Former NCAA sub-four-miler jumps into high school XC race and loses
Brendan Hebert of Spicewood, Texas, returned to compete at his high school XC championships five years after graduating
Photo by:
University of Texas Athletics
A former NCAA runner for the University of Texas, Brendan Hebert, decided to go back to high school on Friday to bandit the State High School Cross Country Championships in Austin, Texas.
Hebert, 22, who ran a sub-four-mile in February, came second in the 5K race behind Kevin Sanchez of Austin Vandegrift H.S. and was not discovered until he crossed the finish line. According to MileSplit USA, Hebert went unseen from the start, sporting the singlet of nearby Lake Travis High School. He graduated from Lake Travis in 2018, and spent four years competing for the University of Texas XC/Track program, graduating in June 2022.
In running, a bandit is someone who doesn’t officially enter a race but feels it is okay to just jump in and run. From the race director’s point of view, it’s a significant liability to have runners on the course who are not registered.
When Hebert was asked about his motivation to run this race, he told MileSplit it was for fun. “I also ran it for Kevin. I knew Kevin from high school,” said Hebert.
Upon further investigation, Sanchez entered high school in 2019–a year after Hebert graduated. Sanchez said he had no idea who Hebert was.
22yo Brendan Hebert today at Texas XC state: pic.twitter.com/zlh7kRGYqs
— Cory Mull (@ByCoryMull) November 5, 2022
Shortly after the race, the governing body for high school sports in Texas, the University Interscholastic League (UIL), disqualified Hebert’s performance.
Sanchez had this to say about Hebert to MileSplit USA:
“I know he started and finished the race, but I didn’t know anything about him. I didn’t know who he was until 10 minutes after I finished. Everyone began talking about it. I’m not entirely sure what the circumstances around it are, but I know it happened, and it’s stupid.”
During his time in the NCAA, Hebert was named to the Academic All-Big 12 Second team in 2022. He also earned NCAA Indoor All-American recognition in 2019 for being part of a Texas Distance Medley Relay team that reached the NCAA Indoor Championships.
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