Sentinel File Photo: MIKE GOSS Midwest’s Ben Hamel had a strong showing at his second PIAA cross country championship in as many seasons.
Midwest Harrier wins two XC state qualifiers
MIDDLEBURG – After a stellar high school career in cross country, it’s hard to imagine Midwest High School standout Ben Hummel ever competing in any other sport.
In fact, when the Mustang senior reached high school, he had to choose between soccer and cross country.
Hummel played soccer exclusively as a defender until a friend introduced him to cross country in the eighth grade. Intrigued by the idea of competing in a more individual sport like cross country, Hummel joined his middle school cross country team in an attempt to change the sporting landscape.
One season of running was enough to get him hooked.
A dilemma also arose when Hummel became a high school freshman the following year. He had to choose between participating in cross country or soccer since both were fall sports.
Eventually, he chose to hang up his soccer cleats and switch to cross country. Four years later, Hummel’s decision appears to have been correct. As a senior, he returned home with a fifth-place medal at the recent PIAA Class 2A Cross Country Championships.
Looking back, Hummel said the individual nature of cross country was a deciding factor for him.
“When I played soccer, I played defense.” Ben explained. “If we didn’t score, we couldn’t win. We had no choice but to play defense.
“Ever since I started running, I felt like I was at war with myself.” Ben added. “I had to answer for how I acted, and I think that’s what got me to where I am today.”
Last year’s state trip was also a learning experience for him. He wasn’t satisfied with just participating, and was desperate for a medal.
“I always knew he could do well at each state, meaning he would win a medal.” Midwest head coach Jennifer Hummel said. “Anything can happen, but realistically I thought he could be in contention there. For him to do as well as he has, I think it’s important for him to believe in himself. I didn’t know.”
But if that happened, coaches and runners thought there was a limit.
“I knew that if he didn’t get hurt, he could make his mark on school history.” Jennifer added.
It’s been more than a week since he brought his medal back to Snyder County, but reality still hasn’t fully set in.
“Somewhat.” Ben said. “I still enjoy thinking about it.
Ben, who will continue his running career at Shippensburg University, was in 12th place at the halfway point before moving through the field.
“I was planning out my placement just to run.” he added. “I felt good throughout the race and was passing people.In the end, I got to where I thought I was going and got to the finish line.”
Ben has certainly gained a lot of notoriety since the race, with announcements and signs at the school and congratulations from other students, staff, administrators and on social media.
“Ben has a very spontaneous personality.” Jennifer said. “He’s always working on how he can improve himself and what he can do next time to improve himself.”
This wasn’t Hummel’s first medal on the big stage either. At last spring’s PIAA track and field championships, Ben won a gold medal as a member of the men’s 4×800 relay team at Seth Grove Stadium in Shippensburg.
The Mustang quartet won the Class 2A race by more than five seconds over Notre Dame Green Pond in 7:54.27. After the first leg, Midwest and Notre Dame-Greenford were evenly matched, but things changed when Ben picked up the baton.
The 1:54.93 split was about 10 seconds faster than the Crusaders’ split. From there, Midwest University advanced to a first-place finish in the final two legs.
The Mustangs’ first-place finish bettered the eighth-place medal the quartet earned last season. There, Midwest ran a time of 8:07.42.
“8 is never a good feeling.” Ben spoke to reporters in each state that day. “This year, we knew we were all coming back and we just kept fighting. (This year) we knew we were going to get the gold medal here. “With the results we had last year. “I don’t want to be like that,” we kept telling ourselves. So we just kept fighting and getting better results. ”
The same was true for cross country. Making the state field wasn’t enough for Ben. He wanted the state medal to hang around his neck.
For now, Ben is still enjoying his cross country accomplishments.
He will never take a winter break to compete in winter track.
“His determination and wanting it also helped.” Jennifer said. “He set a goal to go back to state and win a medal, and I think he exceeded that goal.”
Along the way, Ben also set a school record time of 15 minutes, 59 seconds at the District 4 Class 2A Championships. Not only did I achieve my goal of running under 16 minutes, I also earned a ticket to Chocolate Town on the Parkview course.
“I’m just proud of him.” said Jennifer, who is also Ben’s aunt. “He’s worked hard and had a career that’s been fun to watch.”
With his cross country days behind him, Ben reflected on the decisions he made as a freshman.
“I’m really proud of what I’ve accomplished and I’ve worked hard.” he said. “It was rewarding and it was the best decision for me.” he said. “Cross country has taken me to places I never dreamed of.”
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