West Branch student dies at track meet

BELOIT — West Branch junior Ryan Johnson collapsed and died after running his leg of the 4x800-meter relay Tuesday afternoon at a track and field meet the high school.

Resuscitation attempts proved unsuccessful. Johnson was then taken to Alliance Community Hospital.

The relay was the first event of the meet. The meet was postponed at that point.

Johnson was a middle distance runner at West Branch. He also ran the individual 800 and the 1600.

West Branch boys track and field coach Tracy Wyatt had no comment, directing calls to the school’s superintendent, Dr. Scott Weingart. Attempts to reach Dr. Weingart were unsuccessful.

The death is the latest tragedy for the school, which lost two students, Allyson D. Farnsworth and Carrie Jo Quinn, to a car crash in 2006 and two others, Jonathan Stauffer and Kelly Coblentz, to a meningitis outbreak in 2001.

Also, Colin Smith, a sophomore, died in a four-wheeler crash in 2002.

Four other recent graduates have also died in recent years. Dan McVicker, a 2003 graduate, died while serving in Iraq in 2005. In the past three years, Eric Citino, a 2004 graduate, and Todd Morrow (’05) died in car crashes, and Josh Bardo (’02), drowned.