WINONA, Minn. (AP) — One-time Niles West football coach Curtis Tate says Shawn Afryl, a former Wolves football standout who collapsed and died during a workout Monday at Winona State University in Minnesota, likely died of a previously undetected heart condition.
The 22-year-old Afryl died Monday night during a voluntary conditioning workout at the university’s Maxwell Field.
Tate says the family was told Afryl died of cardiac arrest because of an enlarged heart. No official cause of death has been released.
The Winona Daily News says Afryl is being remembered as a mature, respected team leader despite having just joined the football program this summer. WSU assistant coach Cameron Keller says Afryl had a big impact in his short time at WSU.
Afryl is from Skokie and planned to earn a second degree at WSU to become a special education teacher.
