The Shawnee Mission football player died from heat stroke

OLATHE, Kan. (KCTV) – The Johnson County Medical Examiner’s Office is shedding new light on the cause of the death of a Shawnee Mission Northwest sophomore after he collapsed during preseason football practice in August.

Ovet Gomez Regalado died in the hospital two days later.

The medical examiner said the cause of death was complications of heat stroke. Obesity-related illness was cited as a contributing factor. According to the report, the heat index was 112 degrees and its temperature was 104.6 degrees after cooling procedures had already begun before emergency services arrived.

The Shawnee Mission School District responded to the release of the report with a written statement.

“For all who knew and loved Ovet, this report opens the painful wounds left by his untimely death,” it said in part.

The statement went on to describe an investigation by the district to determine whether anything could or should have been done differently.

“The district determined that SM Northwest employees’ actions were consistent with Kansas State High School Activities Association (KSHSAA) rules and the school’s emergency protocols,” the statement said.

KSHSAA RULES ON HEAT

The district did not specify which rules it was referring to. KCTV5 examined several KSHSAA documents.

During the first two weeks of training of the regular season, heat acclimatization rules must be followed, which determine how many training sessions can be carried out, how long and how often. However, the training that Gomez Regalado attended took place on August 14th. Regular season football didn’t begin until August 19th.

The guidelines, which specifically address a numerical temperature, apply year-round but are recommendations, not requirements, according to Jeremy Holaday of KSHSAA.

The gold standard for measuring temperature in the context of athletics is called Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT). Air temperature, humidity, wind speed, solar radiation and cloud cover are taken into account.

The coroner’s report does not contain all of this data, but it does contain air temperature and relative humidity. The temperature was reported at 92 degrees and the humidity at 70%.

Another KSHSAA document contains a heat index chart that can be used in the absence of a WBGT value.

With a heat index of 112 degrees, the recommendations are as follows:

No more than an hour of practice time.
No protective equipment worn.
No conditioning.
Rest/drink breaks totaling at least 20 minutes.
Cold tubs are prepared and ready.

The heat index for which the recommendation is “No outdoor training” is over 124 degrees.

KCTV5’s First Warn 5 Weather team looked at the heat index in Kansas City historically and found that the record heat index was 121 degrees. This threshold in KSHSAA policy has never been met in Kansas City.

Holaday said the KSHSAA Sports Medicine Advisory Committee regularly reviews the guidelines. He wouldn’t say whether any policy changes would be considered specific to Gomez Regalado’s death.

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