Bluejays’ Hamilton at ease at two miles

state track

Jackson-Milton’s athlete of the year will finish her career Saturday in Columbus.

By JOE SCALZO

Vindicator sports staff

After being named athlete of the year at Jackson-Milton’s spring banquet last week, senior Samantha Hamilton stepped up to the podium, started to talk and ... couldn’t.

“I was trying to thank my parents but I started crying,” she said. “People kept saying, ‘Sam, we’ve never seen you at a loss for words.’ ”

This quality comes in handy in interviews. With some athletes, you have to ask 10 questions to get 10 words. Hamilton will give you five minutes worth of quotes before you even ask a question.

“I could talk all day if you want to write the whole paper about me,” she said, joking (probably).

Hamilton has used that lung capacity well, emerging as one of the Valley’s top runners over the last four years. She won a Division III district title in the 1600 two weeks ago — her time of 5:12.60 was a half-second off the district record she set in 2008 — and added 3200 victories at the district and regional meets.

She’s also an All-Ohioan in cross country, having finished 11th at the state meet in November.

But Hamilton can’t shake the feeling that she hasn’t run her best in the biggest races, prompting her to drop the 1600 at the regional meet to focus on the 3200, which she considers her better event.

“State [track] didn’t exactly go how I wanted it to last year,” Hamilton said. “I came into state with the second-fastest time in the mile. I was second in the race and fell back to 13th for one bad move.

“For people who don’t understand the mile, you make one bad move and you’re toast.”

Hamilton was in tears afterward — “I was a head [case],” she said — but regrouped in time to finish ninth in the 3200. Problem was, she missed out on eighth — and a spot on the medal podium — by less than a second.

“That proved to me right there that I’m better in the two mile,” said Hamilton, who said her training, particular during the indoor season, helped her improve in the 3200. “I think I kind of made myself into a two-miler.

“All during junior high and high school, people were like, ‘Oh, Sam’s a miler, Sam’s a miler.’ I love the mile. It came easier to me. But I think the two mile is my event.”

She’ll find out Saturday in the final race of her high school career. Hamilton plans to run at YSU next fall, choosing the Penguins over Ohio State despite loving her campus visit in Columbus.

“Ohio State was definitely by far my favorite school to visit,” she said. “It’s beautiful. What’s not to love about it? It’s the Buckeyes.”

But?

“But my family is really important to me and I was kind of not ready for that,” she said. “It was kind of like I didn’t want to set myself up for something so big, you know?

“Because everyone says, ‘Sam, you’re a great runner, you’re a great runner.’ But it seems like I never performed at that high level when it counted, so I didn’t know if I was ready to go to a big place like Ohio State.”

That kind of introspection is rare in a teenager (obviously), which is why a big performance this weekend would mean a lot to Hamilton — and to the people who know her. She enters this week’s race with the second-fastest qualifying time in the state and could probably have gone faster last Friday had she not blown away the regional field in the opening laps.

“I have nothing to lose,” she said. “I have really high goals for state this year and I just want to go out strong my senior year.”

scalzo@vindy.com