The death of 14-year-old cross-country runner Megan Myers after a three-mile race stunned Dana Hills High School, as students and parents tried Thursday to comprehend the loss of an athlete with so much life yet to live.
"She was the greatest kid, very bright and full of life," said Terry Tutton, a longtime friend of Myers and her family. "She had always been a runner and very athletic."
The freshman collapsed Wednesday afternoon while competing against Capistrano Valley High School at Laguna Niguel Regional Park.
Witnesses said she was about two miles into the race when she began to feel faint and was helped along by a teammate.
"They thought she was dehydrated, so they gave her liquids," Tutton said. "She got up and walked and then collapsed."
Her coach, Rex Hall, immediately administered CPR. Paramedics and emergency personnel arrived and struggled in vain to revive the girl.
A parent who witnessed the event but asked not to be identified said spectators thought Myers had fainted.
"Then the girls started crying," he said. "Then the paramedics started doing CPR, and we knew this wasn't normal."
Myers was taken to Mission Hills Hospital in Mission Viejo and pronounced dead at 5:59 p.m., said Jim Amormino, spokesman for the Orange County Sheriff's Department. An autopsy Thursday did not determine the cause of death and further toxicology tests would be done, he said.
Beverly deNicola, spokeswoman for the Capistrano Unified School District, said the loss stunned the school, which has a well-respected cross country program. She said Myers also played soccer and had passed the medical exam required before taking part in school sports.
"We are asking the media to give her family some privacy," DeNicola said.
Dana Hills High School Principal Robert Nye sent a message to parents.
"We are all deeply saddened and shocked by this loss," he wrote. "There are grief counselors available . . . for any students who need to speak with someone. This is an incredibly difficult time for our Dana Hills family and our thoughts and prayers are with the Myers family."
Myers' brother, Mathew, is a sophomore at Dana Hills High, and her sister, Madison, is in elementary school.
Her family and friends issued a statement late Thursday describing the teen as a devoted daughter and loving sister, cruelly taken far too soon.
