Catching Up With Hugh Williams '22

Here he was, though, a freshman at Hamilton College, doing all that he could to step up to the next level when stepping, period, had become a challenge.

 

The 2022 Collegiate graduate had enjoyed success as a middle- and long-distance runner at his alma mater, but now he was sidelined with a stress reaction in his right foot, which relegated him to a season of cross training, watching, and cheering his new teammates when he would rather be out there with them.

 

Turns out his dark cloud had a silver lining.

 

The setback occurred when he was starting to wonder if he was actually cut out for college running. In early workouts, the guy who had been a leader in Collegiate’s program found himself in the back of the pack, even though he’d done Coach Brett Hull’s summer workouts, which required weeks of 40-50 miles, an increase from the 30-35 miles in high school.

 

If anything, Williams is tough, resilient, and possessed of an uncommon competitive spirit. His fall on the sideline presented an opportunity to clarify and recalibrate. The best, he discovered, was ahead.

 

“By the time track came around, I could run the 800 again,” he said. “I was put in a position for my freshman debut to run a race that I was good at. I felt like my body was more attuned to the 800 [than 8K cross country races]. Once I got to track, I felt like this was where I was supposed to be. That gave me some comfort knowing that I actually did belong on the team.”

 

At Collegiate, Williams’s personal best in the open 800 was 2:02.73. A regular on the 4x800 team that was one of the best in the state, he’d recorded a two-minute-flat relay leg. In his college debut, he ran 2:01.31 in the Utica Winter Opener on Jan. 14, 2023.

 

Since then, Williams has made solid contributions to the Continentals’ track and cross country programs. He lowered his personal best 800 to 1:58.98 in the David Hemery Valentine Invite in Boston and has run a 1:57.57 relay leg.

 

As a sophomore, he established PRs of 4:32.96 in the mile and 4:15.88 in the 1500. He’s regularly run the 1200 leg of the Continentals’ distance medley relay, which has placed well in New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) competition.

 

This past cross country season, he recorded personal bests of 16:41.90 over 5K and 27:13 over 8K and was honored as his team’s most improved runner.

 

One recent evening during a break between seasons, Williams, a dean’s list student pursuing a double major in math and music, spoke of his journey, the joy he derives from running, and the team experience.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

~Weldon Bradshaw