Annie Saunders and Shelby LaVinga recently put what they’ve learned about the Good Samaritan parable into practice.
The two Holy Spirit High School cross country runners were competing against rival Wildwood Catholic Academy in a regular dual meet Sept. 28 at the shore. Because there were only two schools competing, the boys and girls varsity race ran simultaneously, and runners from both schools were off with the sound of the starter’s pistol.
Wildwood Catholic Academy freshman Cipriano “Cippy” Cruz-Perez was one of the guys off to a fast start, running the course that began at 15th Street and the beach in North Wildwood and swerved through nearby walking paths, dunes and even the boardwalk.
Along the course, Cruz-Perez suffered a hamstring injury and was in a lot of pain well out of sight of any of the officials, parents and coaches. Saudners and LaVinga, who routinely run together at meets, quickly approached and made a split-second decision that would have a heavy effect on their time.
“We went past these big bushes, and the officials couldn’t see us anymore,” said LaVinga, a sophomore. “He fell down and was holding his leg and trying to get up but he couldn’t. We asked him if he was OK, and he said no. I knew we had to do something.”
Help was in the other direction, and it would cost the girls any chance at a good time to go back. It didn’t matter.
“He was screaming and looked like he was in a lot of pain,” said Saunders, a junior. “So we turned around and ran back [to the start] to get help.”
Cruz-Perez got the help he needed and was helped off the course and treated for strains in both of his hamstrings. He was said to be “on the mend” and back to practice, said Joseph Cray, Wildwood Catholic Acadmy principal.
“He has a great attitude,” Cray said of Cruz-Perez. “He’s super friendly, and he appreciated it so much that the girls went out of their way to help him.”
Saunders and LaVinga started the race over, several minutes behind the pack, which was now completely out of sight.
“Our coach thought we got lost,” Saunders said. “We were so far away from anyone else by the time we got back on course that we had no idea where we were running. It took us a while to finish that meet. But it was pretty good overall.”
The girls’ times were much longer than usual due to the detour, but the Spartans still managed to win both the boys and girls meets. The times affected each girl’s averages for the season, but they didn’t seem to mind.
“I feel like what I did was more important than any time,” Saunders said.
LaVinga agreed. “Same thing as Annie, I didn’t really care at that moment,” LaVinga said. “I just wanted to make sure he was OK.”
In the end, Cruz-Perez cheered the girls on from the sidelines as they finished the race.
They also gained a fan in Cray.
“From an administrator’s standpoint as from a parent’s standpoint, it’s so refreshing to see another teenage athlete have so much concern and caring about another person,” Cray said. “And at the same time not be worried about their own time and how that was going to affect their personal score or even their school’s score.”
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