On December 19th, Spencer High School senior, Austin Roberts, collapsed on the mats after a grueling match against Ko Kieft of Sioux Center. As reported by the Des Moines Register, Roberts was treated by medical staff at the event before being rushed to Spencer Hospital.
It was the final period of the match, scores tied, with 30 seconds remaining when the match moved out of bounds. When the wrestlers went to reset, Roberts asked to use his injury time.
The Sioux Center coach was quoted saying, “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.”
Roberts was ranked 6th in his athletic and weight division and had placed 8th in the state tournament in
February. Donations can be made to Robert’s family via their GoFundMe Page. Consider donating if able.
