Ella DesJean - MileSplit IN Sportsmanship Moment of the Year


Ella DesJean helping Emma Mann to get across the finish line at the Mt. Vernon Sectional.  

Ella DesJean - MileSplit IN Sportsmanship Moment of the Year

It happens much more frequently than we often think- a student-athlete does something selfless and amazing. We tend to forget in our world which keeps constantly moving along to the next meet, the next test, and the next practice that the athletes we coach and the students we teach are great human beings. Our minds tend to move as rapidly as the news cycle or social media.

If you missed one of those moments in the 2021 cross country season- the fans, parents, coaches and fellow athletes who attended the Mt. Vernon Sectional did not miss this and will gladly remind you about it. 

Matt Sweetman, the boys and girls head coach at Franklin Central, certainly did not miss it. Ella DesJean, his sophomore star and returning number one runner, defined for us all what IHSAA sports and being a selfless person should look like. 

Ella DesJean was running her first race of the season at the Sectional. After being the number one returner on a team full of promise, her season had so far been limited due to injury. She was finally regaining enough form to get back into the lineup and try and help her Franklin Central teammates in a quest for back-to-back state qualifying runs.

Senior Emma Mann from New Palestine was leading the Girls' Sectional race heading into the last straightaway. Mann was the 2020 runner-up to a teammate and enjoying a fine senior season. Then something happened, she went down and struggled to regain her footing. 

As Ella, comfortably running in second, turned home for the finish, she looked up and saw Mann laying on the grass. This is where DesJean's true character shone bright.  

Instead of simply retelling the story, Ella herself has eloquently expressed her recollection of the day and the emotional details behind the events that would occur that morning. 

From Ella's essay to MileSplit Indiana:

"The dictionary defines sportsmanship as behavior in a sport that is fair and shows respect to the other players. To me, Sportsmanship is putting others' needs before yourself and pushing them to be the very best they can be. Running has taught me hard work, discipline, and dedication. Every day it pushes me to become better. 

The day of the sectional meet marked a very hard day in the lives of my family. This day a year ago was the day my brother was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma, a form of bone cancer. This also was my first meet of the season, as I had been injured for the vast majority of the season, which made my anxiety go even higher. 

We did our normal meet routine, warm-up stretched, and then headed for the starting line. Just like that, we are standing on the line, the nerves are high, and right next to us stands one of our rivals, New Palestine. 

The gun goes off... the race has finally begun. The race is going well and everything is going according to plan, our team is performing well. I began to approach the final turn of the race. I look up and right in front of me lies Emma on the ground. 

At that moment nothing else mattered. To me, all that mattered was getting Emma up and making sure she was ok. My first instinct was to grab her and help her up, but if I did that I would have been disqualified. The next best thing I could do was to try to encourage her to get up and keep going. 

After a few steps and a few falls, I got her as close to the line as I could before I crossed the finish line. The minute I crossed the finish line I ran over to her and awaited help. During the awards ceremony, I received the first-place ribbon. In my mind, Emma deserved the first place ribbon based on her race performance, and I made it my mission to get it to her. 

Throughout all of this, running has taught me that it doesn't matter if you win or lose. At the end of the day, doing what is right is what truly matters most."

It would have been so easy to run past Mann, finish the race, be overcome by her own emotion of everything hitting her that day, and celebrate with her teammates. I have coached for nearly 20 years and I would not have faulted her one bit knowing her backstory. But DesJean's mind, actually probably her heart, would not let her.

We should not miss this moment to congratulate her parents for the person they are creating. It is also important to recognize Coach Sweetman's obvious team culture and caring attitude that fosters an environment where Ella has more concern about others than herself.


Mann and DesJean meeting the week after the Sectional. DesJean received the IHSAA Sportsmanship Pin from both New Palestine and Franklin Central. Mann and her mother helped present the awards. (Photo Credits: FC Twitter)


Coach Sweetman has high praise for Ella.

"Ella is a special athlete and a special kid. She doesn't want anything given to her. She wants to earn everything that comes her way, which is why she was so adamant that she was NOT taking that blue ribbon. She didn't earn it, didn't want it, and couldn't wait to get it to Emma Mann because she was just better than her that day. 

Ella spent most of the season out with some soft tissue problems and we were extra careful bringing her back knowing we were not the same team without her in the lineup so going into the Sectional she had only been running for a week. 

The goal for that meet was just to get a chance to compete and make some progress toward being as ready as she could be for Semi State when it really mattered for our team. We were the 7th or 8th best team in the Semi State all season without Ella so all our eggs were going in one basket. 

So in a lot of ways the Sectional meet was a big stepping stone and she knew that, but clearly put a peer before herself. Emma and her mother came to one of our practices the following week to present Ella with an IHSAA Sportsmanship award from New Palestine as well as another one from Franklin Central. It was a pretty cool moment with lots of hugs and tears.

Ella went on to run phenomenal races at the Semi State and finished 39th at State having only trained for 4 weeks. A feat that most of the state would be ecstatic with but all Ella thought about was the team missing the podium finishing 7th. She wanted that for our seniors, again putting others ahead of herself. As a coach I can't tell you how proud I am of Ella's ability to salvage a tough season, but I'm even more proud of how she did it and the person she showed everyone that she is."

 

DesJean (#633) finishing a strong 39th at the IHSAA State Finals

DesJean could have been "right" doing so many things that morning. She could have been focused on her family and brother- running right past the competition for the victory and then worrying about her competitor as she thought of her own family's struggles. 

She could have been so overcome with the emotion of getting past injury and racing again that she flew past Mann without thinking about Mann's troubles. 

She could have been a high school sophomore who did not know what to do and ran through the finish line wondering what exactly she should have done. 

DesJean's actions, given her backstory, would have been justifiable to everyone no matter her choice. But she knew exactly what to do.  

Ella revealed her true character. That is obviously what makes Ella special and worthy of high praise. Ella DesJean is exactly what we want all of our student-athletes to embody- selflessness and a mindfulness about others.

Congratulations to Ella (and her family, Coach Sweetman, and the Flashes team) for earning the MileSplit Indiana Sportsmanship Moment of the Year.