National Collegiate Athletic Association
NCAA News Archive - 2001
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The NCAA News
Eight University of Wyoming track and cross country student-athletes were killed and one was injured September 16 in an early morning two-vehicle collision 17 miles south of Laramie on U.S. 287.
The dead were identified as Justin M. Lambert-Belanger, 20, Timmins, Ontario; Cody B. Brown, 21, Hudson, Colorado; Kyle N. Johnson, 20, Riverton, Wyoming; Joshua D. Jones, 22, Salem, Oregon; Morgan J. McLeland, 21, Gillette, Wyoming; Kevin L. Salverson, 19, Cheyenne, Wyoming; Nicholas J. Schabron, 20, Laramie, Wyoming; and Shane E. Shatto, 19, Douglas, Wyoming.
The injured student is Clinton G. Haskins, 21, of Maybell, Colorado.
The university said that according to Wyoming Highway Patrol reports, the eight individuals who were killed were traveling north on U.S. 287 in a Jeep Wagoneer. Haskins was traveling south in a Chevrolet one-ton pickup truck. The vehicles collided at approximately 1:30 a.m. The accident remains under investigation. A university spokesman said in an Associated Press story that he did not know where the students were going. All Wyoming athletics events had been canceled over the weekend because of the attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C.
"The loss of eight students and the critical injury of a ninth is a terrible blow to the University of Wyoming community," said Wyoming President Philip L. Dubois. "Today's tragedy has struck close to home. These were people we knew, whose families we know, members of the University of Wyoming family -- young men who showed great promise for the future.
"In deepest sorrow I offer my condolences to the families and friends of the victims of this horrible accident and pledge our support for them."
Those killed were members of the cross country and track teams. The student-athletes were traveling in a private vehicle and not as part of a team activity. Haskins has been a member of the Wyoming Rodeo Club, which has not yet started its season.
"We were deeply saddened today when we were informed that eight members of our men's cross country and track teams died in an early morning car accident," Wyoming Athletics Director Lee Moon said September 16. "Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families of these eight fine young men. We share in their grief.
"These young men were such great ambassadors for our athletics department and our university, and it is so hard to realize that they are gone. We cannot fully express our feelings in words at a time like this. We want to make sure that we do everything we can to support the families and to provide support to all our student-athletes and coaches at this tragic time. The Wyoming athletics family is a very close-knit group. We will need to rely on the strength of each other to get through this tragedy."
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