Quick thinking in critically important moments almost comes naturally for Hays High freshman Evan Bratton.

Several years ago, Bratton was with friends at an area water park when he helped a child in distress escape the current of a waterfall.

“I just had to help him out,” Bratton said.

That same mindset whirred through Bratton’s mind March 21 when he leapt into a part of Onion Creek at Camp Ben McCullough near Driftwood to save a four-year-old boy from drowning – all of i...