San Jose high school student dies suddenly at track practice

Amy Hollyfield Image
ByAmy Hollyfield KGO logo
Tuesday, March 17, 2015
SJ high school student dies suddenly at track practice
Students at Leland High School in San Jose are wearing black to mourn the loss of a fellow student who died suddenly during track practice Monday.

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- Students at a high school in San Jose are wearing black to mourn the loss of a fellow student who died suddenly during track practice Monday.

Tristan Nguyen is being described as a good student and a generous person. The 16-year-old ran track at Leland High School and was also on the football team.

"Last night on social media we just kind of decided to commemorate Tristan and respect him and honor him and honor his family by wearing black and showing respect," said student Emerald Yeh.

School officials say Nguyen was at track practice when he collapsed on the field.

"The coach immediately started to perform CPR on the student while the school was calling 911," said San Jose Unified School District spokesperson Jorge Quintana.

He later died at the hospital. Administrators have called in crisis counselors to help everyone on campus deal with the loss.

"This is difficult not just for students, but for staff members too," Quintana said. "As you know, teachers develop relationships with their students. He was a very well-liked student, a good student, and good athlete from what I understand. So definitely a very sad day and a difficult time on the campus today."

The principal is visiting each one of Tristan's classes to personally inform the students of his death.

"Everyone said he was really kind and sweet and thoughtful and he was really generous and always thought about other people," said Yeh.

At this point, officials have not said why Nguyen died.