When it comes to track, it’s always about who ran the fastest, jumped the highest or threw the shot or the discus the farthest. But sometimes there are stories, GREAT, INSPRATIONAL STORIES, that don’t have to do with who won.

For instance, I remember watching the local news in the fall, I think it was, and there was an amazing story about a young lady (she may have been from the Youngstown area), who was competing in the state high school cross country meet and was almost near the finish line. Then came a gruesome sight. She broke her leg on the course and fell to the ground.

But this young lady had the courage and fortitude to crawl and limp her way to the finish line, despite being in obvious pain.

It was a story of incredible self-will. This young lady needed medical help, but she didn’t want it. She was withering with pain but she wanted to finish that race, and if you watched the video, you couldn’t help but get a little emotional, knowing she was in a world of pain. But watching her will her way to that finish line, regardless of the pain she was experiencing, was breathtaking and moving.

The yound lady gave a great television interview a few days later and it was great to see she was doing well and was in good spirts. I think she even joked that all she was thinking about, when she went down, was that she wasn’t going to be able to dance at her sister’s wedding later that night.

I witnessed another incredible story, but it didn’t involve injury. A few years ago I was covering a regional track meet at Ravenna and the Copley girls were favored in this particular relay event. As the race began, Copley was right there, as expected. But during one of the exchanges, the baton was dropped and the team was out of the race.

The young lady who dropped the baton was devasted. I mean, I had never seen an athlete more distraught. What I found out later was that the young lady was only a sophomore and there were two seniors on that relay team. The sophomore felt she had blown it for the seniors because it was their last chance to make it to state.

She was on the infield of the track, as the race was still going, slumped over an emotional ball.

She just shuddered and shook as she cried.

Then, former Copley standout Carrie Dyer, who was a senior and on that relay team, ran to the young runner to comfort her.

Then the rest of the realy team followed.

To me, that was one of the most inspirational stories I had ever witnessed.

The sophomore was heartbroken. But she was heartbroken because she cared about her teammates and wanted to perform at her best so that it would help the seniors.

It didn’t happen. But when it didn’t happen, the seniors weren’t mad, bitter or upset. They showed support for their younger teammate because they loved her. And in the end, winning didn’t matter.

So, with that, I’m asking readers to post any inspirational stories you witnessed, in track or any other sport, that didn’t involve someone winning.

A story where someone overcame odds to get where they are. Or a story about teammates helping one another.

Those are the most compelling stories.

Here is some cross country analysis as leagues/conferences hold their championship meets and the state championships approach.

Louisville senior Kyle Kling and Medina junior Donny Roys have each been impressive runners this season, but there are still several teams that have a good collection of talent and other individuals that are having success.

The cross country teams at Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy and Woodridge are two examples of squads that have consistently fared well at invitationals this season, in addition to Louisville, Medina, North Canton Hoover Green, Jackson, Louisville, Hudson, Crestwood, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Vincent-St. Mary and Walsh Jesuit.

CVCA and Woodridge have front-end talent and depth that make them a contender at each meet.

CVCA has been led by juniors Katie Gillespie and Kyle Sullinger. The girls and boys teams each placed first recently at the Legends Meet at the Trumbull County Fairgrounds.

Gillespie and junior Carolyn Case have paced the Royals girls squad with freshmen Joy Talbott, Irene Frangos and Hannah Lyons also being key contributors. The girls team placed first in September at the Division II Boardman Spartan Invitational.

Sullinger and sophomores Ross Crocker and Mark Talbott have paced the Royals boys squad.

The Woodridge girls’ squad was second to CVCA at Boardman. The Bulldogs have been led by juniors Emily Sabo, Erin Mercer and sophomore Becca Howdyshell.

The Woodridge boys’ team won the Division II Boardman Spartan Invitational in September behind senior Brian Himelright, who placed first. The Bulldogs have also received significant contributions from juniors Michael Rhodes and Joe White, seniors Tony Marette and Matthew Weiss and freshmen Jimmy Charles and Vibus Sivakumaran.

This Saturday several leagues will be holding their championship. The City Series and Suburban League will be running at Goodyear Metro Park in Akron.

The Firestone boys will look to defend their title after winning the past four titles and five out of the past six. The Ellet girls will look to win the title for a sixth season in a row.

The football season is approaching, so I compiled a list of high school seniors from the Beacon Journal’s five-county coverage area who are listed as prospects on www.scout.com. There are several area players who are not on this list who will surely play in college. Nonetheless, this should give you some names to look for this season.

Here are the players, the positions they are being recruited at and their high schools (click on the player’s name for more information from scout.com and make sure to scroll down the player’s bio page to see which colleges have made offers):

DeVoe Torrence/running back/transfered from Canton South to Massillon Washington/committed to Ohio State University

Johnny Adams/wide receiver/Buchtel

Steve Yoak/linebacker/Archbishop Hoban

Will Fleming/safety/Archbishop Hoban

Eric Magnacca/safety/Perry

Whitney Mercilous/defensive end/Garfield

Larry Dawson/running back/North

K.J. Herring/runnning back/Massillon Washington

Jeff White/running back/Alliance

Carlin Isles/running back/Jackson

Kameron Alexander/running back/Buchtel

Dominic Surace/fullback/Twinsburg

Jordan Bell/wide receiver/Barberton

Chris Edwards/wide receiver/Wadsworth

Teddy Robb/wide receiver/Northwest

Justin Ray/offensive line/St. Thomas Aquinas

Reggie Comeaux/offensive line/Massillon Washington

Grady Spidell/offensive line/Buchtel

Kevin Dahl/linebacker/North Canton Hoover

David Whipple/safety/Canton South

Matthew Vick/safety/Perry

Steve Schott/kicker/Massillon Washington

Steve Yoak