The last time Ralph Wahlers saw recent Grand Junction High School graduate Zachary Glen Sockman, the teen was right where Wahlers was used to seeing him the past four years: on a soccer field and with his teammates.

"He was at Mesa State three weeks ago for an intra-squad scrimmage. He was just there watching with his teammates from last year," said Wahlers, head junior varsity and assistant varsity boys soccer coach for Grand Junction. "One of his good friends with whom he and (former teammate) Steven Rowe had shared a graduation party with, Ethan Johnson, was there. He was there to watch Ethan play as a freshman at Mesa."

Wahlers never dreamed that would be the last time he'd see the fun, vibrant Sockman alive.

Family members discovered Sockman, 18, unresponsive Monday morning. His stepfather attempted to wake him at his home at 3261 C 1/2 Road, but Sockman had died sometime during the night, said the Mesa County Sheriff's Department.

The department is investigating the cause. Homicide and suicide have been ruled out, said Kim Hollingshead, a deputy coroner and investigator with the Mesa County Coroner's Office.

"It appeared to be a nontraumatic death," said Hollingshead, who said it could be a case of death from natural causes. "It's not very usual that teenagers pass away, but they do. We won't have any idea for probably several weeks on the exact cause of death."

Toxicology and blood work are pending, but results will not be available for one to two weeks, said Charles Warner, Sheriff's Department spokesman.

Wahlers was told Sockman went to bed feeling sick, "something related to sinuses."

"This isn't supposed to happen to a healthy 18-year-old," Wahlers said.

He described Sockman as a likable kid who as a freshman was "goofy, always the class clown out there. But he really matured over the four years."

Sockman had just returned from Florida, where he spent time with his biological father, Wahlers said. Sockman told Wahlers he had plans to go into the Air Force.

Relatives gathered Monday at Sockman's home, where one woman emerged and asked media to leave the area, saying, "Children are grieving."

Sockman lived in the home with his mother, stepfather and two siblings.

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