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A day of celebration turned into a day of mourning after high school cross country runner Owen Grubb died in a post-race accident involving a tree. The incident happened shortly after the Division II district race in Cambridge, Ohio on Saturday. 

Following the race, according to Cambridge police, Grubb and three other runners were on a walking trail with a bridge going over a creek located across from the school. The runners were looking to throw a log over the bridge as part of "some type of tradition." They couldn't find a log laying around, so they decided to try breaking down a decaying tree into the creek.

The tree reportedly fell toward them and all four tried to get out of the way. Unfortunately, the large tree struck Grubb in the head. As reported by News 5 Cleveland, Grubb was severely injured and flown to a hospital in Akron. He was later pronounced dead from those injuries. His death was ruled accidental, so none of the other runners with him face criminal charges. 

Details of the fatal injuries have yet to be disclosed.  

The Minerva High School boys and girls cross country teams had both earned titles. Grubb was part of that success as he finished 10th with a time of 17:26.05. According to Mike Popovich of The Repository, head coach Olivia Scott said Grubb had improved significantly this year and had been among the school's top five runners throughout the season.    

"He's a great kid and a great teammate," Scott said on Sunday. "Our girls and boys, our team, they're brothers and sisters. The girls team is just as devastated as the boys team.

"Telling them last night is the hardest thing I've ever had to do in my life."

The cross country community in the area has been supporting each other after the tragic incident. Some teams even encouraged their students to wear red -- one of Minerva's school colors -- on Monday as a way to honor Grubb. In his memory, the coaches also decided to name Grubb their only runner of the week for this week.