From Suspended To State Qualifier, Hernandez A Comeback Kid
October 26, 2018 at 3:34 p.m.
From Suspended To State Qualifier, Hernandez A Comeback Kid
By Aaron [email protected]
It’s ironic, considering where he is today.
Hernandez, 17, is a senior cross country runner for Warsaw Tigers. He placed 11th at the New Prairie Semistate meet and will compete in Saturday’s state championship race in Terre Haute.
A little more than a year ago, though, Hernandez was sidelined by a suspension.
He was busted after having a THC-filled vaporizer on school grounds.
Hernandez, a strong student, was not known for trouble. He was like most teenagers, navigating high school’s uncertain social terrain and dealing with newly-found relationship struggles.
“I just kind of got tired of being so tight and perfect in a way, and I just thought I should let loose,” he said. “But, clearly, that’s not the right thing to do.”
After he was caught, Hernandez thought he’d never again compete in a Tiger uniform.
“I remember the first thing that was going through my mind was how my running career was over,” he said. “And how I thought everything was going to be downhill from there, and I thought I wasn’t going to be able to come back from where I was falling.”
He was suspended from school and sent to Gateway Education Center. However, the worst part for him was being unable to run.
Warsaw Principal Troy Akers noted there are policies in place for student misconduct.
“If the student is an athlete, there is often a carry over (in discipline) as far as them being an athlete,” Akers said.
The consequences were devastating not only to Hernandez, but to his team. He had been the Northern Lakes Conference meet champion as a freshman and sophomore, and had made it to the state championship meet both years.
He was a junior on a team that was expected to qualify for state. However, coach Jim Mills said that with Hernandez gone, everything changed.
“People were disappointed that we had a senior-loaded team of guys that worked their tails off, and it kind of blew up the team,” Mills said.
Mills was upset, especially since he had made a pact with Hernandez that he would coach the Tigers through Hernandez’s senior year.
Mills has since decided to continue to coach after Hernandez graduates.
Coach and runner didn’t speak for six months after his suspension. Hernandez also avoided his teammates out of embarrassment.
“I was really ashamed at what had happened, so I couldn’t really come to terms with coming up to them and apologizing for it,” he said. “But, they understand how hard that would have been.”
Instead, Hernandez decided to make up for his transgression with better behavior.
He passed each of his nine required drug tests over nine weeks. He returned to school well after the season had ended, and knew changes had to be made.
Hernandez stopped hanging around the friends that influenced bad habits, and benefitted from the support of his ex-girlfriend.
The running community was less supportive. Mills said the Indianarunner.com comment section was filled with harsh words about Hernandez, who felt judgmental eyes on him as he went about his days in Warsaw.
“I could just see it in people, how they would look at me,” he said.
Hernandez lessened his training, and didn’t participate in track and field during his junior year.
“I felt like I had been running so much beforehand, and I just took some time off,” he said.
People thought his suspension meant his time on the course was over.
“Everybody thought I was going to give up,” he said.
There was one person who hadn’t yet given up on him. Mills called Hernandez in April to ask if he was going to run.
Hernandez, who never intended to quit, told him he was on board. His journey, would take literal twists and turns on a long, hard path to success.
“I knew that it was gonna be hard to come back from it, especially with everybody knowing what had happened,” Hernandez said. “I knew it was gonna be a little discouraging, so I thought about how nice it would feel to just wow everyone in a sense, and just show them that I’m not what they assume.”
He arrived to summer practice out of running shape, but neither he nor Mills was deterred. It helped that his teammates embraced his return.
“We looked past it, and they still treated me the same,” he said.
Hernandez’s competitive streak spurred him to improve and overcome the frustration that came on his comeback trail.
“He’s worked hard every practice, and he’s shown his teammates what he’s made of,” Mills said.
Warsaw’s first meet of the year came in late August, and the race was anything but momentous for Hernandez.
He twisted his ankle on an object in the woods, causing the first of two falls that evening. The second came when another runner stepped on the back of his ankle.
While it wasn’t a return that silenced doubters, Hernandez stayed focused on raising his stamina and lowering his times.
Those times dropped as the season progressed, but he still hadn’t reached the level of competition he was used to.
“It felt like I couldn’t get past this certain wall in the beginning,” he said.
Finally, he posted a time that made him proud. Hernandez finished in 16:32 to place first overall in a meet against Wawasee and Plymouth.
“I was kind of taken aback by my time compared to what I was racing,” he said. “It just felt different.”
As the Culver Academies Sectional arrived, Hernandez continued to excel. He placed third overall to lead the Tigers to their eighth straight sectional title.
A week later, he posted a second-place finish at the Culver Academies Regional to lead Warsaw to its seventh consecutive regional championship.
Mills commended Hernandez’s race at semistate as his best all season. Warsaw, plagued by Tanner Stiver’s lower leg injury, failed to advance. However, Hernandez ran the race in 16:30 for an 11th-place finish and a trip to the state championship.
“I have been doubting myself a lot this year, and it just felt good,” he said.
Hernandez and the Warsaw girls cross country team will compete in the state meet Saturday at the Lavern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course in Terre Haute.
The girls race will start at 1 p.m., and the boys race will follow at 1:45 p.m.
The Internet chatter that had once been chastising turned cheerful in favor of Hernandez. Akers, who watched Hernandez’s times closely this season, shared that cheer.
“To be given another opportunity is really what we want for all kids, whether they’re a student or student-athlete,” Akers said. “But, make the most of your second opportunity, and he’s definitely done that. I’m especially proud of his efforts.”
Akers believes the state meet could be Hernandez’s best race yet, while Mills said a Top-25 finish is possible.
Hernandez doesn’t have clear expectations. He’s simply going to go out there and run.
No matter what happens, he learned a lesson that he’ll carry with him long after he hangs up his Mizuno sneakers.
“A lot of people think that when something goes downhill, there’s not really a way out,” he said. “A lot of people just give up.
“I just felt like it would be nice opposing that, and showing people it is possible to come back from something so deep.”
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It’s ironic, considering where he is today.
Hernandez, 17, is a senior cross country runner for Warsaw Tigers. He placed 11th at the New Prairie Semistate meet and will compete in Saturday’s state championship race in Terre Haute.
A little more than a year ago, though, Hernandez was sidelined by a suspension.
He was busted after having a THC-filled vaporizer on school grounds.
Hernandez, a strong student, was not known for trouble. He was like most teenagers, navigating high school’s uncertain social terrain and dealing with newly-found relationship struggles.
“I just kind of got tired of being so tight and perfect in a way, and I just thought I should let loose,” he said. “But, clearly, that’s not the right thing to do.”
After he was caught, Hernandez thought he’d never again compete in a Tiger uniform.
“I remember the first thing that was going through my mind was how my running career was over,” he said. “And how I thought everything was going to be downhill from there, and I thought I wasn’t going to be able to come back from where I was falling.”
He was suspended from school and sent to Gateway Education Center. However, the worst part for him was being unable to run.
Warsaw Principal Troy Akers noted there are policies in place for student misconduct.
“If the student is an athlete, there is often a carry over (in discipline) as far as them being an athlete,” Akers said.
The consequences were devastating not only to Hernandez, but to his team. He had been the Northern Lakes Conference meet champion as a freshman and sophomore, and had made it to the state championship meet both years.
He was a junior on a team that was expected to qualify for state. However, coach Jim Mills said that with Hernandez gone, everything changed.
“People were disappointed that we had a senior-loaded team of guys that worked their tails off, and it kind of blew up the team,” Mills said.
Mills was upset, especially since he had made a pact with Hernandez that he would coach the Tigers through Hernandez’s senior year.
Mills has since decided to continue to coach after Hernandez graduates.
Coach and runner didn’t speak for six months after his suspension. Hernandez also avoided his teammates out of embarrassment.
“I was really ashamed at what had happened, so I couldn’t really come to terms with coming up to them and apologizing for it,” he said. “But, they understand how hard that would have been.”
Instead, Hernandez decided to make up for his transgression with better behavior.
He passed each of his nine required drug tests over nine weeks. He returned to school well after the season had ended, and knew changes had to be made.
Hernandez stopped hanging around the friends that influenced bad habits, and benefitted from the support of his ex-girlfriend.
The running community was less supportive. Mills said the Indianarunner.com comment section was filled with harsh words about Hernandez, who felt judgmental eyes on him as he went about his days in Warsaw.
“I could just see it in people, how they would look at me,” he said.
Hernandez lessened his training, and didn’t participate in track and field during his junior year.
“I felt like I had been running so much beforehand, and I just took some time off,” he said.
People thought his suspension meant his time on the course was over.
“Everybody thought I was going to give up,” he said.
There was one person who hadn’t yet given up on him. Mills called Hernandez in April to ask if he was going to run.
Hernandez, who never intended to quit, told him he was on board. His journey, would take literal twists and turns on a long, hard path to success.
“I knew that it was gonna be hard to come back from it, especially with everybody knowing what had happened,” Hernandez said. “I knew it was gonna be a little discouraging, so I thought about how nice it would feel to just wow everyone in a sense, and just show them that I’m not what they assume.”
He arrived to summer practice out of running shape, but neither he nor Mills was deterred. It helped that his teammates embraced his return.
“We looked past it, and they still treated me the same,” he said.
Hernandez’s competitive streak spurred him to improve and overcome the frustration that came on his comeback trail.
“He’s worked hard every practice, and he’s shown his teammates what he’s made of,” Mills said.
Warsaw’s first meet of the year came in late August, and the race was anything but momentous for Hernandez.
He twisted his ankle on an object in the woods, causing the first of two falls that evening. The second came when another runner stepped on the back of his ankle.
While it wasn’t a return that silenced doubters, Hernandez stayed focused on raising his stamina and lowering his times.
Those times dropped as the season progressed, but he still hadn’t reached the level of competition he was used to.
“It felt like I couldn’t get past this certain wall in the beginning,” he said.
Finally, he posted a time that made him proud. Hernandez finished in 16:32 to place first overall in a meet against Wawasee and Plymouth.
“I was kind of taken aback by my time compared to what I was racing,” he said. “It just felt different.”
As the Culver Academies Sectional arrived, Hernandez continued to excel. He placed third overall to lead the Tigers to their eighth straight sectional title.
A week later, he posted a second-place finish at the Culver Academies Regional to lead Warsaw to its seventh consecutive regional championship.
Mills commended Hernandez’s race at semistate as his best all season. Warsaw, plagued by Tanner Stiver’s lower leg injury, failed to advance. However, Hernandez ran the race in 16:30 for an 11th-place finish and a trip to the state championship.
“I have been doubting myself a lot this year, and it just felt good,” he said.
Hernandez and the Warsaw girls cross country team will compete in the state meet Saturday at the Lavern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course in Terre Haute.
The girls race will start at 1 p.m., and the boys race will follow at 1:45 p.m.
The Internet chatter that had once been chastising turned cheerful in favor of Hernandez. Akers, who watched Hernandez’s times closely this season, shared that cheer.
“To be given another opportunity is really what we want for all kids, whether they’re a student or student-athlete,” Akers said. “But, make the most of your second opportunity, and he’s definitely done that. I’m especially proud of his efforts.”
Akers believes the state meet could be Hernandez’s best race yet, while Mills said a Top-25 finish is possible.
Hernandez doesn’t have clear expectations. He’s simply going to go out there and run.
No matter what happens, he learned a lesson that he’ll carry with him long after he hangs up his Mizuno sneakers.
“A lot of people think that when something goes downhill, there’s not really a way out,” he said. “A lot of people just give up.
“I just felt like it would be nice opposing that, and showing people it is possible to come back from something so deep.”
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