Skipper Lewis steps up to become a Mountain
Lion
Hartpury U19 Football captain Lewis Hilton, who led his team to victory at the English Colleges Football championship last month, has been awarded a College Soccer scholarship at a prestigious American University.
Hilton, who is from Newquay, will graduate this week with a BTEC Diploma in Sports Performance and leave in August to start a four-year athletic scholarship at Young Harris College in the Blue Ridge Mountains of northern Georgia.
Lewis came to Hartpury after a recommendation from Hartpury alumni Jake Gosling - now a full-time professional at Exeter.
“I wanted to play at the highest standard that I could and Hartpury was the closest thing to being at a pro club.”
“My course has been great. The modules are very sport-specific and that’s what interests me and is definitely the environment that I want to eventually work in. ”
Lewis’ talent caught the attention of a number of US colleges, but it was the coaching and facilities available at Young Harris that attracted him.
Young Harris College, who sports teams are known as the Mountain Lions, has recently broken through into the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) which represents the highest levels of student sport in the USA.
The college has been aggressive in recruiting players from both within the US and from Europe, so Lewis is expecting the standard to be high.
Lewis has no doubts about the part that Hartpury has played in his success: “I’d definitely recommend it. In fact, I already have to a couple of people, one who’s in his first year here now and he’s really enjoying it too. I’ve had the best two years of my life here. It’s been superb.”
Tom Radcliffe, Hartpury’s Director of Performance Sport, added “We would like to wish Lewis every success in his American scholarship endeavours. He is a great example of Hartpury College bringing in talented athletes and improving their performances through the strong football programme we run, at the same time as winning trophies while here. He moves on to the next stage of his life with real pride as far as we are concerned.”