KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Hundreds of Shawnee Mission Northwest community members honored Ovet Gomez-Regalado with a balloon release Saturday.
Gomez-Regalado passed away Friday after suffering a medical emergency during workouts with his teammates Wednesday.
Saturday wasn’t a typical balloon release.
In an effort to be environmentally friendly, attendees chose to tie balloons to the fence by the football field in Gomez-Regalado’s honor.
There were orange and black balloons for the school's colors and plenty of green ones, his favorite color.
“This is hard, and young people really shouldn’t have to go through this," said David Smith, chief communications officer for the Shawnee Mission School District. "There is a lot of pain."
Smith says the district is still in the preliminary stages of investigating the cause of Gomez-Regalado’s death at Wednesday’s workout, which took place before the season’s official start, just days into the school year.
"We have both KSHSAA regulations that we follow and that we’re very insistent that everybody follow, and we do,” Smith said. “But when something like this happens, you’re going to ask yourself questions, and we will.”
Only a few balloons were released into the air to fly solo.
Thankfully, flying solo is not something Gomez-Regalado did often.
“As you can see, he had a whole bunch of friends; very friendly person,” said Dj Love, a friend and former teammate of Gomez-Regalado’s.
Gomez-Regalado was only a sophomore when he died, but his friends say he still found a way to be both a student and a teacher.
“He taught me all I know about football. He taught me how to play and how to love the sport,” said Zion Scott — a ninth-grader, friend and teammate of Gomez-Regalado — who says he’s looked up to Gomez-Regalado since middle school.
He’s still looking up to him, just in a different way.
“I still got hope 'cause I know that God got all of us covered,” Scott said. “He got a plan for all of us.”
Love, Scott and other friends attended the release with homemade “Long Live Ovet” shirts.
Just one day after hearing the news about his death, they’re still grieving.
“We went down to the library and the whole football team was there, we all cried,” Love said.
But remembering the good memories helps.
“He was just a good friend to be around, good person to be around,” Love said. “[He was] always giving hugs. Every time I’d see him in the hallway, I’d give him a hug.”
It’s a loss they’re feeling both on and off the field.
“He had great work ethic, as much as a person could have,” Love said. “He was a real coachable person.”
As his team prepares for the season ahead, they’re saving room for No. 55.
“He’ll always be on the field with us,” Scott said. “[He’s] always gonna be in our hearts.”
KSHB 41 reporter Rachel Henderson covers neighborhoods in Wyandotte and Leavenworth counties. Share your story idea with Rachel.
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