List Detail 2
Watson E. ’27
Varsity Cross Country and Track
As a Campbell Hall elementary school student, Watson E. ’27 competed in several sports, including flag football, soccer, baseball, and basketball. While he enjoyed the variety of challenges each sport offered, he often felt that he still had energy to burn after games and craved additional rigor.Encouraged by his father, a lifelong runner, Watson decided to try running. In 7th grade, he joined the cross country and track teams, drawn to the sport’s linear progression with defined start and finish lines. He appreciated the endurance needed for events like the 800-meter and one-mile track races and the three-mile cross country meets.
During the season, Watson trains five times a week with his team and adds a solo run on weekends, logging about 40 miles weekly. Although cross country is an individual competition, team scores are combined for rankings, which motivates Watson to always give his best effort. But nothing gives him a greater boost than seeing his parents and coach cheering on the sidelines.
“Being part of two coed teams is a really unique experience,” said Watson. “Even though we don’t compete directly, I like that boys and girls train together and watch each other’s races. During the season, the whole team gets really close because we’re all working toward the same goal. Doing something physically demanding like this brings us together and builds our community past the track.”
Watson is goal-oriented. In track, he aimed to become the fastest Campbell Hall freshman in the one-mile event, achieving this by breaking the record by two seconds at his last meet of the season and qualifying for the CIF Preliminaries. During the 2023-24 school year, the Boys’ Track team placed second in the Gold Coast League. In the following 2024-25 season, Watson set a new personal record in cross country (16:00 minutes for a course just shy of three miles) and helped his team secure another second-place finish in the league, earning himself 2nd Team All-League honors.
“The most important thing in running is consistency,” Watson explained. “If you run every day, you’ll improve. You have to push through tough times, like at the two-mile marker when your brain says you can’t go on. That’s when you have to shift into another gear.” That mindset helps him not only in races but in other aspects of his life.
This year, Watson faced a setback when he was diagnosed with walking pneumonia, preventing him from running at full capacity and forcing him to miss a critical meet. “It was really hard having to miss a meet during the end of the season, which is the most important for moving on to finals.”
Beyond athletics, Watson’s favorite subject is History, and he also enjoys writing and math. He is part of the speech and debate team and is considering a career in law one day. In his free time, he draws, reads, plays pickleball, and hangs out with friends, maintaining a balance between academics, athletics, and social life.
Looking ahead, Watson aspires to run for a Division 1 college and help Campbell Hall bring home a state championship title. His advice to younger students interested in running is: “Go for it! Training is tough, and a lot of people quit in the first few weeks—but stick with it—it’s super rewarding!”
Back
“Being part of two coed teams is a really unique experience,” said Watson. “Even though we don’t compete directly, I like that boys and girls train together and watch each other’s races. During the season, the whole team gets really close because we’re all working toward the same goal. Doing something physically demanding like this brings us together and builds our community past the track.”
Watson is goal-oriented. In track, he aimed to become the fastest Campbell Hall freshman in the one-mile event, achieving this by breaking the record by two seconds at his last meet of the season and qualifying for the CIF Preliminaries. During the 2023-24 school year, the Boys’ Track team placed second in the Gold Coast League. In the following 2024-25 season, Watson set a new personal record in cross country (16:00 minutes for a course just shy of three miles) and helped his team secure another second-place finish in the league, earning himself 2nd Team All-League honors.
“The most important thing in running is consistency,” Watson explained. “If you run every day, you’ll improve. You have to push through tough times, like at the two-mile marker when your brain says you can’t go on. That’s when you have to shift into another gear.” That mindset helps him not only in races but in other aspects of his life.
This year, Watson faced a setback when he was diagnosed with walking pneumonia, preventing him from running at full capacity and forcing him to miss a critical meet. “It was really hard having to miss a meet during the end of the season, which is the most important for moving on to finals.”
Beyond athletics, Watson’s favorite subject is History, and he also enjoys writing and math. He is part of the speech and debate team and is considering a career in law one day. In his free time, he draws, reads, plays pickleball, and hangs out with friends, maintaining a balance between academics, athletics, and social life.
Looking ahead, Watson aspires to run for a Division 1 college and help Campbell Hall bring home a state championship title. His advice to younger students interested in running is: “Go for it! Training is tough, and a lot of people quit in the first few weeks—but stick with it—it’s super rewarding!”
Campbell Hall
Campbell Hall is a K-12 independent, Episcopal, gender-inclusive day school. We are a community of inquiry committed to academic excellence and to the nurturing of decent, loving, and responsible human beings.
© Campbell Hall. All Rights Reserved.
Campbell Hall admits students of any race, color, gender, sexual orientation, national, and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, gender, sexual orientation, national, and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admission policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletics and other school-administered programs.