Ohio Wesleyan University mourns the loss of sophomore Charley Morris and his father, Charles.  Authorities have strong evidence that they drowned in Beaver Lake, Arkansas, where they had been kayaking during spring break.

Charley Morris was a member of the Ohio Wesleyan men's track & field and men's cross country teams.  He was named North Coast Athletic Conference Middle Distance/Distance Athlete of Week after winning the 800-meter run at the Bob Shannon Invitational during the 2022 indoor track & field season, and finished sixth in the 400-meter dash at the NCAC indoor championship meet that year.  This year, he placed sixth in the 400-meter dash and helped the Bishop 1600-meter relay team to fifth-place finish at the NCAC indoor championship meet.

"Charley was a joy to coach," said Kris Boey, director of track & field and cross country at Ohio Wesleyan.  "His smile and warm heart will stay with me forever.  I'll be forever grateful for the opportunity to be a part of Charley's life these past two years.  Charley was a thoughtful and compassionate young man with a wonderful sense of humor and a kind heart.  He was endeared and liked by all.  Charley was a wonderful teammate who celebrated the achievements of others even before his own.  The love for Charley demonstrated by his teammates has been clearly seen in the past several days.  The thoughts and prayers of our entire team go out to Charley's mom and sister.  He will be dearly missed and will always be near."

"Charley was soft-spoken but carried a big heart for his teammates," said Ben Carlson, head cross country and assistant track & field coach.  "His connection across event areas showed his budding leadership abilities.  His competitiveness was apparent in our first workout in the fall of his freshman year; it would've carried him to an outstanding second half of his OWU athletic career.  I appreciated his love of this team and his teammates the most."