Connor Hibell’s moments of brilliance have proven to be boundless.

The Palmerton junior found ways to continue to elevate his performance this past fall.

It resulted in pure bliss for the Bombers’ cross country standout.

Hibell dominated throughout the year and continued that success into the postseason, securing back-to-back league and district titles.

It was another banner season for the Palmerton phenom, one that now includes his second straight Times News/Lehigh Valley Health Network Boys Cross Country Athlete of the Year award.

“I’m definitely happy with my consistency,” said Hibell. “I’m really happy with leagues and districts. Those were two really good races.”

Hibell won his second consecutive District 11 2A title with a time of 16:34, knocking nearly 10 seconds off a personal best time of 16:43 at the DeSales University course set the previous week at the Colonial League meet.

As a sophomore, Hibell won the league meet with a time of 17:01 before claiming his first district title in 16:47.

If his sophomore season was a breakout campaign, Hibell’s junior season simply built on that success.

“We expected that growth to happen this year, which it did,” said Palmerton cross country coach Michael Horvath. “I know the state meet didn’t have the outcome he wanted, but overall, if you look at the season, and the last conversation I had with Connor was that you can’t base your entire season on one race. I know that last one is a big one. But he still had an exceptional year.

“He is a great runner. He puts in the work and he puts in the mileage. And he did step into that leadership role this year and that was a focus for him as well.”

In many ways, Hibell’s role as a runner has changed.

It’s an evolution that saw the Palmerton junior complete his season at the state meet in Hershey for the third year in a row, where he recorded his second straight top-50 finish, placing 41st with a time of 17:18 — the best result among area runners — and within clear striking distance of the top-25 and his first state medal.

While Hibell’s progress can be easy to see in times and results — such as the back-to-back course records he set at Jim Thorpe and Lehighton in September, or top-three finishes at each of the team’s three invitationals (Northampton, Centaur, Paul Short) — the foundation for his success can be traced back to a time well before he was a standout at Palmerton.

“I did CYO cross country, and my grandfather was the coach of the team,” Hibell said. “I was on a small team, and ran decently well. I didn’t get first all the time, but I placed pretty well.”

Connor comes from a family of runners and talented athletes, with mom Melissa Karwacki, dad Jamie Hibell and brother Owen Hibell, all providing support and inspiration.

“It’s definitely nice to have a family that does what you do a lot,” said Connor. “It can motivate you to go faster.”

Connor has gravitated to running for reasons that extend beyond competition.

“It’s nice to have something that keeps me in shape, something I’m good at,” said Hibell. “But I guess it especially clicked for me in middle school, or ninth grade.”

Hibell’s trajectory has been pointing up since the start of his career — something Horvath has seen from the beginning.

“He knows his stuff and he knows what he’s capable of,” said Horvath. “He’ll tell you when he gets done with a race, ‘I think that I could have done better on this mile here,’ or ‘I was a little off pace here.’ Or when we walk the course, he figures out where he can put in a kick, or look over his shoulder and catch his breath. He can tell you all of that stuff when he’s done.

“He’s really something. It’s been really cool to get to work with him. I couldn’t ask for a better athlete to coach from seventh grade through next year. I can’t believe next year he’s going to be a senior already.”

Hibell is a dedicated and determined runner, and he has his sights set on his best season yet next fall.

“For cross country next year I definitely hope to medal at states this time,” he said. “That’s been my goal for a few years. Hopefully I’m able to run better at states, run smarter, too. And I’m excited for the team. We have a really strong team coming up. We had so many juniors this year so it will be cool to have them back as seniors.”

As a freshman, Connor was able to experience tremendous team success with a District 11 championship. Horvath is hoping he gets to close out his high school career with another run at a team title in addition to individual success.

Hibell’s talent, along with his unwavering work ethic and commitment to running and his teammates, will always speak volumes.

“His performance does the talking,” said Horvath. “When he goes out there, everyone knows he’s the real deal.”

And he’s not done yet.