Brian Hull

The Chautauqua Sports Hall of Fame will enshrine eight individuals at its 44th annual Induction Banquet on Presidents Day, Monday, Feb. 16, 2026, at the Lakewood Rod & Gun Club. In addition to Brian Hull, the other inductees are: Kenny Betts, Jennifer Giebner Donato, Dr. Karl Englert Jr., Brianne Prince Hazelton, Trevor Hitchcock, Kerry Kellogg and Dan Wolfe. Tickets are available for $50 at the CSHOF, 15 W. Third St., Jamestown, by calling Chairman Chip Johnson at 716-485-6991 or online at www.chautauquasportshalloffame.org.

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One of the very best runners in Chautauqua County history, a New York state champion in both cross country and track and field, and the record holder for the fastest 2-mile run in county history, Brian Hull, has been selected as a 2026 inductee of the Chautauqua Sports Hall of Fame, taking his rightful place beside other outstanding distance runners such as Brad Rendell (1982) and Nolan Swanson (2003).

Hull was a 1974 graduate of Southwestern Central where he was coached by Tom Priester (CSHOF 2014). He was a four-year letterman in both cross country and track for the Trojans.

Hull was undefeated in league cross-country competition in both his junior and senior years while setting 11 course records.

He was the county and Section VI champion in both 1972 and 1973. As a junior he placed third at the New York state meet and as a senior he was the Class C state champion at Binghamton with the fastest time of all runners regardless of classification.

Other highlights of Hull’s senior season were winning Class A at both the McQuaid and Baldwinsville Invitationals and winning Class C at the Eastern States Championships.

In his final high school cross country race, he finished fourth in the National AAU Championships.

Hull was equally impressive for the track team during his years at Southwestern. He was a three-time county champ and four-time Section VI titleist in both the 1-mile and 2-mile races. In his senior year, he placed his name in the Southwestern record book in three individual events and four relays.

He set the county and Section VI record of 9:06 for the 2-mile run, a time that is still a standard, even if converted to a time in the 3,200-meter race that is now the regulation distance.

Hull won his second New York state championship of the school year when he broke the tape first in the 2-mile race. It is believed that Hull was the first Chautauqua County athlete to win two individual state titles in two different sports in the same year.

Upon graduation from Southwestern, Hull initially enrolled at Miami of Ohio, but then transferred to Cedarville University, a private, Christian school in southwest Ohio.

“Brian brought an excitement to our program,” Hull’s former Cedarville coach, Elvin King, wrote. “In his first year, he placed second in the All-Ohio cross country meet that included all colleges and universities in the state. His level of competition was instrumental in the increased recognition of Cedarville athletics.”

He became an NAIA All-American in cross country and a three-time All-American in the 3,000-meter steeplechase.

Following his collegiate career, Hull became a physical education teacher for the Whitney Point schools. He is now retired. He and his wife live in Cincinnatus and Sebring, Florida.

He became an inductee of the Section VI Hall of Fame in 2014 and is also a member of the Southwestern Athletic Hall of Fame.

Fred Larson, the legendary cross country and track coach at Fredonia Central for three decades, and a 2023 inductee of the Chautauqua Sports Hall of Fame, said this in his letter of recommendation: “Brian Hull was the best distance runner in both track and cross country runner in Western New York. He would attack a XC course or a track from start to finish. His mental and physical preparation made him a winner at the county, sectional and state level in both track and cross country. I and many other coaches watched in awe.”