Wellington High School choir director Jennifer Ault says senior Kaleb Hamilton is a perfectionist, and Hamilton’s self-assessment checks out.
 
A few days after Hamilton received a first division rating for his performance of the first movement of Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata”, Op. 27 No. 2, at the KSHSAA regional piano festival in Wichita, he viewed his ticket to the upcoming state contest with a critical eye.
 
“I think I did well with the piece, but not my best,” said Hamilton, one of 33 performers who earned a “I” rating Saturday at Friends University. “I can do it better. I tried the festival during my sophomore year and got a ‘II’ that year. So this was definitely a better feeling.”
 
Hamilton, this week’s CapFed® True Blue® Student of the Week, has pursued excellence in a variety of ways during his time as a Crusader. Carrying a 4.0 grade-point average from his freshman year into his final semester, Hamilton has also been part of three Ark Valley-Chisholm Trail Division IV champion cross country teams and a two-time state qualifier in track.

 
“What I have noticed about Kaleb as one of his teachers is you can tell music is important to him,” said Ault, who has directed Hamilton since he was in seventh grade. “He’s very gifted, very talented and one of the strongest bass singers in my group.
 
“What we work on is important to him and it’s important that he gets it right. If it’s not perfect, he’ll be the first to say, ‘What can I do to make it better?’”
 
Hamilton has cultivated much of that persistence through 12 years of playing the piano.
 
First enrolled in lessons at age 6 by his mother, Stacy, Hamilton learned the basics under Hankie Holefelder, a longtime piano instructor to many in the Wellington community. Hamilton quickly discovered an affinity for the piano, and has been one of Holefelder’s students for over a decade.
 
On Saturday, just days after Holefelder’s 91^st birthday, she was on hand to witness Hamilton perform the piece she helped him master over the last three months.
 
“She is just a great teacher and what makes her special is she tries to keep up as much as possible with what I do outside of piano,” Hamilton said. “I try to go see her about once a week, and if we can’t get together because of my schedule, we figure something out.
 
“Her patience has been the thing that sticks out. There have been times I’ve gotten mad at how I perceive I’m playing something. She’s just very patient with me and works with me quite a bit.”
 
The Beethoven piece served a dual purpose for Hamilton, who also performed it along with another selection during a piano scholarship audition in late January at Southwest Baptist University. Hamilton has signed to run cross country and track at the NCAA Division II school in Bolivar, Mo. He also plans to participate in SBU’s music program.
 
Inspired by former high school teammate Hunter Lough, who now runs cross country at Newman University, Hamilton began an intensive search for a college as a sophomore. He said the Christian values of Southwest Baptist had the strongest pull as he looked at schools of all sizes.
 
“I really kind of obsessed over it,” Hamilton said. “I kind of looked everywhere but when I got on campus there, I just immediately felt at home. The Christ-centeredness of the school stood out off the bat. The academics were there and all the athletic and music opportunities were there.”
 
Hamilton, who will major in exercise science, plans to pursue a career in physical therapy. At Wellington, where he is a member of National Honor Society and Fellowship of Christian Athletes, math and history have been among his favorite subjects.
 
Hamilton would like to make a slight revision to his athletic history with the Crusaders. While he was part of the three league championship teams in cross country, Hamilton never got to run at the state meet. At regionals last fall, Andale edged Wellington on a tiebreaker for the final team qualifying spot, and Hamilton was on the outside looking in for an individual spot.

 
Last track season, Hamilton qualified for state in the 800 meters and as part of two relays. But he was unable to replicate the regional success, saying he learned from the experience.
 
“The mental side is the biggest part I need to work on,” Hamilton said. “If that’s off, you can get into a race and really get lost. Last year, I was so focused on regionals and trying to get to state. Once I got there, I felt like I just didn’t have a good plan for that meet.”
 
Before his final high school track season begins, Hamilton will focus on the state piano festival, which is Feb. 22 at Wichita State University. He will again perform the “Moonlight Sonata,” a piece he says requires a slow, deliberate approach that deviates from a style he often prefers.
 
“I just wanted to learn the Moonlight Sonata because it’s a great piece,” Hamilton said. “In previous years, some of the other pieces I’ve done have been more classical and kind of niche.
 
“I have a tendency to go fast, and have had to slow down the piece mentally. Hankie has counted out loud for me so many times. She tries to set the pace and I try to go along.”