Officials reveal why track athlete collapsed outside his Twin Cities high school and died

Espoir Missite was a sprinter at Maple Grove High School.

The Minnesota Star Tribune
June 17, 2025 at 12:55PM
Espoir Missite (With permission from GoFundMe)

Officials have determined why a teenage track athlete suffered a medical emergency outside Maple Grove High School in February and died.

Junior Espoir Missite, 16, a sprinter with the Crimson, died of bacterial pneumonia with asthmatic bronchitis as a complicating factor, the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office said last week.

Fire Department personnel responded about 5 p.m. on Feb. 25 to the service road behind the high school for what Deputy Fire Chief Jeremy Berger said was a CPR call. Berger said Missite’s collapse did not happen during any formal practice.

Two ambulance crews tended to Missite before the teenager was transported from the scene in an ambulance, Berger said.

Missite was declared dead at Maple Grove Hospital, the Medical Examiner’s Office said.

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Paul Walsh

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Paul Walsh is a general assignment reporter at the Minnesota Star Tribune. He wants your news tips, especially in and near Minnesota.

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