University of Massachusetts swimmer, Greg Menton, 20, died at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center last night after suffering a heart attack at Alumni Gym.
According to Dartmouth's men's swimming Coach Jim Wilson, Menton had just finished third in the 100 yard freestyle event in the Dartmouth-UMass swim meet, when he sat next to his coach and said he felt tired.
Wilson said one more race was held before UMass Coach Russ Yarworth shouted across the pool to call 911.
"I looked over to the bench and Greg was falling," Wilson said. "Russ caught him and set him flat on the ground."
Wilson said Menton apparently went into convulsions and stopped breathing.
Hanover Police Department was called to the scene at 5:12 p.m.
Assistant Facilities Director Jim Fiore was on site during the accident. Fiore said Menton's breathing was off and on, but when the emergency medical technicians took him away he had a pulse and shallow breathing.
From Alumni Gym, Menton was rushed to DHMC where cardio pulmonary resuscitation was continued for approximately 45 minutes. According to Kathy Dalton, the administrative coordinator at DHMC on site, resuscitation efforts were of no use and Menton died at 6:14 p.m.
The cause of death was cardio pulmonary arrest, Dalton said. A full autopsy will be done to further investigate causes for the collapse.
UMass team physician Dr. James Ralph told the Associated Press he was unaware of any prior history of heart problems Menton may have had. According to swimmer J.B. Jorgenson '97, UMass teammates said Menton had no pre-existing conditions that would have led to the collapse.
At UMass, Menton, a junior, was a standout on both the Minutemen's water polo and swimming teams, according to a press release from the UMass Sports Information.
In the release, UMass-Amherst Chancellor David Scott said, "Greg was a valued member of the university community. His loss will be felt by all the students, faculty and members of the UMass community that knew him. We are deeply saddened by this event, and hope that his family will take some comfort in the fact that our thoughts are with Greg."
In swimming, Menton held school records in the 100 backstroke and 100 fly. He was also part of a 200 medley relay team that broke a school record last year in the Atlantic 10 Championships. In the 50 freestyle, 200 backstroke and 100 freestyle, Menton also ranked in the top three of UMass results.
Last fall in water polo, Menton ranked fourth in scoring and assists on the Minutemen's squad.
As a Sport Management major, Menton was also named to the 1994-95 UMass Athletic Director's Honor Roll.
UMass Director of Athletics Bob Marcum said in the press release, "The University of Massachusetts athletic department would like to express its deepest sympathy to Greg's family and friends, and to men's swim coach Russ Yarworth and the entire UMass aquatics family. Greg was a great representative of our university both in and out of the pool."
The UMass men's and women's teams both immediately followed Menton to the hospital. At the time of the accident, the men's meet was nearly two-thirds over, while the women had been scheduled to begin competition at 7:00 p.m. Both competitions were canceled.
Dartmouth Athletic Director Dick Jaeger , a group of Dartmouth swimmers, and a few Dartmouth counselors and chaplains were also present at DHMC to give support to the UMass teams.
"We were all trying to provide whatever support we could," Jaeger said. "Everyone was shell shocked and wondering why it had to be the way it was."
Dartmouth men's Captain Grier Laughlin '96 said a few Dartmouth swimmers waited while the UMass teams gathered with counselors and chaplains.
After talking with counselors, some UMass swimmers returned home, while a few stayed in the Dartmouth area.
"We went to offer our support, but there is nothing much you can do," Laughlin said. "We gave them our names and phone numbers in case they needed anything and they seemed appreciative. It was hard because we didn't really know any of them."
Laughlin said after the collapse, he was busy directing people at the pool to help alleviate panic, and the actual fact of what happened took awhile to sink in.
Wilson said the pool area was very quiet as people tried to resuscitate Menton.
"You just kept expecting him to get up," Wilson said. "It was pretty tough."
Fiore said many onlookers were upset.
"Some of his teammates were standing over him looking down trying to cheer him on to keep going," Fiore.
Laughlin said the seriousness of the accident did not sink in immediately.
"I was clearing paths at the door for the paramedics," Laughlin said. "It really sunk in when I got back from the hospital and had time to think about it. It's really tough because that could have been me. It's scary because it shows that we aren't invincible."
Shock can best describe the attitude of the Dartmouth swimmers.
At first we didn't know what was going on," Jorgenson said. "It was weird to sit there because it seemed like it took forever for people to get there. It's hard to sit there and watch someone slowly deteriorate."
"To have such a well-conditioned athlete fall down like that is really scary," Jorgenson said. "It's tough and is an unfortunate thing."
Swimmer Jon Kenyon '97 said, "Obviously it is an unfortunate tragedy and nothing that could have been foreseen. It has taken us all by surprise. We hope for the best and wish the UMass team the best. We really don't know how to react."
For the Dartmouth men, who have a busy winter schedule, life must move on quickly. The men swimmers will meet for morning practice today at 6:30 a.m.
"We need to move on," Laughlin said. "We need to realize that our lives still go on, and we need to do what we can to get them going."
Although today's practice will be short for the men, getting back in the water soon is essential.
"I think it will hit us hard at first when we get down to the pool," Laughlin said. "We have to face it eventually. When it happened, we really didn't know what was going on. Now we have to deal with the fact that he did die."
Kenyon said, "I don't think it's going to effect us in terms of our swimming because we can see it as a random occurrence, and it's not going to change the fact that we're out there to have fun. I think it will be helpful to get on with our normal routine."
