They aren't the fastest cross country runners to wear a St. Anthony's uniform. But Bridget Rodin and Christina DelGenio still expect to finish what they start. The Xavier Invitational was no different.

But on an overcast Saturday morning at Van Cortland Park in the Bronx, these seniors never did cross the finish line of the 3.1-mile course. When Rodin came across a fellow runner lying facedown in the woods, she didn't think twice.

Unlike dozens of other participants who raced by without a wink, Rodin stopped. The stricken runner, a sophomore from upstate Shaker High School in Latham, would later say she was dehydrated, became dizzy and collapsed.

She was unconscious when Rodin, along with two other Shaker runners, tried to turn her over. Along came DelGenio, who pulled off the course to offer help.

"I saw them stopped to pick her up so I stopped,'' said DelGenio, a co-captain from Centereach. "Everyone kept going. I couldn't imagine seeing it happen and finishing the race. I'm glad I stopped to help her out.''

Rodin, a co-captain from Islip Terrace, is a CPR certified swim instructor. She checked the stricken runner's vitals and then organized a rescue. Rodin, DelGenio and three others carried the girl approximately a quarter mile to a part of the park an ambulance could access.

"It was a scary situation,'' Rodin said. "It could have been any one of us that day.''

The Shaker runner was treated and released from an area hospital. And while Rodin and DelGenio never did finish the course, they did something far bigger than shave a few seconds off their personal bests. They answered the call heroically when life interrupted.

• Q & A: Rich Reichert Sept. 22, 2007