TIMNATH - Cardiac arrest caused by congenital heart defect was the reason a 17-year-old Rugby player collapsed and died on a field in Larimer County Saturday.
The incident happened 10 miles south of Fort Collins in Timnath.
According to friends, Matthew Hammerdorfer went up for a high tackle and was struck in the chest.
Hammerdorfer collapsed to the ground. When he got back up, he took a few steps and then fell down again.
"I walked over to one of the players and I said, 'Has he had seizures before?'" Gary Williams, coach of the opposing team said. "One of the players told me he has a heart problem. So I relayed that back to the guy who was tending to him and unfortunately we started to lose him."
Hammerdorf was an all-star athlete. Rugby was only one of the sports he enjoyed.
"My greatest memory of Matt was playing basketball with him," said friend Keegan Pope. "We played during the spring and summer in tournaments and at our community center. He was one heck of an athlete and [an] even better human being. He will be missed dearly."
Larimer County Deputy Coroner Kari Jones performed the autopsy Sunday.
"[It has] been ruled as natural and the cause of death was listed as sudden cardiac death due to cardiomegaly, biventricular hypertrophy due to the congenital condition of tetralogy of fallot," Jones wrote on Larimer County's website.
Hammerdorfer was a junior at Poudre High School. Aside from sports, he was also interested in music.
Funeral arrangements have not been made yet.
Grief counselors will be on hand Monday at Poudre High School.
(Copyright © 2011 Fort Collins Coloradoan, All Rights Reserved)