Add this to the season’s files of notable cross-country race happenings.
Last month, Minnesota eighth-grader Gracie Bucher fell four times approaching the finish line of a high school sectional meet, unknowingly competing with what was later diagnosed as mononucleosis, according to NBC’s affiliate in Minneapolis-St. Paul.
Bucher eventually made it to the end, thanks to an opponent.
Liana Blomgren, as 12th-grader from another school, helped Bucher to her feet, and they finished together.
“She was definitely a miracle for me,” Bucher said, according to the NBC affiliate.