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There are not always enough "good" stories in sports-- but here is one that truly represents the essence of high school athletics and the North Carolina High School Athletic Association.
Tommy Harkey,
athletic director at North Stanly High School, says, "This event at the
regional cross country meet had spectators clapping, cheering, and crying at
the same time." Drew Laucher, the North Stanly cross-country coach, wrote
a story about it for the local paper, The Stanly News and Press, which
drew additional attention to it.
Jenna Huff is a
runner for North Stanly who was competing at Dan Nicholas Park in the 2-A
Midwest Regional for the right to advance to the state championship. Late in
the race she is in 22nd place, trailing Deb Gunther of Cuthbertson
by about five meters. Suddenly Gunther screams in pain and grabs her hip,
almost stopping.
Instead of sprinting
past Gunther to gain a spot in the standings, Huff slows down, checks on her
and tells her, "Come on," gently putting her hand on Gunther's elbow.
They shuffle along toward
the finish line, and as coach Laucher says, "As they approach the finish
line, the crowd catches on. Applause and cheers erupt. Jenna puts Deb in front
of her, just as it would have been before Deb's hip gave out. Jenna didn't take
that point; it was always Deb's so it stayed Deb's."
That in itself is
remarkable, but it also had an impact on the meet. It turned out that
Cuthbertson and Salisbury tied for first in the regional meet, and ties in
cross country means that the performance of the sixth-place finisher is used.
Cuthbertson's sixth-place runner: Deb Gunther.
As
Harkey noted, "Jenna could have passed the Cuthbertson runner, but instead
made sure she went across the finish line in front of her, which ended up
giving Cuthbertson the victory over Salisbury."
Coach
Laucher was right when he said, "Cuthbertson won the regional meet that
day. Jenna Huff won the crowd."
Stories
like this may be fairly rare in the world of sports today, but fortunately they
are not so rare in the realm of NCHSAA athletics. Our thanks to North Stanly
High School and The Stanly News and Press for their accounts, and most
especially we salute Jenna Huff of North Stanly High School for exhibiting the
values that we hope our sports programs promote.
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