People in Monmouth County gathered Saturday to take steps toward saving young lives while honoring one that was taken too soon.

Participants came out in Lincroft to participate in the Nicole's Heart Foundation 5K. The event raised money and awareness for heart defect screenings in young athletes.

The foundation is run by the mother of 18-year-old Nicole Trott, who was was a competitive gymnast and cheerleader. She had just graduated high school, and hoped become a vet. But the teen suffered a sudden cardiac arrest while running. She collapsed and died.

"There's no tests that have been done on these kids because these kids are generally picture-perfect," explains Trott's mother, Pat Trott. "They're in great physical health, they're athletes, every year they get their school physical, it's approved, but you can have an underlying condition nobody knows about -- which was the case with my daughter."

Nicole Trott's sudden death led her mother and friends to start Nicole's Heart Foundation. So far, the foundation has paid to screen over 800 high schoolers and their goal is to screen as many young adults as their doctors can handle.

According to statistics, more than 2,000 children and teens die in the U.S. each year from sudden cardiac arrest.

This is the second year the 5K event has taken place. More than 100 runners turned out for the event Saturday.