Marcus Wheeler winning his first state title this past fall. (Photo by John Hays)
Last tweet by Marcus Wheeler on his twitter account today...
Devastating and sad news to report as Marcus Wheeler, a 2014 Arizona state cross country champion (Division 1) from Corona del Sol High School, passed away today in an apparent suicide at his high school school. He was 18 years old.
Wheeler was considered one of the best distance runners from the state of Arizona as earlier this fall claimed his very first high school state title with a 15:36 victory in the Division 1 state cross country race. Another top race moment from Wheeler this fall came at the Desert Twilight Festival when he battled with 4:03 miler Carlos Villarreal down to the end to finish with a runner-up 5K PR time of 14:53. Wheeler had a bright future ahead in the sport and had committed to run for Central Arizona College earlier this year.
Interview with Marcus Wheeler after winning Arizona D1 state XC title:
Memorial video put together by friends of Marcus Wheeler:
Our thoughts and prayers go out to Wheeler's family, his friends, teammates, and coaches as well as the entire Arizona high school track and cross country community in this time of grieving and great pain.
Friends, classmates and fellow runners reactions to Wheeler's death on twitter:
