Iowa high school wrestler dies after collapsing on mat
A high school wrestler died on Saturday night after collapsing during a wrestling tournament in his hometown of Spencer, Iowa.
Austin Roberts, a senior at Spencer High School, fell to the mat during the championship match of his school’s invitational tournament, and was taken to the hospital, where he passed away hours later.
“There was about 30 seconds left and the score was tied and they went out of bounds,” Sioux Center coach Aaron Schmidt told The Des Moines Register. “We came back to the center to get reset and we got set and the Roberts boy asked for injury time and couldn’t seem to quite catch his breath ... 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 also said that at no point during the match did anything happen that would be cause for concern.
Roberts was an offensive and defensive lineman for the school’s football team, standing at 6'4". He ranked sixth in Class 3A at 220 pounds, and placed eighth at the state meet in February, according to The Register.
A fund has been set up for his family.
- Kenny Ducey
