Family of teen who collapsed at athletic event at JCCC thanks public for support

An 8th-grade boy collapsed at an athletic event at Johnson County Community College on Tuesday afternoon and was transported by Johnson County Med-Act to Children’s Mercy Hospital.

The event was a middle school cross-country track meet for seventh and eighth-grade students from all nine of the middle schools in the Blue Valley School District.

A spokeswoman for the district said the incident happened on the last run of the day. The meet was immediately canceled when the student collapsed about 4:40 p.m.

The boy’s family released this statement Wednesday through Children’s Mercy Hospital: “The family appreciates the outpouring of support at this time. Please respect their privacy as they care for their child. They would like the community to continue to pray for their child and his teammates.”

Matt Campbell, mcampbell@kcstar.com

This story was originally published September 23, 2014 at 5:57 PM with the headline "Family of teen who collapsed at athletic event at JCCC thanks public for support."