High School Senior, 18, Dies After Collapsing at Finish Line of Half Marathon: 'A Devastation for Everyone'

Mar. 15, 2025

Rudy Zevallos.Photo:GoFundMe

GoFundMe

A Missouri family is mourning the death of a high school senior who “tragically and very unexpectedly" died after crossing the finish line of a half marathon over the weekend.

Rudy “Junior” Zevallos was rushed to the hospital after he collapsed at the finish line on Saturday and was pronounced dead, according toThe Kansas City Star.

Zevallos was 18, according to his family, who launched aGoFundMe fundraiserover the weekend to help the family with funeral costs.

The Zevallos family said it was “impossible to summarize” how much the 18-year-old “meant to so many people.”

The Zevallos family said their son’s “exact cause of his death is unclear at this time, but we do know his body temperature reached a fatal level and his heart stopped.”

The high school senior’s family said Zevallos played football, ran track and wrestled at his school, and that he recently enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps to follow “his father’s footsteps.”

“I would like to make a final note that I know Junior would want everyone to know,” his family wrote in his GoFundMe. “His goal was to complete the [half] marathon in under two hours. He completed at an hour and fifty-eight minutes.”

source: people.com