Katie Hamilton Commits To Duke University


Katie Hamilton of Westfield, one of the state's top distance running recruits, has chosen her college.

The winner is Duke University!

Hamilton, who won the 1600m at the 2020 NJSIAA Indoor Meet of Champions, and is running for Westfield's XC team for the first time this fall, also considered UPenn, Princeton, and Georgetown.

"I couldn't be more excited,'' said Hamilton. "I ultimately decided on Duke because I absolutely love Coach (Rhonda) Riley and her focus on fostering a really positive team culture. I am also drawn to the girls balanced approach in their studies and athletic pursuits, which is a top priority of mine. Both academics and athletics are greatly valued at Duke, so there are a plethora of opportunities designed to accommodate the life of a student-athlete. I have complete confidence that the program is set up to do amazing things in the future and I can't wait to continue to be a Blue Devil!''

Hamilton is coming off a breathtaking indoor track season.

She became Westfield's first indoor MOCs girls champion by capturing the 1600m in 4:57.15. She also won the Group 4 title in an NJ#1 US#14 4:56.05, an indoor PR, and split 4:56.98 when she anchored the DMR to victory in 12:03.36 at the North Shore Pre-Nats in February at the NY Armory. The 12:03.36 is a Westfield school record, No. 2 in Union County indoor history, and was NJ#2 and US#6 for the season. Hamilton's 1600m PR is 4:53.16, which came from placing third in the 2019 Group 4 outdoor meet.

Hamilton also owns an outdoor 800 PR of 2:12.85 from winning the 2019 North 2 Group 4 Sectional race. Hamilton Although Hamilton has never run XC for Westfield, she did make a very impressive XC debut at the Team Nationals Northeast Regional at Bowdoin Park last November when she placed 17th in 19:24.

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If you are a New Jersey XC T&F athlete who has committed to a college please reach out to one of our social platforms or email Robert Kellert (rkellert@milesplit.com) or Jim Lambert (lambo2126@hotmail.com) so we can add it to your profile and our commitments hub.