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Friends and loved ones of Tanner Wray honor his memory on the Rock. Corey Markus / The Daily Beacon

UT student dies during annual boxing weekend Rob Harvey

Managing Editor

Kylie Hubbard

Asst. News Editor

A UT student who collapsed during the second night of the 38th Annual Ace Miller Memorial Boxing Tournament died Saturday morning. Joseph “Tanner” Wray, a junior studying aerospace engineering from Lawrenceburg, TN, was boxing for Chi Phi Fraternity in the junior light heavyweight class when he collapsed in his corner after the second round. Sources say that medical personnel attended to him by providing an oxygen mask and performing CPR. After 10 minutes, an ambulance arrived and transported Wray to the UT Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead upon arrival.

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Wray’s mother Amy Long Schisler posted on Facebook early Saturday morning discussing her son’s passing. “My son, my baby, Tanner Wray, was boxing at UTK and collapsed from cardiac arrest. The doctors and nurses did everything humanly possible to resuscitate him but were unsuccessful,” the post said. “The Lord called him home.” After the incident occurred Friday evening, buses of attendees arrived back on campus around 10:15 p.m., and about 300 students gathered on Ped Walkway to hold a vigil for Wray by 10:30 p.m. “Tonight I thought it was pretty incredible to show how the Greek system works as a community — that we’re all brothers and sisters, no matter what your chapter is,” Bryan Rocko, sophomore exploratory in business administration, said. “I think it’s incredible that we can all be here, keeping him in our thoughts and prayers whether you’re religious

or not.” Chancellor Beverly Davenport expressed her condolences in a Twitter post on Saturday. “The entire UT community is mourning the loss of Tanner Wray,” Davenport said. “Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends and fraternity brothers.” The Chi Phi National Twitter account also released a statement regarding Wray’s passing. “It is with a heavy heart that we must share the news that Joseph Tanner Wray, Phi Delta 2019, has entered Chapter Eternal,” the page said. A GoFundMe account was created in memory of Wray to cover funeral costs and other expenses the family may encounter. The account has a goal of $20,000, and about half of the goal had been raised as of Sunday afternoon. The boxing tournament was canceled for the rest of Friday night and Saturday as a

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result of Wray’s passing. The event is a three-day amateur boxing tournament held each February at the Knoxville Expo Center for UT fraternities. The event consists of 11 weight classes and around 55 boxers. Proceeds from the tournament go to Knoxville’s chapter of Golden Gloves, which provides boxing equipment for those who cannot afford it. A concert concludes the weekend each year. This year’s guest, rapper Waka Flocka, posted a video on Twitter sharing his condolences. “I just wanna send my prayers out to Joseph Tanner Wray and all UT,” the rapper said. “Man, God bless this kid.” Wray was initiated into Chi Phi in the spring of 2017 and was elected as vice president for the fraternity in November. The Knoxville Police Department (KPD) is continuing to investigate and will perform an autopsy to determine the cause of death.

Monday, February 26, 2018


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