Nebraska High school senior Brandon Schutt knew if his time was good enough that day, he could still qualify for the upcoming state meet. A mile into the 3.1-mile race, however, Brandon realized he wasn’t going to be able to keep up the pace he needed.  So rather than risk injury, he slowed to a comfortable pace that would allow him to just enjoy his last meet in high school. 

Meanwhile, a sophomore from the other team, Blake Cerveny, was running to beat his own personal record, after a fast start, he continued to push himself hard. With less than 400 meters to go, Blake’s legs cramped up and failed him.  He fell down.He got back up, only to fall again after another 150 meters… and again, he got up and started running. This time he’d made it only 25 meters more before going down. But he wasn’t done yet.

His dad and his coach asked Blake if he wanted to stop. He didn’t. He pushed on only to fall again 100 meters from the finish. That’s when Brandon was there to give him a hand.  It took a couple of tugs to get him up but they finished the last 75 meters hanging on to each other. But Brandon even made sure Blake crossed before he did. Here’s the thing…they were strangers and really didn’t get a chance to meet until after local news coverage brought attention to the story.

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