COLUMBUS, Ohio – Meghan Vogel could have won the state title for the 1600 meter race, but sometimes a simple gesture can take on a much greater meaning.

That's what happened to the Ohio runner whose show of sportsmanship echoed far beyond a track meet.

What people at the race will remember won't be her win, but the race in which she finished last.

Victory Lap

Vogel was the 1600 meter state champion, the first girl from West Liberty Salem to win a track title in more than twenty years. She had just run the race of her life.

"Just to be able to achieve something you've worked all your life for, it's a good feeling and you can't put it into words," said Vogel.

After her victory, Vogel still had the 3200 meters to run, but her emotionally draining win had taken its toll.

An act of sportsmanship

She was just trying to finish the race when it happened. Competitor Arden McMath from Arlington High School had fallen just before reaching the finish line.

"I was coming around the turn and I had probably 100 meters left and she was 50 meters in front of me and I saw her fall," said Vogel.

What Vogel did next not only lifted up another runner, but an entire stadium.

"I just didn't think twice about it," said Vogel. "I knew I was going to pick her up and help her out. If you work to get to the state meet, you deserve to finish no matter who you are. I was going to make that happen for her no matter what."

The official results show that McMath finished 14th in the 3200 meters. Vogel placed 15th.

"It was really emotional and people came up to us in tears moved by what Meghan had done," said Ann Vogel, Meghan's coach and mother.

But in reality, the both of them finished together.

"Distance runners have this camaraderie they build running against each other for sometimes six years and you just get this relationship and you become a family," says Vogel.

The two share something else

"We actually ended up in the same training room together," said Vogel. "In the bed side by side getting fluids and trying to get rehydrated."

Vogel wears her winner's medal with pride, but she doesn't need it to show she's a champion.

"As a parent, it just knocked my socks off with what she did and her compassion and the fact she was just so humble about it and didn't really think it was that big of a deal it really impressed me," says Vogel.

Because sometimes it's not where you finish, but how you finish.

On Vogel's shirt is a slogan: Part speed. Part stamina. All heart.

It perfectly sums up the girl who found victory while finishing last.

"I knew any girl on that field would do that for me so I was going to do that for Arden," said Vogel.

Vogel plans to stay in touch with Arden. She will be a senior next year and Arden will be a junior. So, they will be running again next year.