Authorities say student died in freak accident

A Lenoir-Rhyne University student died in what authorities say may have been a freak accident during a fraternity pre-initiation team-building exercise.

So far, authorities have found no evidence alcohol was involved in the death Monday night of Harrison Kowiak, 19, Tampa, Fla, who was a sophomore at the university in Hickory.

On Thursday, investigators with the Catawba County Sheriff's Office said Harrison was involved with a group of about 17 people taking part in an activity described as "capture the flag" when he suffered a head injury.

The Sheriff's Office said there was discrepancy in the statements of witnesses concerning exactly what happened on the night Kowiak died. The investigation is continuing and authorities are conducting more interviews.

Results of the investigation will be submitted to the District Attorney's office for review.

Kowiak, a sophomore at Lenoir-Rhyne on golf scholarship, was taking part in a pre-initiation exercise for the Theta Chi Fraternity.

According to Dale Taylor, executive director of the fraternity's international headquarters in Indianapolis, Ind., the exercise is not a form of hazing, which is prohibited by the organization.

He said it's an optional team-building exercise that involves keeping a U.S. flag taunt and off the ground. Taylor spoke by phone with several of those involved and said Kowiak apparently "fell or something and hit his head."

Details of the incident are still unclear, but Taylor said those involved were "grieving very much."

An autopsy is being conducted by the Medical Examiner's Office, but results weren't available, authorities said.

Mike Langford, Lenoir-Rhyne's director of marketing and communications, said students, faculty and members of Kowiak's family gathered Thursday for a two-hour memorial service in St. Andrew's Lutheran Church adjacent to campus.

"It was a celebration of his (Kowiak's) life and times," Langford said. "There was an outpouring of support."

In a college with about 1,600 students "people may not know every detail about someone," Langford said. "But any loss is devastating to a campus our size."

He said students had been provided with a list of people available to them on campus for grief counseling.