UPDATE: Students Mourn Loss of Roosevelt Sophomore

Editor's note: this story was updated at 6:30 p.m.

Students at Theodore Roosevelt High School are struggling with the loss of a fellow student and friend today.

Devon Conwell, a sophomore at Theodore Roosevelt, died Wednesday unexpectedly during a basketball practice in Twinsburg.

Kent City Schools Superintendent Joseph Giancola said Conwell collapsed suddenly at a non-school basketball practice.

"Devon Conwell was one of those students who everybody loved," Giancola said. "He had a contagious smile."

It's unclear what caused Conwell's sudden death Wednesday evening.

Grief counselors were at the high school and available to students Thursday.

Conwell's Facebook page turned into a real-time memorial as friends posted goodbye messages Thursday.

"You were always the one to make me laugh," Maria Monaee wrote on Conwell's page. "Always made my day better. You were a good person. Someone everybody adored. You may not walk this earth with us anymore but your still in (our) hearts."

Conwell, a Kent resident, played as a defensive tackle and offensive lineman for the Kent Roosevelt Rough Riders football team. He averaged two tackles per game this past season. He also played for the boys basketball team.

"(It) sucks to know that I will never see you again big guy," Eriqk Smiley wrote on Conwell's page. "You were about to be something great. Everything I do for now on I do it for you."

Giancola said high school staff were working with students Thursday to put together a memorial program and service, but he said it's possible students may organize an impromptu candlelight vigil or other unofficial memorial.