Former St. John's football captain Sam Norton passes away after running in Santa Rosa Marathon
Former St. John's High football star Sam Norton has passed away after competing in the Santa Rosa Marathon on Sunday.
Norton, 26, collapsed just short of the 23rd mile along the Santa Rosa Creek Trail. He was attended to by medical professionals, who performed chest compressions. Norton was taken to an area hospital and pronounced dead.
Norton, who was living in New York City, was running in pursuit of a qualifying time for the 2024 Boston Marathon.
“He was doing something that he loved,” his mother, Kristen Caisse, told The Press Democrat on Monday. "He loves to challenge himself."
Norton, who grew up in Leominster, had raised more than $16,000 by running in the Boston Marathon last year for the Herren Project, a national nonprofit that provides resources for the treatment and prevention of substance use disorder. Norton's father was an addict that took his own life in 2020. Norton's letter to donors to raise money for the Herren Project recalled his father's love of running.
Norton's friend Sam Rogers has set up a GoFundMe campaign to help with costs of travel and services for Caisse and Norton's sisters Lucy and Maggie.
Norton was a three-year varsity football player for the Pioneers and was a captain of the team in his senior year. Norton spoke to the Telegram & Gazette in 2014 about his offseason workout programs.
Norton attended Boston College and was living in New York to pursue a career in the finance industry. After starting his career at Goldman Sachs, Norton moved to Gamut Capital Management.
"Everyone looked up to Sam," Rogers wrote on the GoFundMe page. "Being around Sam made us stand a little taller and work a little harder. He was a hero to so many — a friend and family member who stayed in touch. Checked in. Cared. Inspired us all."
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Former St. John's football captain passes away after running in marathon
