Hamilton Reaps Benefits

FORMER ROGERS HIGH STANDOUT HELPING ARKANSAS

By Paul Boyd

Posted: November 23, 2009 at 4:40 a.m.

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FAYETTEVILLE — Aaron Hamilton came to Arkansas with plenty to prove, even to himself.

The redshirt freshman cross country runner had all kinds of self-doubt, he admitted, even though he’d enjoyed plenty of success at Rogers High.

Hamilton was a two-time state cross country champion and was named the Arkansas Gatorade Cross Country Athlete of the Year as a senior at Rogers.

He still wasn’t sure he had what it takes to run at the NCAA Division I level.

“Most definitely, I had no idea I had it in me,” Hamilton said.

Then came a redshirt season in the fall of 2008 with 100 miles per week of training and very little racing.

Hamilton has finally reaped the benefits of all that work running this season for the Razorbacks.

His first race at Missouri Southern State in Joplin, Mo., on Sept. 19, was special, but it was nothing compared to competing in the Southeastern Conference Cross Country Championships on Oct. 31.

Hamilton was the third freshman to finish (23rd overall) and Arkansas’ fifth scorer, helping his team to a strong second-place showing — just six points short of upsetting No. 6 Alabama. He was also named to the All-Freshman team for his performance.

“It was incredible for me,” Hamilton said.

Sloppy conditions caused by lots of rain played right into Hamilton’s hands.

“It was my kind of running,” Hamilton said. “It was all muddy, wet and rainy. It’s not going to be about times. ... It’s just pure competition, seeing how many you can reel in. That’s what I like to do.”

He certainly made an impression on UA cross country coach Chris Bucknam.

“He came through for us at the SEC meet. He really covered a base for us that needed to be covered,” Bucknam said. “I wouldn’t have predicted at the beginning of the year that he would have been SEC All-Freshman. But he’s a strong competitor. ... He really stepped up to the plate for us.”

Hamilton’s high school cross country coach Carlton Efurd, whose son Cameron also runs for the Razorbacks, watched the SEC meet and came away impressed.

“Oh man, I can tell you I was so proud,” Efurd said. “That was pretty cool: top five for the Razorbacks.”

The Razorbacks also rolled to the South Central Regional title two weeks later, but Hamilton didn’t perform as well. He finished 34th and was the last Razorback to cross in the 10,000-meter race.

Bucknam said the distance made the difference, even after all the hard work over the summer.

“I think the length of the race at the regional meet got to him a little bit,” Bucknam said. “He’s another year away from probably stepping up in that 10K. He’s got some work to do.”

Hamilton was not happy with his performance, but he was quick to think about the distance he had come.

“I was hoping just to make the team in the beginning,” Hamilton said. “I’m just thankful for how it turned out.”

Getting to that point was also quite a journey for Hamilton.

He decided to take up running in the eighth grade after tries at several other sports didn’t work out, he said.

“I started running in the eighth grade, when my parents told me I needed to try one more team sport before I was going to quit,” Hamilton said. “It was pretty incredible really. It was just an act of God, really, when I thought, ‘Hmmm, maybe I’ll try running.’”

Coming from what Hamilton calls a “family of couch potatoes,” he didn’t expect to have much success.

“If you have a group of kids that was going to be recruited as a D-1 athlete, you would have never guessed it was going to be me,” Hamilton said. “The whole thing has been a surprise, you know?”

Efurd was impressed with Hamilton’s perseverance. In addition, his tenacity belies a soft exterior.

“He has so much heart and is such a competitor,” Efurd said. “It doesn’t seem that way because he’s so nice, such a polite kid.

“A lot of kids would have given up. But you can’t count the heart of someone when somebody wants something.”

Bucknam said some athletes who redshirt sometimes end up quitting, but not Hamilton.

“We tell kids, it’s for your own good,” Bucknam said.”You need to develop. But some kids can’t handle it.

“He (Hamilton) handled it well. We made him go through the wringer. We made him earn his spot, and he did, without complaining.”

Hamilton admitted it hasn’t been easy. His training regimen included running 100 miles a week, after he had done only about 65 a week in high school.

The only cross country competition he ran during his first year was the Chile Pepper Festival in Fayetteville, and he didn’t run well.

Hamilton called it “disheartening” at times since he wasn’t able to race and provide himself tangible proof of improvement from all the training.

“I didn’t know if I was Division I material,” Hamilton said. “I didn’t know if I was going to make it.”

Then came the day of his first race as a Razorback.

Hamilton said it was more a feeling of excitement, not fear. But there was obviously uncertainty. He said a teammate summed it up well.

“I was told when I came here running D-1 was like having butterflies wrapped in barbed wire,” Hamilton said. “I guess that was about it.”

Getting to opportunity to run for the highly decorated Arkansas cross country program and performing at the SEC Championships was really a dream come true for a young man growing up in Northwest Arkansas.

“It’s something I really can’t articulate how big it is,” Hamilton said.

Hamilton won’t run at today’s NCAA meet for the Razorbacks, but he’s still hopeful for the future.

“I really just hope to keep improving and contribute,” Hamilton said. “Honestly, I have no idea how far I can go. The whole thing has been a surprise. The more I ran this season, the better I felt.”

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