On Jan. 28 the Ohio Valley Conference named the junior hurdler Nathan Kirby as OVC men’s track athlete of the week.

Kirby, who’s from Catlin, Illinois has been running since he was a child but developed hurdles when he was in high school. Kirby’s family also hurdled, so that’s where he found the love for it.

Nathan is his first name, but he goes by Kirby because in high school there were three different Nathans on the team, and people referring to him by last name stuck ever since then.

During the 2025 outdoor season Kirby won 1st team All-OVC in the 110 hurdles.

In this Q&A, Kirby shares how his dad was his first coach, if he has a favorite lane, and how got partnerships with Comfrt and Hollister.

Q: At what age did you start running competitively?
A: “High school, I’ve been doing it kind of all my life with my siblings.”

Q: Did you always run and hurdle?
A: “Yep, yeah. I did some other stuff like relays and random sprints, but my main [event] was always hurdling. My whole family also hurled, so it got passed down to me.”

Q: What first drew you to hurdling instead of other track events?
A: “Definitely my family. All three of my siblings did it. My dad, too. So, definitely my family.”

Q: Did you enjoy your dad being your first coach?
A: I did enjoy it until I was tired after the two practices and wanted to go home and play a game, and he wouldn’t let me. Until I did it right, but other than that, yeah, I wouldn’t have been where I am today without him.”

Q: What’s the hardest technical skill to master as a hurdler?
A: “Speed in between the hurdles, for sure. Lead arms, trail arms, like legs, all that, you know. Not hard to do, but coming at a 42-inch high object full speed kind of gets scary.”

Q: What’s more challenging for you: the start, the middle hurdles, or the finish?
A: “The start, for sure. That’s stuff I’ve been working on yesterday and last week because I just need to get out a lot faster and quicker. But everything else is pretty easy for me.”

Q: What was your reaction about being men’s indoor track athlete of the week two weeks ago?
A: “I was grateful for it, and I was happy. But there’s still work that needs to be done, and even though I PR’d, I should have ran faster.”

Q: What is your personal record?
A: “8.06”

Q: What are your goals for your outdoor season?
A: “Sub 14, school record, which will lead me into regionals, and then hopefully after I get to regionals, I qualify for nationals.”

Q: How do you mentally prepare for a big meet?
A: “I just kind of go in thinking it’s, practice. So, the stuff at Notre Dame, I was just kind of in the blocks, thinking it’s, like, practice. Just go in there, work on the stuff I’ve been working on, and it helps out, calms me down a little bit, too.”

Q: Do you have a favorite hurdle lane?
A: “No lane really matters. I just like to be somewhere where they’re, like, their arms are the same as mine, so they’re not opposite so they’re not hitting each other.”

Q: If you weren’t running what sport would you play?
A: “You know, I’m too short for basketball. I’m too skinny for football. Baseball sucks. It’s too slow and boring. But I’d have to say I’d hopefully be bulking up and keep the speed, and I’d try some football, like a receiver. But if I’m being honest, I’d probably just be at home playing the game. Or, E-sports.”

Q: What is your favorite game?
A: “I throw Fortnite around in there a little bit, but not as much since it’s not as popular. But, yeah, Fortnite, you got GTA, of course, Rocket League, and Road to Champ.”

Q: If you could race any professional hurdler, who would it be?
A: “Grant Holloway or Trey Cunningham.”

Q: Why those two?
A: “Grant Holloway is the best to ever do it besides Aries Mary. He hasn’t gotten the world record yet, but he’s close. He knows a lot, so it would be good after he beats me to ask him some questions about the race. I’d say the same with Trey Cunningham.”

Q: Do you have any secret talents?
A: “I can solve a Rubik’s Cube in under a minute. My fastest time in high school is like 14 seconds.”

Q: Who are your biggest supporters?
A: “Definitely, my family, my mom, my dad, and my teammates, and my coaches, but mainly, you know, family.”

Q: Why do you say your family?
A: “I mean, anytime I’ve needed something, I’ll go on the internet and find stuff that will show me, this is what I need to get better and faster. I’ll be like, mom, I need this, and she’ll just get it for me. She says if it makes me run faster, she’ll do it, you know, so she always helps me out. Like I said, my dad used to be my kind of coach all throughout high school”

Q: Who’s the funniest person on the team?
A: “I’d love to say myself. But I would definitely have to say, Coach Gildon. He is funny. He’s the type of smart person he’ll roast you without you knowing he’s roasting you, and then you’ll just sit there, and once you think about it, you’re like, yep.”

Q: How did your partnership with Comfrt and Hollister come about?
A: “The Comfort one, I filled out for it because I kind of like the Comfrt stuff, so I was like how can I get some cheap free stuff. Then the Hollister one, they just emailed me. The app called Post Game allows you to sign up for random stuff on there and it automatically puts you in there. And so they just emailed me asking for that one.”

Q: How do these brands fit your personal style and lifestyle as an athlete?
A: “I’d say Comfort fits me just because, most of the time I’m wearing just sweats and hoodies, and their stuff is comfortable. But then when I do like to not dress up or anything, show off a slightly calm little fit, I like Hollister just because they got a lot of the graphic tees and boxy stuff. ”

Q: Who’s your top three musical artists?
A: “Drake, ESDeeKid, BAKJ.”

Q: What is your favorite song by each of them?
A: “Virginia Beach by Drake, Four Raws by ESDeeKid, and Reap by BAKJ.”

Q: How do you like your steak cooked?
A: “Medium well.”

Q: What has been your favorite memory with the team thus far?
A: “I’d have to say when we travel. Oh, yeah. We were in the hotel room at Grand Valley. And on some road trips, I will bring my PS5, and the night before, it would be me, Dan[iel[, Lacey, Billy [Bailey], Tyler Miller, and Josh Berry. But we’d have Fortnite going on in there. We’d literally rearrange the entire hotel room just so we could fit a TV around.”

Q: Knowing everything you know now, what would you tell your 10-year-old self?
A: “Definitely eat healthier and buy a kid the weight room more because, yeah, I’d be an animal if I was doing that then. I didn’t hit the weight room until college.So if I would have locked in during high school, shit, maybe I would have been a football star.”

Payton Liggins can be reached at 581-2812 or at [email protected].