Fort Worth teen who died after track meet remembered as outstanding student and athlete
Friends of the Fort Worth high school athlete who died after collapsing at a track meet in mid-October said Angel Hernandez touched the life of every person he met.
“We’ll never forget him,” Hernandez’s karate coach Ashley Wood told WFAA-TV. “He’s going to be missed here, but he’s going to be loved always.”
Hernandez had just finished a 5K race with his best time ever when he collapsed Oct. 13 at the District 3-6A meet in Haltom City. His teammates helped him to a water station, where he collapsed again, WFAA reported.
Hernandez, 16, died later that day at a local hospital, according to the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s website. His cause of death is still pending.
Brent Brevard, Hernandez’s former track coach, told WFAA that the Chisholm Trail High School sophomore was an outstanding student-athlete.
“He worked hard and cared about the teammates,” Brevard said. “But then he also acted right in school and took care of his grades.”
The Texas School of Karate where Hernandez trained canceled classes for the week and asked for prayers for Hernandez’s family in a Facebook post.
Wood, the karate coach, organized a GoFundMe to help Hernandez’s family cover the cost of his funeral expenses.
She told WFAA that the karate school T-shirts now have Team Angel and #LiveLikeAngel printed on the back.
“Everybody is feeling the effects of Angel,” Wood said to WFAA. “Angel is that kid. He touched everyone he came in contact with. You couldn’t help but love him.”
Chisholm Trail High School held a moment of silence in honor of Hernandez during their homecoming game Friday night, WFAA reported.
The school’s track team made it to regionals for the second consecutive year, Eagle Mountain-Saginaw ISD Athletics posted on X. The team will run in honor of Hernandez, the post said.
This story was originally published October 21, 2023 at 2:44 PM.
