Dec 21, 2015Iowa HS Wrestler Dies After Collapsing at Tournament
Tragedy struck at an Iowa high school wrestling tournament when a wrestler collapsed during a match and later died. As reported by USA Today High School Sports, Spencer High School wrestler Austin Roberts was wrestling in the 220-pound title match at the Spencer Invitational when he appeared to be unable to catch his breath.
“There was about 30 seconds left and the score was tied and they went out of bounds,” Sioux Center Coach Aaron Schmidt said. “We came back to the center to get reset and [he] asked for injury time…then injury time was up and there was a good, classy exchange at the end of the match and we were hoping he was all right. At that point, he seemed to just be unable to catch his breath.”
Schmidt said he saw nothing during the match that raised any concern about Roberts’ health. After collapsing, the wrestler was tended to by an emergency response team at the tournament before being transported to a local hospital where he died Saturday night.
Roberts also played on Spencer’s football team and had been considering playing both sports at community college. His coaches released the following statement:
“Austin Roberts was a larger than life character. He had a large heart with a personality that could light up the room. We have had the great opportunity to watch Austin grow in recent years from a young child to mature young adult. His attitude about wrestling and football was second only to his attitude about life… The Spencer Tigers, the city of Spencer, the state of Iowa and the wrestling community have lost a great kid. Austin will be missed by many. Our thoughts and prayers at this time are with his family — Travis, Lori, Melany and Shae as they cope with this tragic loss.”