Coming to Amherst
It wasn't until winning the Virginia state cross country championship as a high school junior that the Richmond native began to focus on her marquee sport. She repeated the feat in her senior campaign, and shortly after defending her title came the college application process. Even after applying to nine schools, Hamill knew there was something special about the Fairest College. "I knew in the back of my mind I wanted to come here, but I had some other great options I didn't want to overlook," said Hamill. "I couldn't be happier with my decision. Amherst has definitely gone above and beyond my expectations." No doubt, the same could be said of Hamill.
Despite the young runner's consecutive state championships, Head Coach Erik "Ned" Nedeau saw room for improvement. "Her running experience was fairly limited, and I had a hunch that she was going to be the kind of runner who would really blossom here at Amherst," said Nedeau.
Fast out of the gate
And blossom she did. In her first race as a Jeff, Hamill paced the women's cross country team at the Little Three Championship against Williams College and Wesleyan University. That first season in the Pioneer Valley, Hamill led the Jeffs at NESCACs and NCAAs, and in doing so, she claimed her first All-American certificates.
In her staggering inaugural campaign, the first-year phenom set school records in the 1500-, 3000- and 5000-meter runs. The race that defined Hamill's rookie season, however, came at the 2002 Indoor NCAA Championship. "[Coach Nedeau] and I traveled out to the middle of nowhere, and I didn't really have any clue what I was doing," remembered Hamill of her trip to Ohio Northern University. Of course, she could have fooled her competition, as she captured the national title in the 5000-meter run, her first time atop the podium at Nationals and her second All-American award.
Excelling on the fast track
Because of her Div. III domination, Hamill has had the opportunity to compete at the prestigious Penn Relays, a meet frequented by the best runners in the world. The Amherst harrier fit right in, competing in both her junior and senior seasons in the 10,000-meter run against all NCAA divisions as well as Olympic developmental runners. This year, Hamill was phenomenal, embarrassing her old school-record time by a double-take inducing 37 seconds! Her mark of 34.05:31 was good enough to beat every college runner in the field and claim second amongst the Olympic development crew.
A humble champion
When asked to name the best races of her career, this year's Penn Relays performance was surprisingly low on the list, behind a story that speaks volumes to Hamill's priorities. At last year's indoor national championship, Hamill won her second national title, again in the 5000, in a blistering site record 16:46.63. An hour removed from dusting her 5k competition by 30 seconds, Hamill led off the distance medley relay team on its way to a second-place finish. Of all the wins she has accumulated, the one race that was most important to her earned its merit based on her team's success.
Despite her breathtaking accomplishments, Hamill has remained "a down to Earth person," according to Nedeau. Maybe that's partly why she just keeps getting better. Even for the most determined and passionate athletes, dominance often breeds complacency. In Hamill's case, such a contented satisfaction would have surely been easy, but not with Hamill's mentality. "Carter has an amazing work ethic and tons of desire to reach her highest potential," said teammate Shauneen Garrahan '07. "Whenever she races, Carter likes to go to the front and you can see on her face that she is determined to win."
Hamill also is working to pass her knowledge and experience on to a new crew of Jeffs. "As a co-captain she offers encouragement for everyone, she is always watching others race and cheering for them," said teammate Alison Rodriguez '05. "But she also leads by example. Her successes drive the rest of us to work harder." Hamill's leadership is most evident in the success of Garrahan, her fellow Virginian. "Shauneen has become a tremendous runner during her first two years and a lot of that has got to do with the training and leadership that Carter provided," said Nedeau.
Rarified air
Obviously, Hamill has won too many races, set too many records and touched too many people to list. There are two possible accomplishments, however, that put what she has done into perspective. First, she could become only the second person in NCAA history-regardless of division-to earn All-American honors every season for all four years. In addition, she could become the first person in NCAA history to earn All-American honors in every race that she has run for all four seasons of cross country and indoor and outdoor track. In other words, Hamill has a chance to do something that running giants never did-not Jim Ryun, not Mary Decker Slaney and not even Steve Prefontaine.
But Hamill will be remembered by her friends and coaches for more than her blazing times. It's telling that her coach's first words about his star did not focus on athletics. "She has been an incredible runner, and an even better person and will be someone who I will miss tremendously once she is gone," said Nedeau. "As a coach, you spend a great deal of time with your athletes, and it is always tough to watch them leave, but certainly with Carter, I think it is quite a bit tougher to say good bye."