Six student athletes hospitalized

Six high school athletes were hospitalized with heat-related illnesses and several others were treated at the scene of a cross country race Saturday in Sugar Grove.

Runners participating in the West Stampede cross country race, hosted by West Aurora High School and held at Waubonsee Community College, started collapsing from the heat about 11 a.m., said Dave Adler, the Sugar Grove Fire Department's deputy chief.

Six runners, in "varying degrees of distress," were taken to local hospitals. Another 25 athletes were treated at the scene with oxygen, IVs or cooling after collapsing, officials said.

Fire officials set up a mass casualty command post at the scene, Adler said. A total of 14 ambulances were on hand to help treat those injured by the heat, he said.

"All the runners who collapsed were treated within one minute," Adler said. "We also had paramedic golf carts following the runners. The entire system worked well."

The temperature near Sugar Grove was about 81 degrees about 11 a.m., with a heat index of 84 degrees, National Weather Service officials said.

The area heat index peaked to about 95 degrees in the afternoon, but Saturday's high temperature didn't break any records, weather officials said.

The meet started at 8:30 a.m. As the day wore on, the list of athletes suffering effects of the high temperatures kept growing.

Shortly before the girls varsity race ran at 11:20 a.m., rumors began flowing, ranging from shortages of water and other liquids to reports of runners seeking medical attention.

The boys race was scheduled to be run at noon, but word quickly came that it was to be postponed.

During this time, North Aurora firefighters obliged the crowd of athletes by turning on their engine's water hoses and spraying water into the air to cool the athletes off.

About 30 minutes later, meet volunteers began breaking down the starting and finishing lines because local authorities made the decision to cancel the boys meet entirely because of the heat. By the time the decision was made, ambulances and emergency units from 12 agencies had arrived.

About 20 boys and girls high school teams were competing in the annual race, including students from Bartlett, Batavia, Marmion, Rosary, St. Charles North, St. Edward, Glenbard East, Glenbard North, Naperville Central, Wheaton Warrenville South, Downers Grove North and Downers Grove South.

Coaches were evaluating the event to see what went wrong, but the illnesses were "no doubt" related to the high temperatures and humidity, officials said.

• Daily Herald staff writer Nancy Gier and Daily Herald correspondent Eric Bridges contributed to this report.