A high school student-athlete in Tennessee died suddenly Friday after suffering a medical emergency during a pickup basketball game with friends and teammates.
Cameryn Ward, 17, was a senior at Rossview High School in Clarksville. He would have graduated May 23.
Dr. Meghen Sanders, RHS Principal, released the following statement on Ward's death:
It is with the heaviest of heart that I share with you the news that Senior Cam Ward passed away Friday night. Cam was playing basketball with friends and teammates, and a medical emergency ended his life so unexpectedly. Cam was full of light and joy and was such a positive presence in our classrooms, on the court, and in our school community. I will miss his weekly visits when he would sneak up to the main office to get his favorite candy bar, Twix, from Mrs. Fields as she gave him a pre-game pep talk and then brought him back to me for some additional encouragement to play his best and DUNK more! We will miss seeing him in the hallways, with his teammates, talking basketball and re-hashing who did what on the floor. He was and is an absolutely amazing young man who has a special place in so many hearts. He will be truly missed but will always be remembered – especially in the echoes of basketball games in our gymnasium and in the laughter of our hallways. We want to wrap our arms around his mother, Jessica Ward, his teammates, Coach Jackson, and our assistant basketball coaches."
The RHS basketball team held a candlelight vigil for Ward on Saturday night.
“As much as he played offense, he played defense. He didn’t believe in cheating the game; he gave it his all. Whether he won or lost, he gave it his all…his smile would light up the room. He didn’t mean a stranger. He always believed in love; he always believed in showing his light; he always believed in him,” Cam’s mother, Jessica Ward, said at the vigil.
