In a true act of sportsmanship, Hawkesbury High School student Ashley Barter set aside her own goals on Wednesday to see that a fellow competitor finished the zone across country carnival after suffering an ankle injury early in the race.
Students from across the region gathered for the annual Sydney West Zone Cross Country Carnival in Eastern Creek on Wednesday, to take on the next level of competition after succeeding at school level.
Ashley, a Year 10 student, said that during her race she noticed a girl from Hills Sports High roll her ankle and appeared to be in quite a bit of pain.
“I told her I wanted her to finish the race and that I would run with her. I didn’t want to run off as I wanted to make sure that she would be okay,” Ashley said.
As the race progressed the injured girl told Ashley she wanted to stop, but Ashley continued to encourage her to keep pushing forward.
As they approached the final stretch of the race Ashley said she began to pull away from her new found friend, but when she looked back she saw the girl slowing down to stop.
“I didn’t want her to stop, I wanted her to finish, so I ran back and stuck by her side and we crossed the line together."
Hawkesbury High School sports coordinator and team manager at the carnival on Wednesday, Phil Devine, said the school was proud of Ashley’s efforts.
“This act of sportsmanship not only reflects greatly on Ashley as a person, but also on our school,” Mr Devine said.
“We are immensely proud of Ashley. She is a lovely young lady.”
The girls finished in 9th and 10th place respectively, but in the eyes of carnival goers, the were both winners on the day.