High School Runner Dies After Race, Leaving a Stunned Community In Mourning
What began as a typical high school cross-country meet in Charlotte, North Carolina on Saturday ended in tragedy. That morning, Samantha Davis, 17, a senior at Union Pines High School, toed the line at the McAlpine Greenway with her team for the Hare & Hounds Invitational.
But then around the 4K mark in the race, where the wooded trail opens up for a final lap around the lake, Davis collapsed from a seizure before going into cardiac arrest, according to MileSplit.
Davis was rapidly transported from the course to the Novant Presbyterian Medical Center 10 miles north. The medical team was able to stabilize her throughout the day, but she passed away a little after midnight on Sunday morning, authorities reported to WCOS TV.
We will miss our sweet Sam ?? please keep her family in your prayers #samanthastrong
A post shared by Union Pines Track & Field / XC (@unionpines.xctf) on Sep 23, 2018 at 8:03pm PDT
The news came as a huge shock to the Union Pines High School community, in which Davis played a big part: Along with competing on the cross-country and track teams, she was a member of the competitive marching band and volunteered outside of school.
“Sam made us all want to be better,” said Union Pines band director Robert Hill in a phone call with Runner’s World. “She never complained about anything and always had a huge smile on her face.”
Davis picked up the trumpet in sixth grade, then continued to excel on the instrument through high school. She had a perfectionist tendency: In performance reviews, she would redo her playing tests in class until she got a perfect score, Hill remembers.
“She didn’t settle for anything less,” he said. “She gave 100 percent effort in everything she did, whether it was in the marching band or on the track.”
As a runner, Davis competed in middle- and long-distance events, holding times of 2:35 for 800 meters, 6:04 for 1600 meters, and 21:47 for the 5K. After the tragic news broke over the weekend, several of Davis’s teammates shared their memories of her on social media, tagging #SamanthaStrong.
A post shared by wil !!! (@wilsonschaper) on Sep 23, 2018 at 10:47am PDT
Fellow senior Wilson Schaper wrote on Instagram, “Samantha Davis was genuinely one of the brightest people I’ve ever met. Her constant smile and persistence is something that I will remember forever...”
Another teammate, Sarai Gwinn, posted a photo of Davis (pictured far right) and other fellow runners ice-tubbing after practice.
A post shared by Sarai Gwinn (@saraigwinn) on Sep 23, 2018 at 5:48am PDT
“From sitting in trash cans taking an ice bath [and] stretching each other out before running, to you taking my brother to prom, you were nothing but kind to me,” Gwinn wrote. “We’ll miss you and your beautiful smile at practice so so much. Rest easy.”
It’s been a rough few days for the school community, Hill said, but everyone is trying to stay strong together to be there for Davis’s parents, Jon and Rebecca Davis, and other family members.
“Sam had an amazing work ethic and great personality,” Hill said. “Just an all-around good person. Everyone she spoke to, she made an impact on. She will be very, very missed.”
This weekend, when the band travels to its first big competition of the season, the group will all be wearing blue in honor of Davis. To further help support Davis’s family, the local Sacred Heart and St. Anthony’s parish is accepting donations on GoFundMe.
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