Hedalis Henriquez Lopez earns all-region honors at Region XIX championship
HARRISBURG, Pa. — Hedalis Henriquez Lopez wasn鈥檛 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.
鈥淚 was very pleased with Hedalis鈥� performance at the Region XIX meet,鈥� Hawks coach Jeanette Wingert said. 鈥淪he was running on an ankle that wasn鈥檛 at full strength and never gave up on a tough course.鈥�
Harrisburg Area Community College (HACC) had four runners on the team this season — three on the men鈥檚 team with Henriquez Lopez was the only athlete on the women鈥檚 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.
鈥淲e 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,鈥� Wingert said. 鈥淚 will be actively looking for more runners this spring and summer.鈥�
Potential runners don鈥檛 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鈥檛 come into the program with much of a background in the sport. She did have a foundation in running.
鈥淗edalis came into cross country after running mostly road races,鈥� Wingert said. 鈥淪he 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.鈥�
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鈥檚 8K race.
Wingert saw steady improvement from Henriquez Lopez throughout every race.
鈥淚 knew that her determination would help her do well at regionals,鈥� Wingert said. 鈥淪he had run well and gotten faster times with each race, so I knew she was prepared.鈥�
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