Windsor High School is grieving the sudden and tragic loss of one of its student-athletes.
According to the district, football player Elijah-Jay Mariano-Rivera suffered a medical emergency during practice Tuesday and died.
"So sad. Like I can't believe this happened," said freshman Maria Tostarelli.
"I hope his family is okay because it was just tragic," said sophomore Ashley Forbes.
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Students say he was in eleventh grade and was just 15 years old.
''Very nice, a very funny kid and just always brightened up whenever he walked into a room," said Tostarelli.
The school district says Mariano-Rivera lost consciousness during football practice Tuesday afternoon, but wasn't doing any drills or tackles at the time.
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Police and EMTs rushed to the field to provide CPR. Mariano-Rivera was eventually taken to Connecticut Children's where he died.
The school issued a statement Tuesday night:
"We will have our crisis teams available for students and staff at Windsor High and Sage Park. As a community, we want to keep his family in our thoughts and prayers, and support them moving forward however we can.”
We spoke with one of Mariano-Rivera's friends, who described him as "the sweetest, kindest person you'll ever meet."
Alyssa Kelly said she remembers giving Mariano-Rivera a huge hug when he moved back from Texas.
"He could just walk into a room and he just lights up the whole room with that smile on his face," Kelly said.
"It's always tragic to lose somebody so young, particularly in a community like Windsor, that is such a tight-knit group," Dr. Glenn Lungarini said.
Lungarini is the executive director of Connecticut's Interscholastic Athletic Conference (CIAC). He says they'll be offering their support to the school community and a football team he described as close-knit.
"They know as well that while they're sad they're not sad alone right now. they have each other and they'll use those relationships and the spirit of who Elijah was to carry them through this," Lungarini said.
Students say the PSATs were originally scheduled for Wednesday, but testing was postponed out of respect for Mariano-Rivera.
His exact cause of death has not been released.
