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.