High school player dies after scoring winner

Topdawg13 · Mar 6, 2011

-R.I.P-

One moment: a perfect shot to end a perfect season. The star player, just 16, lifted off the floor in celebration. Teenagers triumphant, crowds cheering, the district playoffs ahead, the future open wide.

The next: Wes Leonard on the gym floor, his enlarged heart failing, his life fading just a few moments after his victory layup. Packed bleachers suddenly stunned by an event that made basketball seem a distant, unimportant memory.

On Thursday evening, Leonard sent the ball through the hoop from close range with less than 30 seconds left in overtime. The final shot gave Fennville High a 57-55 victory over Bridgman High and a 20-0 regular season.

After the teams exchanged handshakes, Fennville players celebrated. Some began scrambling to organize a team photo that would commemorate their undefeated record. That's when the 6-foot-2, 215-pound Leonard collapsed, with an estimated 1,400 fans watching.

Leonard was rushed to nearby Holland Hospital, where paramedics performed CPR before he was pronounced dead. An autopsy conducted Friday by the Ottawa County medical examiner showed Leonard died of cardiac arrest due to an enlarged heart.

"It shouldn't have been like this," teammate Adam Siegel said. "Too young."

Medical examiner David Start said the stress Leonard placed on his heart through athletics could have played a role, but his death could not be easily explained.

"Why at this event as opposed to another basketball or football game, I don't know," Start told the Grand Rapids Press. He did not immediately return a call from The Associated Press.
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MikeHoncho · Mar 6, 2011

Damn RIP

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