Former Wayne State football player dies

Published Jan. 21, 2013 2:28 p.m. ET

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DETROIT — Former Wayne State defensive tackle Serxho Guraleci has died.

In a statement posted on their athletics site, the university said Guraleci, 22, died Monday morning while at an off-campus workout facility in Macomb County. Several reports said he collapsed after lifting weights.

Guraleci just finished his senior season for the Warriors and was named to the All-Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference second team. He played in all 48 games of his college career, starting 25 and helping Wayne State reach the 2011 Division II national-championship game.

"This
is a devastating loss for the Wayne State football family," coach Paul Winters
said in a prepared statement. "Serxho was loved by everyone. We are all having a
hard time understanding this. We will surely miss him."

Off the field, he did enough to win two spots on the GLIAC's All-Academic team, and this season, he earned Wayne State's Cortez Smith Award, given to a senior who demonstrates character on both the field and in the classroom.

Guraleci was born in Albania but moved to the Detroit area and played high school football at Sterling Heights Stevenson. As a senior, he was named to the All-Macomb County first team as a defensive lineman and also finished third in the state in the shot put.

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