Seven taken to hospital after Bucks County cross-country meet

Seven students competing in a cross-country meet at Central Bucks South High School on Saturday were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment of physical exhaustion aggravated by heat and humidity, authorities said.

The students were taken from Warrington, where the school is located, to Doylestown Hospital for treatment, said Chris Edwards, a spokesman for the county. Six of the students were released; one was still being treated late Saturday afternoon, the hospital said.

The coach who organized the event said the weather was no worse than in the 26 previous years holding the annual Central Bucks Cross Country Invitational. He applauded the quick medical response.

"Having an ambulance come to a meet like this, it happens almost any time you have a big event like this," said Sam Losorelli, 60, the head coach from Central Bucks East High School, which organizes and normally hosts the event.

"My opinion - only my opinion - I think the kids would have recovered on their own," he said. "But I applaud the medics. It's best to err on the safe side and just take the kids to the hospital."

Temperatures were in the high 80s and later peaked at 91 degrees at nearby Doylestown Airport, according to the National Weather Service.

The event was not officially shut down, Losorelli said, but he and other coaches asked students to walk or stop competing instead of continuing to push themselves.

- Jonathan Lai