College Football Player's Death Listed as Natural Causes

WOOSTER - College of Wooster football player Clayton Geib died of natural causes, according to his death certificate.

Geib's death certificate, filed with the Wayne County Health Department, contains additional information about contributing factors, which Wayne County Coroner Amy Jolliff interpreted when asked by The Daily Record.

Geib, 21, complained of being ill following the Sept. 16 Wooster-Ohio Wesleyan football game played at the college's John Papp Stadium and was transported early that evening to Wooster Community Hospital. On Sunday, the college put out a statement that Geib had died.

Jolliff said she had examined Geib's medical and patient records along with the death certificate that listed the cause of death as cerebral edema with brain death, acute respiratory failure with hypoxemia and acute kidney injury. The death certificate was signed by M. Catherine Sementi, D.O.

When Geib, a senior from London, Ohio, "took a turn for the worse," Jolliff said, "there was a period of time when his oxygen level was low," which "encouraged more brain swelling and put a strain on the kidneys."

Geib also experienced "elevated muscle enzymes in his blood," she said, and that condition, combined with low oxygen, led to kidney failure.

His kidneys recovered, however, she said, and were able to be donated organs.

According to his obituary, "he was a registered organ donor, and on Wednesday, Sept. 20, the Lifebank organization completed the organ recovery, so that Clayton could continue his work as a Christian young man as an organ donor."

Jolliff elaborated on her review of "everything (about Geib's condition) throughout his hospital stay."

"I did a lot of investigation," she said, which encompassed talking to medical personnel and training and coaching staff at the college as part of a decision whether his death was a case to be handled by the coroner's office.

Jolliff examined all of Geib's charts, blood tests and scans, she said, making sure whether his death came under her purview as determined by law.

Because there was "no accident" and "nothing done accidentally" that caused his death, it did not qualify as one of the categories - homicide, suicide or accident - that the coroner is legislated to investigate.

Geib's death was classified as natural causes, the fourth category applying to a death.

"After reviewing everything," Jolliff said, "I could not identify anything other than natural causes."

"Clayton started and played the entire Ohio Wesleyan game on Sept. 16 without incident," said John Hopkins, the college's vice president for college relations and marketing.

"He was on the field, along with the rest of the offensive unit, for just over 34 minutes, and it was not until the game was over and Clayton was in the locker room that he first complained of feeling unwell," Hopkins said.

Reporter Linda Hall can be reached at [email protected] or 330-264-1125, Ext. 2230. She is @lindahallTDR on Twitter.

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