NSU Horizons Spring 2016

both had she not stopped. “Mentally, it’s tough because I was right behind them, and then, all of a sudden, people saw me 100 yards behind and think I got tired,” Oelerich said. Oelerich finished the race in 16th place with a time of 23:58.20. NSU Coach Bryan Hagopian, M.S., was initially disappointed with her time, not knowing the circumstances. As a team, NSU finished fourth. Had Oelerich not stopped, she likely would have accumulated enough points for NSU to finish third, just ahead of Florida Tech. “I told Imke that if she had finished a little higher, we could’ve done better as a team,” Hagopian said. “That’s when she told me what happened. As much as I wanted to be mad at her, I wasn’t, because she did the right thing by stopping. I was actually excited that I have such a good group of women who think about more than racing.” Sullivan said she is grateful to Oelerich. “It was really nice that she did that—it was super sportsmanlike,” Sullivan said. “She risked a few seconds, which is the most important thing in running. But I’m not surprised [she stopped]. The running community is large and supportive.” Hagopian, who likes to prepare his runners for any eventuality, had never briefed them on this particular sub- ject, although he said he will in the future. “This was one of the most interesting and coolest things I’ve seen in 20 years of coaching,” Hagopian said. “[In the future], I would encourage my athletes to help the opposing runner at least long enough to know that help is on the way. I know the mind-set is to always win. But I’d rather have someone safe than a win-at-any-cost attitude.” 43 NSU HORIZONS Imke Oelerich crosses the finish line at the Sunshine State Conference championship, where she had stopped to help a rival runner who had fallen on a remote part of the course.