OCC rower’s death stuns family, friends

Deepa Bharath and Roger Carlson

COSTA MESA -- For Brian Sweet’s family, it seems as if their son’s

dinner party ended suddenly, abruptly and shockingly -- just as he had

begun “sampling the buffet of life.”

The 19-year-old Costa Mesa resident, a member of Orange Coast

College’s reputed crew team, collapsed on the bleachers at the college’s

LeBard Stadium about 5:45 p.m. Thursday during an informal, off-season

practice run with a friend.

He was pronounced dead at Hoag Hospital about 6:30 p.m. Orange County

coroner’s officials said Friday that initial autopsy tests proved

inconclusive and that would perform more tests to determine the exact

cause of Sweet’s death.

Father Larry Sweet said family members are “just devastated.”

“He was wonderfully social, always up and enthusiastic,” he said about

his son.

Brian Sweet was working at Circuit City in Fashion Island. He was

thinking about transferring to UC Berkley or UC San Diego.

He “just had a hand in so many things,” his father said.

Chris Pope, a teammate and friend, was running with Sweet Thursday

afternoon. They were 15 minutes into running the stadium stairs. Pope

said Sweet was ahead of him.

“He was up on the top of the bleachers, and I was running up looking

down and focusing on the steps,” Pope said. “When I got up to the top I

saw him collapsed, like he was having a seizure.”

Pope, a seasonal lifeguard for Newport Beach, said he called 911 on

his cellular phone and then attempted to resuscitate his friend.

“He was breathing for a while but his breathing was irregular,” he

said.

Pope said he was shocked and is still in disbelief.

“He was a healthy kid,” he said. “He was an all-round great guy. He

was one of my best friends.”

Pope has known Sweet for more than seven years, through junior high

and their four memorable years at Newport Harbor High School. Last year,

the two were part of OCC’s crew team that won the prestigious Western

Inter College Rowing Championship in Sacramento.

Sweet, a computer science major, was hoping to make it to the varsity

team in his sophomore year, coach David Grant said.

“He was a very good athlete,” he said. “He was 6 feet 2, 180 pounds

and just one of the most well-liked members in the team.

“He was as good as they come, an exceptionally nice person. This just

seems so unfair.”

Sweet had three years of rowing experience as a member of the Newport

Harbor Aquatics Center.

“That was pretty unusual for a freshman to have prior rowing

experience,” Grant said.

Sweet also had an indomitable zest for life and a positive attitude,

which is key in sports, Grant said.

“He has great parents who infused the joy of living in him and, he

brought that with him to practice,” he said. “He always had a joyous

smile and that everything’s-right-in-the-world look on his face.”

Fatal incidents of athletes collapsing during practice have been

pretty rare at Orange Coast College, spokesman Jim Carnett said.

The closest, he recalled, was when a 19-year-old football player

collapsed and died in the locker room three years ago. It was later

discovered that he had an undiagnosed heart condition.

“But in all the years that I’ve been here, I simply cannot recall an

athlete collapsing and dying during a practice session,” he said.

Carnett added that heat exhaustion -- which has been in the news

lately after a string of college and professional athlete deaths this

summer -- does not seem like a probable cause.

“Costa Mesa had a high of 79 [degrees] yesterday,” he said. “And this

happened at 5:45 p.m. And he had been at it only for 15 minutes.”

The blow of Sweet’s death was unbearable for members of his family,

who are still looking for answers and trying to make sense of their

youngest child’s untimely death. Brian has an older brother and older

sister.

The parents also ruled out thoughts of their son using strength

enhancers -- which reportedly played a part in some of the summer’s other

deaths -- that can be bought off the shelf.

“We were always trying to get him to eat more,” said mother Melissa.

Larry Sweet said his son simply enjoyed being on the crew team.

“It’s the ultimate team sport, and he just absolutely loved it,” he

said.

Brian Sweet’s friends recall him as a friendly guy who loved to go to

dance parties and hang out at the beach.

Close friend Max Lansing says Sweet was a regular at most social

events, parties and barbecues.

“He’s one of the most upbeat people I’ve ever met,” he said. “He was

energetic. I was just blown away when I heard he died.”

The family is planning to hold a memorial service for Sweet next week

at Orange Coast College’s boathouse on East Coast Highway adjacent to the

Balboa Bay Club.

* Deepa Bharath covers public safety and courts. She may be reached at

(949) 574-4226 or by e-mail at o7 deepa.bharath@latimes.comf7 .

* Roger Carlson is the sports editor. He may be reached at (949)

574-4223 or by e-mail at roger.carson@latimes.com