from YouTube, Twitch, TikTok etc.?

LH: “Probably the social media route but if I have a couple of hours free, I’m likely to be cooking something up in the kitchen.”

BG: What is something you have never done before that you would like to do someday?

LH: “I want to go see Hollywood and stand on the Hollywood sign.”

BG: What is your biggest fear?

LH: “Snakes.”

BG: You’ve been placed in charge of making dinner. What’s on the menu?

LH: “I just call it a breakfast bowl but it’s potatoes, bacon, sausage and cheese, in layers, and put it in a bowl.”

BG: Do you have any pets?

LH: “No pets.”

BG: If your house were on fire, all living things were already out and you have your keys, cell phone, wallet/purse etc., what is one thing you would go back and get?

LH: “I’d definitely going to grab my favorite blanket.”

BG: If you were to describe your personality in one word, what would that word be and why?

LH: “Independent. I don’t like to rely on people for things and tend to do my own thing.”

BG: What has been your favorite place to visit?

LH: “I got to play baseball down at Pirate City in Bradenton, Fla. It’s the spring training facility for Pittsburgh.”

BG: What was your favorite school field trip?

LH: “The (Indianapolis) Indians game my seventh grade year.

BG: How important is support from your family and classmates to your success?

LH: “It’s important to my family because I’m the only one in my family who is athletically involved in sports. I’ve also, unfortunately, been the most successful academically in my family. My friends are there for me if I need anything in sports. They also help me in the classroom.”

BG: Describe your overall school experience both academically and athletically.

LH: “It’s been a really good experience. I’ve had my troubles here and there academically but athletically, even though a lot of people put down on Cloverdale, we have the most well-rounded chemistry of any school. No one has what Cloverdale has. We’re working really hard here due to changes at the school but things are coming around.”

BG: If your school was to offer a class it currently doesn’t, what would you want to see taught?

LH: “Learning German would be cool.”

BG: What are your plans for after high school, and what career are you headed toward?

LH: “I’ve recently committed to play collegiate baseball at Trine University and will study exercise science there as I plan to do something like be a strength coach at high school or college level like Coach Lotz does.

BG: Is it difficult to keep up with your school work being an athlete?

LH: “Very. There are some times that we go very late, especially during basketball season, and you’re so mentally drained that it’s hard at times. I do have to balance it, though, to keep playing in high school.”

BG: Which particular classes and teachers have helped you the most in high school?

LH: “Mrs. Meluch, my anatomy and physiology teacher, and Mrs. Hoffman, old chemistry, have always been there for everything in my life, whether it was school, sports or just overall guidance.”

BG: In the future, once you’ve established yourself, if you had your choice, would you want to live in the mountains, on the beach or in the neighborhood?

LH: “I honestly want to be somewhere in the city, which is something you can’t get around here and is something I want to experience sometime in my life.”

BG: Do you think high school has gone fast, and are you going to miss it?

LH: “High school definitely has gone by fast but I’m definitely excited for my future.”