Pittsburgh-area high school football player dies after collapsing on field
A 16-year-old student at Lower Burrell (Pa.) High School near Pittsburgh died Wednesday after collapsing on the school's football practice field after drills, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported.
According to multiple reports Noah Cornuet had run several sprints as part of three pre-season, non-contact football practices designed to acclimate players to high-heat temperatures. As he walked off the practice field, Cornuet dropped to the ground and was unresponsive. He was pronounced dead approximately one hour later at 7:05 p.m. Wednesday evening.
The Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association instituted the three practice rule, according to the Observer-Reporter, as a direct response to the rise in heat-related deaths of high school players nationwide. The temperature at the time of Cornuet's death was 77 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.
According to the Annual Survey of Football Injury Research prepared by the National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Research at the University of North Carolina, there were 25 fatal injuries to high school football players in the U.S. between 2003 and 2013.
An autopsy to determine the official cause of Cornuet's death was scheduled for Thursday.
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- Will Green
