Grove City’s Kristen Carter was about a half mile from successfully defending her title in the 2007 Presidents’ Athletic Conference Cross Country Championships when an official’s honest mistake nearly derailed her chance of repeating.

Carter’s graciousness in the midst of heated competition led to the senior being selected as a divisional winner and one of six finalists – one male and one female from each division – for the 2008 NCAA Sportsmanship Award.

Heading into last year’s PAC cross country meet, Carter felt like she had a decent chance of not just doing well, but also achieving her goal of setting a course record. She was well on her way to doing just that when she came upon a barrier in the course that was to have been removed after the first loop of the race was completed. Confused, Carter questioned a nearby race volunteer who mistakenly pointed her in the wrong direction. Seconds later, one of the main meet directors realized the error and immediately corrected Carter’s direction, forcing her to back track and leap over the barrier still blocking the course.

“I was almost too confused to process what was going on,” Carter said. “I just tried to get focused and finish as strong as I could.”

Though Carter maintained the lead, the delay allowed the second-place runner to gain significant ground and nearly pass her. While Carter went on to capture her second straight PAC individual title with a 13-second advantage, hopes of a course record were dashed.

After the race, rather than complaining about the mix up, Carter asked a race observer about the confusion on the course and was informed that the volunteer responsible for not removing the barrier had been verbally reprimanded. Hearing how upset the volunteer was about the error, Carter sought out the young woman, reassured her that she wasn’t upset and even shared a hug and a little laugh.

For Carter, the experience reinforced the importance of focusing on things she can control, rather than dwelling on things she can’t.

“In my situation, I was directed the wrong way and there was nothing I could have done to change that. They had barriers set up to look like I wasn’t supposed to go the right way,” she said. “So you focus on what you can control, do your best despite whatever circumstances are out there then just try to be happy knowing you did your best given the circumstances.”

Carter credits her student-athlete experience at Grove City for shaping her perspective on sportsmanship. Consequently, in being named as one of the NCAA’s Sportsmanship Award winners, she said she was almost more excited for her school and the coaches than she was for herself.

“I owe a lot of what I’ve learned character-wise from my coach and to the athletics department here,” she said. “My coach taught me a lot about sportsmanship, winning selflessly and how to run for the team.”

Carter is a senior communications studies and marketing management double major at Grove City.

Central Washington softball student-athlete Mallory Holtman and the St. John Fisher baseball program were chosen as the overall winners of the 2008 NCAA Sportsmanship Award. This is the ninth year for the honor, which recognizes student-athletes who have demonstrated one or more of the ideals of sportsmanship, including fairness, civility, honesty, unselfishness, respect and responsibility, through their actions in the competitive arena of intercollegiate athletics. Recipients are selected by the NCAA Committee on Sportsmanship and Ethical Conduct.

Click here to read about Peter French, a divisional sportsmanship winner from Air Force. Click here to read about Latasha Jarrett, a divisional sportsmanship winner from Hartford. Click here to read about Einar Often, a divisional sportsmanship award winner from Alaska Fairbanks. Click here to read about Peter French, a divisional sportsmanship award winner from Air Force. For coverage of the sportsmanship award winners from Central Washington and St. John Fisher, click here.