Oliver Ames High School Wrestling Captain Dies Suddenly

EASTON (CBS) - The captain of the wrestling team at Oliver Ames High School in Easton died suddenly of an aneurysm Friday morning. The news has devastated students and teammates who just saw 17-year-old Devin Ness at school on Thursday looking healthy and, friends say, cracking his usual jokes.

"How could it happen. We saw him yesterday and he was fine," said senior Britanny Cann, a manager for the wrestling team.

While Ness was at practice on Thursday, his coach says he hadn't wrestled in several days. Principal Wes Paul says Ness was taken to the hospital Thursday night when he started feeling ill, and by the morning he was gone.

"When you're in high school you don't expect that to happen, especially since he wasn't sick. To see their grief was tough," he said.

The principal quickly put together a crisis team and broke the devastating news to students. The wrestling team was called together says Cann taking it very hard.

"You heard crying that was it. No one knew what to say, no words to express how you felt in that moment."

Sports games were cancelled and the school will be open on Saturday for students who want to gather or seek help from grief counselors. Teacher Nancy Curtin says feeling the absence is the most difficult. "A lot of kids saw him last night or yesterday afternoon and are now wondering about the days ahead not seeing him," she said.

According to Brittany Cann, Devin Ness was a true team leader who always had a positive attitude and was looked up to by younger members of the team.

"It'll make us stronger and make us realize we're not just a team we're a family," she said.