Character, drive, sportsmanship. All three words that describe the ideal athlete. There are times when it really isn't about winning or losing, but how you play  the game.

American Heritage wasn't sure if they had won the 2A Cross Country State Championship or not. When Coach Mary Ellen Powers looked up at the results her team had edged out Carrolton School of the Sacred Heart by one point. It was the narrowest of margins, but Powers knew something wasn't right.

"When we collected the chips, our runner told us that she had two different numbers. Our third and sixth runners had mixed up the chips. Realizing the error we reported it and both girls were disqualified. If the chip mishap didn't happen, Carrolton would still have won and we would have been second."

The disqualification bumped American Heritage from a runner-up trophy to watching in the grandstands a disappointing fifth. Bolles coach Tony Ryan, whose team currently sat in third before the mishap, had no idea what was unraveling.

"The Bishop Kenny coach  told us Carrolton had won, American Heritage was second, and we were third.  We took our time heading to the awards because we didn't have an individual getting an award. I was going to look at the results for the boys and the American Heritage coach was nearby and she told us two of her runners got disqualified and the team was bumped to fifth."

If American Heritage was indeed wronged Ryan wanted to do the right thing. He knew his team did not make the podium. He went to meet management and reverted to timing methods of the past to see who really should have been where.

"I went to Scott Peters and said let's forget about chips. Let's go back to the way we used to do things pulling off tags. Who was first? He told me Carrolton. I said who was second? He told me American Heritage and that took care of that."

What happened next was the true meaning of sportsmanship. After going down to collect their runner-up medals and trophy Bolles' number one runner Lily Arnold asked her coach if they could give the medals to American Heritage. There was never any doubt in Ryan or the rest of the team's mind that it was the right thing to do.

"I always tell my boys and girls as long as a team beats us fair and square then they beat us fair and square. They got to the finish line before we did fair and square and it was an honest mix up. They beat us and that was the end of it."

 Both Bolles and American Heritage huddled up and the scene got very emotional as the teams exchanged medals and congratulated each other on a great season. Bolles' sophomore Lily Arnold said it was a much better feeling putting the medal around the neck of the American Heritage girl then when Bolles won the championship medal two years prior. Ryan stood back and watched the process unfold.

"I was about 15 meters behind and kind of let them do their things. It was basically the seven girls from each team. It got very emotional. It was a roller coaster day for our girls.  From hoping to win to finishing third to finding out two minutes before they announce the results that we were second, and then turning over the medals and trophy to American Heritage when we found out we were really second."

In the end of any sporting event there are going to be winners and losers, and kids who fought their hardest regardless of the outcome. The Bolles' girls are one of the most storied programs having placed in the top five the last 18 years. They might not have always won, but were always consistent. At the 2011 cross country state championships Ryan says they won't be remembered for where they placed, but for putting honor above awards.

"The girls joked that they were getting more publicity this year then for winning it two years ago. Every year they go into the state meet thinking they can win it. but they know in winning you need to do it the right way. I think our girls did the right thing."

Every girl told Ryan that they wouldn't have done it any other way and wouldn't have been able to look at the medals as if they had truly earned them. He says honesty and sportsmanship like that is rare to see especially in a day and age when there are college and professional sports scandals, and athletes who only see dollars and cents.

"We see them and then we have the high school kids who really teach the grownups how to do the right things. We see 13-17 year old girls making the right decisions that a lot of adults in the real world can't seem to make."

Video Package by our friends at First Coast News

flrunners.com race footage used in the on-air story.

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