<ir="ltr">5221 points. That was the winning heptathlon score posted by Amelia Campbell, ’16, at the NCAA Outdoor National Championships in 2014, her sophomore year. That score not only made Campbell a national champion, but also, as the third highest score in the heptathlon in Division III history, catapulted her into the record books. Additionally, just a few months earlier, Campbell had scored 3884 points in the pentathlon to win the Indoor National Championship as well, and set a national record in the process. This made her the fifth woman in NCAA history to win both multi events in the same year, as well as the second woman in Division III.
“Winning my sophomore year was just surreal. It was surreal because I had an average freshmen year, and then everything just exploded sophomore year. I started PRing every meet and breaking school records,” recalled Campbell. “I never expected to have huge gains in one year. It also seemed really weird that I had so much fun during the workouts that season.”
Unlike most athletes on the track team who excel only in one area, Campbell is strong in a variety of events, including sprinting, jumping, and throwing.
“In high school I was a utility athlete, and I ended up doing everything to help score points for the team,” Campbell said. “I really enjoyed learning new events and it helped take pressure off my main events. I really enjoy it because I got to hang out with different people and know everyone. It also helped me connect with everyone on the team better, because I know how it feels to run the third 200 in an 800 [relay].”
During her junior year at Carleton, Campbell battled against injuries, and had to forgo competing in the pentathlon. But with hard work, she came back and placed fourth in the heptathlon her junior year, earning All-American Status.
“Being injured was miserable. It was not fun going to practice and watching all my teammates working hard. It sucked not being able to join them,” said Campbell. “Every day that I wasn’t training was taking points off of what I could do. It was just lost time, and it wasted my entire indoor season junior year.”
This year, Campbell again has faced setbacks that forced her to miss the indoor pentathlon. In the spring, however, Campbell regained her stride, scoring 5,058 points at the MIAC Championships in the heptathlon and winning the event for the third year in a row. Her score is the top in the nation in Division III this year, and she looks to be a national title contender.
With her last few opportunities to wear a Knights uniform coming up, Campbell took a moment to reflect on what these last meets mean to her.
“This is it. What I have is what I have. I am happy with what I can do with what I have right now, and I feel like I am building. These last few meets are there to allow me to show my gratitude to everyone who has supported me, and I am using my performances at these meets to do so,” Campbell said. “I made lifelong friends from being on the track team, and it has shaped who I am today. I don’t know what’s next, but I want to do something competitive. But the best part of track experience was having Tonya Piergies [’19] here with me during my senior year. It was so much fun having someone you can train with and cheer for on your own team, and I found that I was cheering for her more than myself sometimes. It definitely made my senior year the best season.”
Tune in from May 26-28, 2016 on the NCAA website to watch Campbell compete at the NCAA Championships.