North Texas teen dies after collapsing during cross country meet

A North Texas high school student had just hit his best time ever while competing in cross country last week before he suddenly died. Angel Hernandez ran cross country for the Chisholm Trail High School track team and had just finished a 5K run at a district track meet in Tarrant County before collapsing, according to KENS 5. 

Hernandez and his team were competing in the district 3-6A meet at The Buff in Haltom city on Friday, October 13, when the young boy reportedly hit his best time ever. Witnesses recalled seeing the teen collapse to the ground right after he crossed the finish line. As Hernandez’s concerned friends helped him to the water station, he then collapsed again.

Medical personnel rushed Hernandez to Medical City Alliance, where he died an hour later, according to KENS 5. Hernandez reportedly showed no signs of illness before the incident, and his cause of death is under investigation by the Tarrant County Medical Examiner.

The sophomore student was also a part of the Texas School of Karate, located nearby in Blue Mound, where he is being mourned by his karate coach and school classmates. Ashley Wood, Hernandez’s karate coach, described the teen as living up to his Angel name, according to KENS 5. 

“Every one of us cried, every one of us has comforted each other,” said Wood to KENS 5. “It’s really hard. We’ll never get over it. We’ll never forget him. He’s going to be missed here, but he’s going to be loved always.”

Wood has also created a GoFundMe to help the Hernandez family pay for the costs of the funeral. While friends and family still have no clue what caused Hernandez’s death, they continue to honor the teen. 

“He was the kind of student-athlete you wanted,” said Brent Brevard, the retired Chisholm Trail High School track coach, who oversaw Hernandez’s efforts on the team last year to KENS 5. “He worked hard and cared about the teammates. But then he also acted right in school and took care of his grades.”

At Hernandez’s funeral on Friday, October 20, his family was reportedly presented with the high school student’s varsity letter jacket to honor his hard work and dedication to the school. At the high school’s homecoming game later that night, attendees reportedly held a moment of silence to remember Hernandez.