Bryan Hernandez Makes Williamson Cross Country History
On Sunday, October 27, Williamson standout freshman runner Bryan Hernandez did what no other runner in Williamson history has ever done, as he won the 2024 National Junior College Athletic Association's Region XIX championship. He did so in a time of 24:19, finishing 20 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher.
"Bryan has a lot of talent but he also is a very hard worker, " shared Williamson head coach Steve Hixson, in his 20th year at the helm. "Earlier in the year he was trying to adapt from running a high school race (3.1) to running a collegiate race (5 miles).
"I said from the start, once he figures it out, look out. Well guess what? He figured it out today!"
In winning the race, not only did Hernandez set a school record, he also defeated two runners from Thaddeus Stevens who finished ahead of him two weeks prior at the 2024 Eastern Pennsylvania Athletic Conference championships.
He now sets his sights on the 2024 United States Collegiate Athletic Association national championships to be held on Sunday, November 10 at Penn State University Fayette campus, and trying to become just the second All-American cross country runner in Williamson history. Patrick James was the first and only runner to achieve that status, earning it in 2018.
Additional great news is that joining him will be his teammates, as by finishing fourth overall at the NJCAA Region XIX championships in the team standings, Williamson qualified for USCAA nationals.
"We have battled injuries all year long but when we are healthy, we can be very good as a team. The guys stepped it up in the Region race but we can do even better. They now know they can compete with some of these big-time programs if they work hard and give it their all.
"I'm extremely pleased at their effort and I'm excited to see what they will do at Nationals," closed Hixson.
