Ex-Wharton golfer dies in frat initiation at N.C. school, police say

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A Lenior-Rhyne University student from Tampa who died after an accidental head injury Monday night was participating in a fraternity initiation event at the time of his death, according to the Catawba County Sheriff's Office in North Carolina.

Harrison Kowiak (pictured), 19, a former golfer at Wharton and sophomore at the private liberal arts college in Hickory, N.C., died during a game similar to "capture the flag" -- a Theta Chi fraternity initiation activity, according to sheriff's Capt. Roy Brown. There were 17 people participating in the activity. Brown said he would not call the event "hazing."

Representatives from Theta Chi's national office were not immediately available to comment. Brown said the results of Kowiak's autopsy are not yet available, so an official cause of death has not been determined. The Sheriff's Office is investigating the incident because witnesses' statements about the events leading up to the injuries were inconsistent, according to the sheriff's officials.

Once the sheriff's investigation is complete, the case will be submitted to the District Attorney's Office for review. Kowiak was taken to the Frye Medical Center by other students, then airlifted to Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte. The Sheriff's Office was notified the next day.

Marissa Tweed, an 18-year-old freshman at the University of Florida, used to go to church with Kowiak at Joyful Servants Lutheran Church, where her father, the Rev. Dave Gardner Tweed, is minister. She said Kowiak was shy at first but talkative once she got to know him. She said Kowiak did well in high school and attended Lenior-Rhyne on a golf scholarship. "He was good enough to go pro," Tweed said.

"He had a lot ahead of him," she said. "We'll definitely miss him."

--KIM WILMATH