San Bernardino High School junior track and field athlete Jermaine Musgrove remained in the intensive care unit at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton Friday, where he has remained since collapsing during the San Andreas League track and field meet Wednesday evening.
Musgrove was running the third leg of the 4×400 relay at Colton High School, the last event of the meet, at around 7 p.m. when he collapsed. Witnesses at the scene said he was attended to on site and taken by ambulance to the medical center, where he remains in critical condition according to San Bernardino Unified School District spokeswoman Linda Bardere.
“We know that he was taken to the intensive care unit right away after collasping during the event,” Bardere said. “It all happened pretty quickly He was running the race and all of a sudden he collapsed.”
Musgrove, who had been cleared in a preseason physical examination for athletics according to Bardere, was a replacement in the relay for another San Bernardino athlete who was injured prior to the event. His status was still critical as of 1 p.m. Friday according to a spokesperson at the medical center and Bardere, with updates being provided by the district office through Musgrove’s parents and San Bernardino High School principal Sandra Rodriguez.
The district is also addressing rumors that have spread on campus due to the high-profile nature of the event.
“With the high attendance of the event, a lot of students and parents saw it occur and rumors have spread because of it,” Bardere said. “We are working with principal Rodriguez to address that and prevent any inaccurate information from spreading.”
The San Bernardino High School community has rallied around Musgrove, as crisis teams have been on campus helping students cope with the incident while the Cardinals track and field team and various other San Bernardino students have visited Musgrove at the hospital and have given the Musgrove family its support.
“It’s an image I’ll never forget,” San Bernardino track and field coach John Hinkleman said. “There were 30 or 40 kids that stopped by the hospital (Thursday) to give their wishes and kids are making posters and cards and pouring their hearts out for Jermaine and his family.”
The Cardinals track team postponed its team picture, set for Thursday, as well, waiting to see how Musgrove’s situation plays out before rescheduling.
