District 5 Wrestling Coach of the Year. He was the State of Maine Report Editor for WRESTLING USA Magazine in 1980–1981. He enlisted in the United States Army in October 1981. In November 1982, he won the Fort Riley, Kansas Post Freestyle Wrestling Championship in the 158 lbs weight class. In January 1983, Hernandez was selected to the All-Army National Wrestling team at Ft. Bliss, Texas. Hernandez won a Bronze at the Texas Tech Wrestling Invitational and helped the Army National Team win the team title. In November 1983, he won his second Ft. Riley Post Wrestling Championship in the 158 lbs weight class and was selected the "Outstanding Wrestler" of the 3 day tournament. In April 1984, he participated in the 1984 US Olympic Greco-Roman Wrestling Trials. Hernandez attended a Sambo clinic during the Olympic Trials, where he was introduced to the sport of Sambo . In April 1985, he won the USA Wrestling Vermont State Freestyle Championships in the 163 lbs weight class and in April 1986, he won the USA Wrestling Massachusetts State Freestyle Wrestling Championships in the 180 lbs weight class. In July 1986, he was a Bay State Games Freestyle Wrestling finalist. Hernandez was named Outstanding Wrestler as he won his first United States National Sambo Championship in May 1987 at the Amateur Athletic Union National Sambo Championships held at Howard University Washington, D.C.. He won the AAU National Greco-Roman Masters Championships, the Greco-Roman Masters All-Around Championship and placed 4th in the Greco-Roman Open. In June 1989, Hernandez won 3 National AAU Medals at the Amateur Athletic Union National Masters and Open Free-Style Wrestling Championships held in Battle Creek, Michigan. He lost in the National Open Finals, took 2nd place in the All-Round Masters Division Finals and finished 4th in the Masters 35- to 40-year-old age group. In July 1991, Hernandez won two Gold Medals at the 1991 Amateur Athletic Union National Masters Free-Style Wrestling Championships held in Battle Creek, Michigan. He won the 35-39 age-group and the Masters All-Round Championships. He was selected for the "Most Outstanding Wrestler Award" of the tournament . Hernandez was named to WRESTLING USA "National Honor Roll of Champions" in 1983 and in 1992. In 1995, he took fifth place as a member of the USA Wrestling National Veterans Team at the Fédération Internationale des Luttes Associées World Veterans Freestyle Wrestling Championships held in Sofia, Bulgaria. Hernandez, at age