Archbishop Wood's Gwen Hamilton hasn't broken stride since joining cross country
Cross country was never really Gwen Hamilton’s thing.
As a freshman, she joined the Archbishop Wood cross country team mainly to stay in shape for the winter and spring track seasons.
Two years later, after two Catholic League titles and two District XII championships, it’s safe to say she is enjoying the sport much more.
“I was never that great at cross country in grade school,” said Hamilton, who ran for the St. Albert the Great CYO team. “It’s been a lot more fun in high school, getting to run different courses and go to invitationals.”
For someone who wasn’t completely sold on cross country, it didn’t take Hamilton any time at all to adjust to high school competition.
She won her very first Catholic League batch meet last year, and continued to win every single meet during her freshman and sophomore seasons.
The only exception was last month’s race, which she requested to skip. But rest assured, she had a very good reason.
“I had tickets to the Phillies’ playoff game so I asked my coach if I could go,” said Hamiton. “It was against the Braves and they won by a lot.”
Hamilton is a huge Phillies fan and watched every inning of their playoff run. Sadly, Hamilton’s championship-winning ways didn’t rub off on her favorite team.
While Hamilton, like the rest of the region, was devastated when the Phillies lost to the Diamondbacks, she’s had plenty of other things to focus on.
Winning district and league titles has become second nature
On Oct. 26, Hamilton won her second straight District XII Class 2A Cross Country title. The week before, she won the girls individual title at the Philadelphia Catholic League Cross Country championships.
Now, Hamilton is preparing to head to Hershey on Saturday for the PIAA Cross Country championships. Last year, she finished an impressive 22nd in the Girls Class 2A race.
“I’m very excited for states even though it’s a tough course,” Hamilton said. “There are a lot of great competitors in the race, but that just pushes me to work even harder.”
Hamilton has been running competitively since second grade, following in the footsteps of her older brothers, Nick and Sean Hamilton, who ran track and cross country at Roman Catholic.
A recognizable talent
Even back then, her talent was obvious to Ed Clark, Archbishop Wood’s cross country and track-and-field coach, who first met Hamilton while he was coaching a rival CYO team.
It’s fair to say that Clark is good at spotting talent, as he coached nationally-recognized runners Gary Martin (Archbishop Wood, 2022) and Brian DiCola (Hatboro-Horsham, 2023) in CYO.
“Gwen has a quiet and steady personality which benefits her as a cross country runner,” Clark said. “She actually reminds me of Gary (Martin). She’s humble despite her success, and she is a great teammate who is friendly and gets along with everyone.”
Martin, who won multiple state championships at Wood and is currently running for the University of Virginia, reached out on Instagram to congratulate Hamilton on her accomplishments.
“It was nice to receive that message,” said Hamilton. “The support helps keep me inspired to do good things.”
In a season filled with good things, Hamilton looks to the District XII championships as her favorite moment - though not for the reason one might think.
“Our boys teams had a chance to win and make states,” Hamilton said. “We were all cheering for them and when they won we were so excited. And a few other girls also qualified for states. We all support each other and have so much fun.”
Even when she isn’t racing, Hamilton spends much of her free time running around. She enjoys taking her dog, Tucker, for runs in the park, working out at the gym, and swimming.
Running toward a bright future
After the state championships, Hamilton will begin preparing for the winter track season, and following that, spring track. Not surprisingly, Hamilton has already built quite the resume in those sports. Last winter, she won titles in the 800- and 1,600-meter runs at the indoor PCL championships, and in the spring, she won District XII and PCL titles in both the 800 and 1,600.
While winning has become second nature for Hamilton, each victory is still as exciting as the first one.
“My goals are to improve each season and never give up,” said Hamilton. “It’s always exciting to win. It never gets old.”
Hamilton appreciates all the support she’s received from her coaches, teammates, and friends, and especially her family.
“(They’ve) helped me become the runner I am today.”
Hamilton’s parents attend every meet, and her brothers made the trip from college to watch her in the district championship. And those aren’t her only devoted fans.
“My mom brings my dog, Tucker (a Lab mix) to most of my meets,” said Hamilton. “One time, she wasn’t holding his leash securely and when he saw me, he took off and joined in the race.”
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The 2023 PIAA Cross Country Championships
(*Update: See results, photos from Saturday's PIAA Cross Country Championships here.)
The cross country championships will take place on Saturday, November 4 at the Parkview Cross Country Course in Hershey, PA.
Here are some of the Bucks Country area runners that will be competing in the individual championships:
Class 3A Girls:
Shana Kearney, Bensalem; Lillian DiCola, Hatboro-Horsham; Kate Bradish, Neshaminy; Riley Rooney, CB South.
Class 2A Girls:
Gwen Hamilton, Archbishop Wood; Kate McManus, Lansdale Catholic; Megan Werner, Conwell-Egan.
Class 3A Boys:
Aidan Maue, Souderton; Cole Casedei, La Salle; Ben DiCola, La Salle; Achilles Shui, North Penn; Brady Ott, Council Rock North; Justin Landis, North Penn.
Class 2A Boys:
Matthew Gorman, Conwell-Egan; Stephen Heckler, Lansdale Catholic.
Class 1A Boys:
Andreas Quattrocchi, Bristol
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This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Archbishop Wood Gwen Hamilton wins XC titles in PCL, District 12
