In both of her performances this season, Katy Hillard jumped out to a quick, substantial lead. With each lap she picked up the pace and ran further out of reach.

In her first home meet of the season, Hillard cruised to a first-place finish in her heat and fourth overall in the 3,000-meters.

Last Saturday at Army, Hillard took a stab at the mile. She coasted across the finish line in first place.

How has the senior mustered such a breakout season start?

A stroke of bad luck for the Penn State women's track squad propelled Hillard to the forefront.

The Nittany Lions' dominant distance specialist Tracey Brauksieck is recovering from a disappointing cross-country season marred by injury.

Brauksieck's freshman year performance was nothing short of spectacular.

Last year she placed second in the mile at the Big Ten Indoor Championships and was a NCAA provisional qualifier in the 3,000-meters.

This season has been a different story.

Brauksieck's biggest action this season was holding the measuring tape for the shot put judges at the U.S. Coaches Association Meet.

The sophomore will finally make an appearance in competition this weekend, but don't count out Hillard just yet. There's a reason the senior was named a team captain for this season.

Hillard trains like a pit-bull.

Coming into her freshman year, Hillard was a walk-on with an athletic resume and a lot of raw potential.

The Turbotville native didn't focus solely on track at Warrior Run High School.

She did everything.

Whether it was cross-country, soccer, track or swimming Hillard was either team MVP or an all-conference performer.

Arriving at Penn State four years ago Hillard wasn't even sure she would be competing for the track squad. But she gave it a shot anyway.

There's been no turning back.

In her last semester at Penn State, Hillard's pulling out all the stops.

"This is the time to accomplish everything," she said. "It's really scary knowing this is it, you know. This is my last chance."

Hillard has really shown an edge in competition this year that reflects that senior sense of urgency.

"I knew I would be at this level of competition now, but I still expect to be better. I feel this start has been slow because I didn't train the way I wanted to over break. I had the flu, and it has been hard coming back to build my confidence," she said.

If two dominating performances are "slow" to Hillard, it's scary to think about what's coming next.

With Brauksieck returning to action, the Penn State National meet this weekend presents the toughest competition of the year so far.

"It's one thing to push yourself, but its another to have competition pushing you," Hillard said.

The senior is poised to have a memorable year, and scoring at the Big Ten Championships is a likely possibility.

While a NCAA qualifying time in the mile or 3,000-meters lies a little out of range, Hillard will hang tough.

Who knows, she might have a few surprises left this season.