July 17 (Daily Jefferson County Union) – Justin Wegner, a former catcher for the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater baseball team who battled a rare form of cancer for more than three years, died last week. He was 22.

A celebration of Wegner’s life will take place at St. Raphael Catholic Church at 1215 Modaff Rd. in Naperville, Ill., this Thursday, July 18, with visitation from 4 to 9 p.m. Funeral mass Friday, July 19 at the church starting at 10:30 a.m.

Wegner played for the Warhawks in 2016, batting .250 with one home run and had nine RBIs during 24 games, including 14 starts. A member of the WIAC Scholastic Honor Roll, Wegner helped UW-Whitewater reach the NCAA Division III World Series that season after winning the NCAA Central Regional in Sauget, Ill.

Following the 2016 season, Wegner was diagnosed with a rare type of soft tissue sarcoma, a type of cancer.

Wegner captivated hundreds of student-athletes at UW-Whitewater, which held fundraisers for his #JwegStrong campaign during several athletics events.

Members of the UW-Whitewater community took to social media to share memories of the courageous battle Wegner fought.