Sophomore Jake Tobin being lauded as a class act on the field

By Jason Emerson

Editor

There’s an old saying, “It’s not whether you win or lose, but how you play the game.” What that means, in a word, is sportsmanship — and, last weekend, Cazenovia cross country runner Jake Tobin showed some serious class and sportsmanship during the Auburn Invitational when he helped, and cheered on, a rival runner.

And what started as a Facebook post from a cross country parent has become national news.

Towards the end of the Oct. 13 race, Tobin had just been passed by Fairport cross country team athlete Luke Fortner, a senior who is visually impaired and runs with a guide. As they approached the finish line, Fortner, being loudly cheered on by the crowd, slipped and fell while running up a hill.

Tobin, who joined the crowd in cheering and clapping for Fortner, immediately stopped, helped his opponent to his feet and helped push him up the hill.

“He passed me in last 200 meters and everyone was clapping so I joined in. I started clapping myself and then he just went down,” Tobin told the Cazenovia Republican. “I was right behind him; his aide grabbed one side, I grabbed the other, we picked him up and ran up the hill with him. He went back into his pace and I went back into mine, and he finished right before I did.”

To Tobin, he was simply helping a fallen runner, but to everyone else, it was an amazing act of sportsmanship.

A cross country parent at the meet took photos of the event and posted an explanation on Facebook. “Wanted to write your school to tell you how impressed I was by your XC team member today at the Auburn Invitational,” posted Karen Kraus Wylie. “Your XC team member did not only cheer and clap for [Fortner] as the student tried to run up the hill in front of him, but stopped and helped him to his feet when he slipped … [I] wanted to commend him and his great sportsmanship he showed to his fellow competitor.”

The Fairport boys cross country coach, Sean Van Laeken, also praised Tobin’s actions in an email to Michael Byrnes, the Cazenovia district athletic coordinator. “It was an awesome display of sportsmanship and kindness. Jake deserves to be commended!” Van Laeken wrote. “Please tell Jake and his coach the entire Fairport Cross Country team and family truly appreciate his choice in that moment.”

Byrnes told the Cazenovia Republican, “Jake is an outstanding example of a good person. It makes your heart warm to hear about a student who puts the competitive outcome for himself behind doing the right thing for another person who needed his help. We thank Jake for his actions on behalf of the school and our community.”

Jake’s mother Meg Tobin said she is incredibly proud of her son. “He is pretty humble about it, thinking that anyone would have done the same.”

“I honestly have no idea what all the hubbub is about,” Jake said. “If it had happened to anyone else, I still would have done it. At least I hope anyone would have picked up Luke, regardless of who it is — it’s just good sportsmanship.”

Wylie’s letter and photos, posted on the Cazenovia Central School District Facebook page, garnered more than 500 reactions, 64 comments and 78 shares within 36 hours of being posted. By Thursday morning, more than 630 people had reacted and nearly 100 had shared the post. One of the commenters was Cindy Spencer Fortner, Luke Fortner’s mother.

“I had the opportunity to shake Jake’s hand right after this race. My son is the runner he helped up and I was overwhelmed with Jake’s sportsmanship and kindness. What a wonderful gesture and, from what I could tell, Jake didn’t see what the big deal was in his actions. Amazing character!” she wrote.

“I’m not surprised at all by Jake’s actions, that is who he is. He’s the kind of person who literally lifts others up around him. And Jake is such a humble guy that he didn’t even think much of it after the race,” said the Cazenovia boys cross country coach Jason Hyatt. “I made a big deal about it in front of our whole team at our next practice because I think you should take time to recognize character like that. I told the team that we all need guys like Jake in our life and we can also be like Jake to other people. We will all stumble and fall in life and need support from others around us — and we can also be there for other people when they’re in need and lift them up.”

By Wednesday, the story had become national news, being picked up by the Associated Press, then reprinted online by the Washington Post and the New York Times.

“It’s kind of a lot to take in at one time,” Tobin said. “I’ll just keep living my life. It’s a great feeling that people think it’s great, but I don’t understand how big of a thing this has become. “I believe in good sportsmanship and just being a good person all the time. My family always helps each other, builds each other up and does not tear each other down, and I just try to do that all the time.”