'I didn't want to just leave him there': Treutlen athlete stops to help Macon competitor
MIDDLE GEORGIA -- In a sport all about speed and passing competition - stopping is just not an option.
However, in a recent race, Daylon Meeks stopped in his tracks after his competitor took a tumble.
It was a moment that had onlookers snapping this shot.
"We were a quarter of the way done, like we were so close to being done. And I don’t want to just leave him there," shared Meeks, a student at Treutlen County Middle School.
Two teens at odds - leaning on each other towards the finish line.
“I started off good – until around the middle," Aiden Duque of Mount De Sales Academy.
Aiden said he started slowing down, while Daylon was catching up.
Then, the two were side by side.
"Until I stepped in that hole. And I fell and all my weight went on my ankle," said Roque.
Aiden collapsed on the track.
“I was crying," shared Roque. "I was in so much pain.”
It was a pain Daylon couldn’t ignore.
“I didn’t want to just leave him there," said Meeks. "So I stopped and sat there for a minute and proceeded to pick him up and take him to the finish line.”
At that point, Daylon said he wasn’t worried about winning.
“I didn’t want him to not be able to finish the race because of his ankle. So I wanted to at least help him finish the race," said Meeks.
“He stopped, he helped me up," shared Roque. "And let me put most of my pressure onto his arm and ran about the last 300 meters with me to finish the race.”
“As I’m running with him, I’m yelling ‘you can do this! Just finish the race! You’re so close!'" said Meeks.
And they did.
The once competitors turned friends, exchanged numbers at the end of the meet.
A rare act of sportsmanship, neither will soon forget.
“I just wanna say thank you to Daylon for helping me even though we didn’t really know each other and for being a good person," shared Roque.
Roque’s ankle is doing better after having a few days to rest up.
As for Meeks, he said he would do this all over again if it meant helping someone out.
