Raleigh, N.C. – Former Appalachian State University cross country and distance runner Brandon Hudgins became the first Mountaineer to run a sub-four minute mile on Friday night.

The Rock Hill, S.C. native ran his in 3:59.67 and placed fifth out of 15 runners in the 2015 Sir Walter Miler on the campus of Meredith College. The event was part of a festival of mile races that featured several pro runners including Rob Myers of the USA Track and Field team.

"It means the world to me and it's been 10 years in the making," said Hudgins after the race. "I've been dreaming about this since I was 16 years old."

Cross country head coach and track and field distance coach, Michael Curcio mentioned that Hudgins has been working at Westglow Resort and Spa for two years but has been chasing this elusive goal during that time. Hudgins completed the mile in less than four minutes despite battling Wegener's disease, which restricts blood flow to various organs.

"I've quit three times because of my immune system just knocking me out," said Hudgins. "I didn't think I could get back. There's a lot of people that believed in me and there's a lot of times that I didn't believe in myself. To do it here in North Carolina with my mom, dad and coach here, I really can't describe it."

During his time at App State as a graduate, Hudgins was a 2010 SoCon Champion in the 800m indoor and 1500m outdoor (2009-10) before earning second-team All-SoCon honors with a ninth-place finish at the SoCon Cross Country Championships (2010-11).

Hudgins ran as an undergrad at Winthrop and experienced a successful career there including two All-Big-South nods in the mile run and the 800-meter run as well as the school record in the indoor mile (4:09.71).