By Dixon Bledsoe
Silverton is one remarkable town.
Despite all the doom and gloom scenarios of teenagers developing carpal tunnel from text messaging, fighting addictions to Facebook and demonstrating a general malaise toward anything remotely resembling adults, I have never been more proud of my alma mater, its staff, and most importantly, its students.
On Feb. 3, Dallas High School wrestler Charley Engelfried died unexpectedly of an undiagnosed heart condition.
After winning his heavyweight match, Charley, 17, congratulated his Silverton High School opponent Matt Bauer on a good match, and shook the coach’s hand.
While walking back to receive the congratulations of his teammates, Charley collapsed on the mat in the SHS gym.
Within seconds, he was tended to by Jennifer Klug, Silverton High’s athletic trainer, a woman Silverton High School Principal Mark Hannan says “We are so lucky to have.” There were three Automated External Defibrillators (AED) close at hand for her to use.
Off-duty medical professionals came from the stands to help, and in minutes, Silverton Fire District paramedics raced the young athlete to Silverton Hospital. Silverton Fire District chaplains were available in case things turned worse, and they did.
Charley didn’t make it.
The chaplains immediately returned to the high school to talk with wrestlers from both high schools.
That evening so many young people experienced tragedy center stage for the first time.
But they also were able to see the heroic efforts from the trainer to the paramedics working to save a young man’s life. They saw how the Silverton High School staff members handled the situation by politely asking the building be evacuated so emergency medical personnel could attend to Engelfried.
The wrestling match was cancelled because such things pale in comparison to human suffering. The high school staff had a late night meeting to plan how the next day would be handled at school.
It was all about the students.
The Silver Falls School District counseling staff worked with the students who needed someone to talk with. They provided lunch to the wrestlers, and checked in on Klug’s well-being.
Mark Hannan praised Klug for doing “exactly what she was supposed to do. She had the AED training and equipment and worked on the young man within 30 seconds of his collapse. There was nothing she could do, and everything she did, she did right.” The counselors made sure Charley’s opponent, Matt Bauer, was OK and that he understood that it was nothing he did wrong.
Teens poured into the non-denominational Young Life building on Lewis Street within an hour after the event to meet, hug, cry and pray for the young man they never knew. The next morning, more than 300 teens were at Silverton High School almost an hour before classes began to comfort and console each other and to create a prayer circle.
Margie Will, a class act if ever there was one and the Associated Student Body league representative, thought about “what would I want to have happen if a Silverton athlete died in Dallas.” She tracked down Hailey Tilgner, Student Body President of Dallas High School, and told her that the thoughts and prayers of one rival school went out to grieving and shocked students at the other. Tilgner responded with her gratitude for Silverton student support and that of the entire community. Both schools, whose colors are black and orange, rivalry aside, bonded by a terrible accidental death.
Both Mark Hannan and Jennifer Hannan, also a district administrator, said staff responded admirably from the moment the wrestler fell to handling the students looking for comfort and an understanding ear. Students were sadden and shaken by the death, but the students’ chief concern expressed to counselors, Jennifer Hannan said, “was for Charley’s mother who had to witness it.” Nicole Engelfried, who was at the match, praised Silverton students and the high school staff for their response, caring, prayers and support.
In the SHS library, there were at least four 13” x 20” cards for students to offer condolences. There was no room for more signatures because everyone wanted to sign and send it to the kids at Dallas High School. The ASB leadership council met and decided that Friday’s big basketball game with Woodburn and the annual Queen of Hearts coronation at half-time was just the thing to get students on the way to healing. Student Hayden Chandler, a member of ASB, led the huge crowd in a touching moment of silence, and a sign in the gym said simply, “Charley, You Will Be Missed.”
Silverton High School’s athletic department offered to change the district wrestling championships from Silverton to another venue out of respect for the difficulty it might be for the Dallas wrestling team to return to the place where they lost a friend. Dallas responded that it should remain in Silverton.
In the face of such a terrible thing, our students were mature, loving, supportive and incredible. The Silverton High administration and staff were all that we could ever want them to be and did everything we would ever want them to do.
