HARRISBURG, Pa. — Hedalis Henriquez Lopez wasn’t 100 %, but found a way to properly navigate the Region XIX Championship cross country course Oct. 30 at White Clay Creek State Park in Newark, Delaware.

Henriguez Lopez, who is a freshman, finished the race in 25 minutes, 47 seconds, to finish in fourth place and earn all-region honors.

“I was very pleased with Hedalis’ performance at the Region XIX meet,” Hawks coach Jeanette Wingert said. “She was running on an ankle that wasn’t at full strength and never gave up on a tough course.”

Harrisburg Area Community College (HACC) had four runners on the team this season — three on the men’s team with Henriquez Lopez was the only athlete on the women’s team.

Hawks freshman runner Matthew Getz also placed 13th at the region meet, which featured runners from NJCAA Division I and Division III. Wingert said all four runners will return next season and wants to see them build off this year both as individuals and as a program.

“We plan on having practices in the spring and I will be giving them workouts for them to do on their own to prepare for next season,” Wingert said. “I will be actively looking for more runners this spring and summer.”

Potential runners don’t need to have a ton of experience to be a good fit for the team.

Henriquez Lopez, who is pursuing a degree in dental hygiene, didn’t come into the program with much of a background in the sport. She did have a foundation in running.

“Hedalis came into cross country after running mostly road races,” Wingert said. “She had to learn about cross country while training on different surfaces. She took to training very well, learning about trail running, hill running and how to put a full race together. She was enthusiastic and worked hard all season.”

HACC had a five-event schedule, which culminated with the Region XIX meet. Henriguez Lopez also had a strong performance the week before the region meet when she placed second at the Eastern Pennsylvania Athletic Conference (EPAC) championship. At the EPAC championship, Henriquez Lopez finished in 23:19. Getz also finished in fourth place, with a time of 32:28 in the men’s 8K race.

Wingert saw steady improvement from Henriquez Lopez throughout every race.

“I knew that her determination would help her do well at regionals,” Wingert said. “She had run well and gotten faster times with each race, so I knew she was prepared.”

This is an unedited user writing submission. The views, information, or opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Best Version Media or its employees.