Athlete of the Year: Holden Hammontree

Not many Exonians can boast that they went undefeated for four years in a sport, that they were a tri-varsity captain their senior year and that they ran a 4:48 mile as just a lower. In fact, four year senior Holden Hammontree is likely the only one who can boast of these facts and possesses charisma, humor and dilligence, as well as say he left a mark and legacy at Exeter as he graduates this year.

Hammontree’s career in running began in seventh grade. His middle school did not have a cross country team, so his mom instead signed him up for a high school team on which he competed for two years. While adjusting to a team of older, unfamiliar faces was tough at first, he soon discovered his passion for running after a “monstrous” season in 8th grade.

However, after graduating from middle school, things only got tougher. At his old school, the culture felt laid back. At Exeter, Hammontree found the opposite. His teammates were eager to train hard and breed championships and the workouts were long and tough. Yet Hammontree’s competitive attitude allowed him to embrace this new culture as he sought to improve. He now runs cross-country, winter track and spring track each year.

“Everyone was nuts about putting in work here,” he said. “I loved that and honestly took it a little bit too far my prep year. But it was just new training, and I embraced it wholeheartedly.”

Hammontree’s strong work ethic continued throughout his four years of Exeter running. According to senior and teammate Kenny Berger, Hammontree has a “winning mentality” that carries past games and practices and seeps into all areas of his life. Berger described this mentality, as well as how Hammontree fosters it.

“Everything he does is for the team,” Berger said. “He wants to win. He sleeps like an athlete. He eats like an athlete. He practices like an athlete. But his constant preparation pays off in the games where he always excels.”

Senior Will Li agreed with Berger. According to Li, every summer the team keeps training logs to track their work and shares them with their teammates. Holden’s log is always long, etched with high numbers of mileage and intense workouts. Li has seen this drive in Hammontree during the four years they have run together and has been inspired by it to push himself harder.

Similarly to Hammontree’s work ethic, his great pride and confidence each year have served as a moral booster for his teams. Sports have always been a “pride element” in his life as well as a “confidence booster,” especially when he was younger. While they sometimes can get “crazy hard,” Hammontree contributes a large part of his character to the different sports he has played.

It was at Exeter that sports had the biggest impact on Hammontree’s life. During his first cross country season, Hammontree struggled with his body. He put himself through continuous workouts, and consequently “over-trained.” During the Exeter-Andover match at the end of the season, he experienced a dip in his performances, followed by a cut from interschols.

This put Hammontree down for a while, but through the encouragement of teammates and older mentors he pushed through and ran a varsity-level time at JV interschols. According to him, there were multiple students both on and off the field who “took him under their wing.” He wanted to thank these students for teaching him how to come back fighting as well as how to lead a group.

“There are so many natural leaders around campus, and I have definitely taken a piece or two from each one of them,” Hammontree said. “This place solidified my confidence in both my running skills and my ability to lead.”

Li described Hammontree’s continuous support and care for the different running teams as one of the biggest reasons for their recent success. According to Li, he “dreams really big.”

Hammontree’s high expectations, as well as his continued success, encouraged team members to work hard and believe in themselves, resulting in a stronger team.

Indeed, many of Hammontree’s teammates define him as a strong leader and friend. He not only knows how to teach his teammates ways to cut their mile time, he also prioritizes their happiness on the team and works hard to foster a close environment for his squads.

“Our cross country team is like a fraternity, a brotherhood of guys,” upper Soren Blomquist-Eggerling said.

“Holden is the guy who is always getting us all onto certain jokes and setting the tenor for the group. People look up to him for that reason.”

Upper Tom Appleton agreed with Blomquist-Eggerling. He described Hammontree’s personality as a perfect balance between “being goofy and acting as a serious captain.”

“He has this great blend of humour and leadership qualities,” Appleton said. “As a teammate, I have never really seen him get angry at someone or be down in the dumps. He is always positive and always there for anything you really need.”

For Hammontree, his three running teams have always provided a strong group of friends who he can fall back on during stressful times. Cross country, winter track and spring track all share the same core group of people. He described the group and what makes them such a unique crowd.

“We are a jokester team,” he said. “Not only do we run faster than groups have in the past, we just have a better time. Some describe our relationship as if we were in a dorm, but I like to think that it’s been taken a little bit to the next level.”

This year, Hammontree has been especially impressed by the chemistry of the teams, especially in track. According to him, track meets are different because they include seventeen vastly different events. He described the bus trips like having a football, soccer, and baseball team all on one bus. While some years this extensive diversity has kept a separation between parts of the team, this year the team has become a strong group, making them much more fun to compete with.

According to Hammontree’s teammates, he is an essential part of this team chemistry, especially when it comes to including the new kids. Post-graduate Francis Betz was worried he would be looked at differently than the rest of the seniors, but Betz quickly found himself a home on the cross country team, and Hammontree was on the of the main guys that made sure he felt like he truly fit in.

“I couldn’t imagine anyone on the team not liking Holden,” Betz said.

“He was always someone trying to make everyone else feel good. He is always thinking about other people,” he added.

Even as a senior this year, Hammontree was still looking ahead to the future of the team in an effort to be a good friend, as well as to foster a successful mentality in all of the future running stars.

“He is always looking ahead to the future,” Appleton said.

“Even though he is graduating, in terms of new guys on the team, I felt he was just as accepting and encouraging as prior years.”

Students around campus will be sad to see him leaving Exeter now. Li wanted to thank Hammontree for all of the memories he has provided him, and for being such an “integral part of [his] Exeter experience.”

“I would like to thank him as a person and as a friend for being that guy who makes me laugh and will kiss me on the cheek out of no where,” Li said.

Li continued. “I am going to miss him next fall when we leave Exeter.”

Hammontree was also sad to say goodbye to all of the teammates and coaches that have made up such an important part of his life for the past four years. Without them, his Exeter experience would have been completely different.

“I am really going to miss my teams,”  Hammontree said. “The kids, they are just hilarious. I really can’t imagine that there are too many more fun guys out there. I am so glad I got to spend time with all, and even though most of them will only be a phone call away, it won’t be quite the same.”