Athlete of the Week: Holden Hammontree

Cross Country is a sport characterized by endurance, camaraderie and competition. To the general crowd, running is a monotonous action. However, Cross Country is a source of memories, stories, and laughter for the members of the Big Red team. Throughout the fall season, runners, regardless of whether they are preps or seniors, whether raining or shining, always run together in a pack, making jokes and sharing their daily life stories. Among these runners, is Holden Hammontree, a senior from Clover, South Carolina.Hammontree came to the Academy knowing he was an accomplished runner for his age. However, upon entering the Big Red Cross Country team, a powerhouse in the New England Country Scene, as a young and a less experienced runner on a very deep team, he was immersed in a whole other world. “When I showed up here, Max Payson reigned supreme over all of Exeter distance running. He was, in short, an absolute boss and everything a captain is supposed to be: outgoing, knowledgeable, and brave.”Hammontree continued “After every bad patch of running I've ever had, Michael Jordan's famous quote keeps coming up, ‘I've failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed.’”True to Jordan’s words, the ability to conquer the challenges marks the difference between a good athlete and a great athlete. Hammontree, unlike most, views his early challenges as sources of opportunities and room for improvement. In his words, “I was really given a chance to become a, ‘student of the game.’”Coach Brandon Newbould remembers his first encounters with Hammontree as a memorable one. “He was a goofball when he first came in but at the same time he was a very hardworking athlete and as a result he progressed very quickly. And I'd also say he was very notable for his ambition and his initiative right away.”In fact, Hammontree’s unrivaled desire to become a better runner that allowed him to grow into one of the core members of the power-house Exeter Track team. His teammate and a dear friend, senior Quincy Tichenor said, “He's got demons. We all do. But Holden takes matters into his own hands and just lays it all out there, trying to [address] what's been chasing him all these years. You can see it on his face when you look back mid-race, and you can hear it in the way he whispers ‘Ache Te Vitu’ in his sleep. He's a remarkable competitor.”Coach Newbould agrees that Holden is a fierce competitor but had some technical problems. “At first, he had some comical deficiencies. But over time his notable ambition and work ethic allowed him to fix those issues.”Hammontree of today sounds like a naturally talented runner. However, every athlete has to pay the price to accomplish their goals; and Hammontree was no exception.Going into his upper year, Hammontree worked endlessly to become the runner that he always dreamt of being. “I remember coming into my upper year excited and ready to make the breakthrough from solid sophomore to a true national caliber stud.”Perhaps this is when the saying “Life isn’t fair” applies. “As the season got going and even in the first couple practices of the year, I noticed my legs just weren't where they should've been. I was training hard, focused, and seemingly ready to perform, but it just never panned out. I tried everything, visualization, losing weight, heck, I even stretched for the first time in my life. Nothing worked, and I just kept getting worse.”But nothing stops Holden Hammontree. “I was shred up, mentally, physically, but things worth doing don't seem to relent when you're tired or feel like quitting. So, I listened to what my teammates had to say, what my coaches told me I needed to do, and I did what I could to execute. We won the meet and for the first time in my endurance sports career I went to the well to support those that coddled me when I needed it.”With the Interscholastic Championship, his cross country season came to an end. “It was winter, and XC was over. I was still completely and utterly depressed by some mishap, some reason I wasn't able to accomplish my goals. I took it too personally, but that's just me. I hate losing.”Facing his own demons, Hammontree became a workhorse. “Transitioning into indoor track, I just become this animal, putting workouts and mileage down like a bad habit. I got in the races with the collegiates and NH guys and just tried to race with all I'd got.”After months of running in the dusty and dimly lit Thompson Cage, the time for the final race of the year began fast approaching. “It was a open/professional meet and it was just Randal Hernandez and I plus Coach Newbould. I was nervous for the race, as it would be a good chance to put up a fast time.”He has been taming the beast inside of him for this moment. “Inside my mind though, I was so ready, so primed to wreak havoc on the track, so hungry.”The result? Holden recalls, “As we went into the final lap, I found a lower gear. I began to accelerate, a rival and friend of mine, Peter Howe of Middlesex, was on my shoulder. On the backstretch, he tried to go around me, and as we flew past Coach Newbould, he screamed, ‘you can kick with anybody!’ I just went for it, and his request to go around: denied. I threw it all, the terrible xc season, the brutal winter training, the anger that it hadn't materialized into that 100m of track. I gave it everything, and the clock read 4:02.”People who say hard work might not pay off in the end lie. Years of dedication and passion drove Holden to a new level among runners. “It was the fastest 1500m from an Exeter kid in seven years and I was absolutely stoked to finally make it to that level. To finally realize the dreams of a twelve year old me, it was surreal. I count myself lucky each and every day in training after that.”Despite his successful career, there is nothing he’d give up for his teammates. He loves racing with his teammates and celebrating victories together. It was during his struggles in particular, Hammontree learned the importance of camaraderie. He said, “The focus pivoted then from what was primarily a selfish desire to be an individual competitor to rallying and holding it together for one more race.”Close friend Tichenor believes that Hammontree is a “just beautiful, unbreakable soul until the end,” as they are “co-captains, B(est)F(riends)F(for)L(life)s, partners in crime, friendship bracelet twins, co-conspirators, and rivals.”All of his teammates and coaches admire his leadership. “Off track. His affability and friendship quality is definitely one of the best characteristics. He is a strong leader he's had a little bit of a rocky road at Exeter. He's done well but but he had a little difficulties and I think because he came over those issues he got stronger.”But Holden Hammontree’s road is far from over. He said “I enter my senior year with much unfinished business, however. I'm glad to have shed the sense of urgency, but that doesn't mean I want to compromise any of my goals for anything.”