Friends struggle with teen swimmer's death

Friends and swim teammates remembered 15-year-old Molly Lahlum on Thursday as upbeat, bubbly and "a high-energy ringleader."

Molly died Thursday two weeks after she collapsed at a swim meet in Carson City.

Fighting back tears as she met with swim team members Thursday, Molly's coach, Sarah Davenport, said she and the Douglas High School sophomore were "super, super close."

"She would always come to practice with this aura. Everybody was attracted to that," Davenport said. "It was just her soul."

Davenport said Molly's legacy is her spirit.

"Remember her spirit, who she is, what she brought to everybody and brought out of everybody," Davenport said.

Rebecca Chappell, 19, now a freshman at University of Nevada, Reno, said she and Molly "were not the most serious swimmers."

Chappell was at the high school after learning of Molly's death.

"We were racing partners, and before each event, Molly would do this little dance and say, 'I'm a drama queen,'" Chappell said.

Douglas High swim team captain Ryan Dykes, 17, said Molly was the person who kept the team together.

"She always, always had a smile on her face," Dykes said. "People need to remember her spirit and her personality. She never said a bad thing about anybody."

Carson Valley Swim Center Director Kirk Chiapella hired Molly six months ago to work as a lifeguard.

"She was the high-energy ringleader of the swim team," Chiapella said. "She was really upbeat and positive. We were looking forward to a very nice summer."

Aleassa Anzelone, 18, a diver for the swim team, said she worked with Molly at the pool.

"She was really a good swimmer and an awesome lifeguard," Anzelone said. "She really loved her team."

Anzelone shared the feelings of many who believed Molly would recover.

"She was doing so good. We couldn't believe it," Anzelone said.

Sixteen-year-old Jennifer Hobson knew Molly from geology class.

"She was the life of the classroom," Hobson said. "She was a good person and made everyone feel better. A lot of people are taking this really hard. Everyone's depressed."

As the tragic news of Molly's death spread, dozens of people left messages on the family's Caring Bridge Web site.

The family had filed frequent updates on her condition after Molly was taken to Renown Regional Medical Center in Carson City following the incident at the Carson Aquatics Center pool on April 7.

She completed her race but failed to emerge from the swimming pool. Molly was pulled out of the water and administered CPR.

She was taken to Carson-Tahoe Regional Medical Center before being transferred to the pediatric intensive care unit at Renown where she died early Thursday.

Molly's mother Mary Lahlum works as a nurse at Gardnerville Elementary School.

Superintendent Carol Lark said the school community had been hit hard by the tragedy.

"Our hearts go out to this family. They are such a dynamic part of our community," Lark said.