According to some eyewitness reports, the student had played
during the third quarter of the contest but was sitting on the bench
when he collapsed.
Mark Page, PSHS assistant principal, was not at the game, but said
he was notified through a phone call that the athlete was Tanner Otey,
a 16-year-old sophomore at the school.
Rick Ball, pupil services coordinator for the Mercer County Board
of Education, confirmed that a medical emergency occurred at the
school's gymnasium, resulting in the cancellation of Princeton's game
against the James Monroe Mavericks.
The scene was somber outside of the gymnasium, where students and
parents gathered to console one another and await further
information.
Ball said the school would have no further statement on the
incident Tuesday evening.
Mercer County school board member Bill Seaver said that Ball
arranged for members of the clergy and others to help with grief
counseling at the scene.
"(The school board) naturally has it in place to take care of the
kids," he said. "It was done not only after the game, but it will done
tomorrow (Wednesday) as well."
"There will be counselors made available at the school," John
Shott, president of the Mercer County Board of Education, said. "The
school system was put on delay, coincidentally, due to the cold
weather. Students will be there on a two-hour delay. Our faculty will
be there earlier than that in an effort to prepare to help students
and to orchestrate the services that will be available to the
students.
"Certainly we'll do everything we can to try and help students deal
with the tragedy and to support the family."
"You hate a tragedy like this. You especially feel for his parents.
Knowing them like I do, and knowing how close they were to their son,
you really feel for them," Seaver said.
"This was a player who really excelled in athletics. He excelled in
football and in basketball - he is certainly the last person you would
expect this to happen to. Naturally, the sympathies of the school
system go out to his friends and family."
Otey, at 6 feet 3 inches tall and weighing 230 pounds, was a member
of the Tiger varsity basketball squad and had seen several minutes of
action in the Tigers' first five contests of the season. Otey also
served as an offensive guard and linebacker for the PSHS football
squad.
School Superintendent Dr. Deborah Akers, contacted at home Tuesday
evening, declined to comment on the incident.
