There was an immediate outpouring of praise for Ness and many took to social media to express their grief at his passing. Easton Patch editor Patrick Maguire reported on some of the memories and condolences that came in the day that the news broke.
The Oliver Ames and Easton Community is dealing with the loss of one of its own.
Devin Ness, a senior at Oliver Ames High School and captain of the wrestling team, passed away suddenly Friday morning after suffering from a brain aneurysm.
The news deeply saddened the community, especially those who knew him best.
"Devin is one of the greatest kids I’ve ever met," Oliver Ames wrestling coach Adam Pomella said. "He’s hardworking, honest and kind."
"Devin is an absolute treasure of a kid," Oliver Ames Principal Wes Paul added. "Everyone that knows him loves him deeply. He’s a friend to so many and just one of those kids that everyone who knew him just absolutely adored him."
Oliver Ames Athletic Director Bill Matthews took to Twitter to express his sympathy.
Bill Matthews @OAHSTigersports:
The Oliver Ames community offers sincerest condolences to Devin's family and friends during this very difficult time.
The twitter hashtag #RIPDevin was used widely by those who knew Ness as well or were just offering condolences.
Trent Wilkinson @TrentWIlkinson:
not sure if ive ever actually been this sad before #RIPDevin
Jackie Galeno @getatluvbugjax:
Realizing how blessed and thankful I am for everything, its just horrible to see this happen to someone as easygoing as Devin#RIPDevin
With heavy hearts, but inspired by the memory of their teammate, Oliver Ames' wrestlers used the emotion to put in an historic performance, finishing in third place for the first time in the program's history and setting a school record with 144 points.
Kevin Stone, writing for the MetroWest Daily News, noted that the Tigers drew praise from everyone that was at Franklin High that day.
Much of the focus for everyone in attendance, though, was the effort put forth by Oliver Ames after such a trying weekend.
"They had something to wrestle for today and they showed it," said [Milford head coach P.J.] Boccia. "I can’t say enough about what they did today. We had a moment of silence with our team for them before we started the day. You can’t really imagine how they’re handling losing a teammate and a brother, but they did an excellent job today and should be extremely proud of themselves."
"I give them all the credit in the world," echoed [Franklin head coach Carmine] Colace. "Next week is probably going to be really tough for them, and for that team to come here, try and get their minds off it for a while and put forth the effort they did, that’s just outstanding and a true testament to their character."
HockomockSports.com Managing Editor Josh Perry recalled, "It was one of those moments that reminds you how powerful sports can be. This is why we all love sports and cover them. It was really an unforgettable moment and watching Devoeau embrace McCabe after the match showed a lot of class on his part and demonstrated how much support there was from the league's wrestling community."
Perry recorded the McCabe/Devoeau match and spoke with the wrestler and his coach following the tournament.
One of the more moving tributes came from the Canton basketball team in its game against OA just four days after Ness passed away. The Bulldogs wore orange shoelaces to honor Ness and show solidarity with the Tigers, who were still struggling with the news.
ESPNBoston.com editor Brendan Hall highlighted the tribute on the site's blog:
None of the Canton boys' basketball players directly knew Devin Ness, the Oliver Ames wrestler who died suddenly the morning of Jan. 25 from an aneurysm. But they knew those OA players, who were set to visit the Bulldogs this past Tuesday for a Hockomock League matchup, were playing with heavy -– no, devastated -– hearts, many of them friends with Ness.
The sudden death of Ness, who captained the wrestling team, sent shockwaves across the town of Easton and its surrounding communities. But just knowing what the Oliver Ames athletics program was going through was enough for the Canton players to approach head coach Ryan Gordy about paying tribute during their Jan. 29 meeting, just four days after the death.
It was a simple idea, but it said a lot. Volunteer assistant Pat Frazier went out to the Nike store at Wrenthm Outlets and purchased a load of orange shoelaces, which the players all wore during the game, a 60-49 OA win.
It may have been just another game, but for members of the Oliver Ames basketball team, it was a sense of normalcy.
With heavy hearts, Oliver Ames pulled away late from Davenport Division rival Canton on Tuesday to win 60-49.
Just days after losing a classmate in senior wrestling captain Devin Ness, the Tigers rallied to an emotional victory over the Bulldogs.
“One of our driving forces was obviously Devin,” senior Andrew Reardon said, a classmate of Ness’. “He was a good kid. He was a driving force for us, which helped us come out in the second half and have a good second half.”
Signs of respect for the tragedy were all over the Canton gym. Reardon was one of the Tigers who had “RIP Devin” written on their sneakers, while all Canton players and coaches wore orange laces in their sneakers and dress shoes. The Canton cheerleaders wore orange ribbons in their hair and there was a moment of silence before the game.
“OA’s a tight school,” Oliver Ames head coach Don Byron said. “Everything ranging from close friends, to close family friends to acquaintances. You could see it in their eyes. They were working like crazy to pull some emotion out of themselves to play a basketball game, and it wasn’t easy.”
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