DES MOINES – Grand View wrestler Isaiah Tatum, a former NIACC all-American, could be released from the hospital later this week according to his coach Nick Mitchell in a story in the Des Moines Register.
Tatum and Grand View teammate Chad Lowman were hospitalized Sunday night after being involved in a car wreck. The two wrestlers were on their way back to Des Moines after watching the Iowa/Iowa State wrestling meet in Ames.
Mitchell said Lowman, who had a concussion, was released from the hospital on Monday and Tatum could be released toward the end of the week.
“(Tatum) had some fluid around the stomach and they weren’t sure if it was internal bleeding,” Mitchell was quoted as saying in the Register. “They had to go in and check it out and open him up.
“The good thing is there wasn’t any internal bleeding, but now he’ll have to recover from surgery.”
Tatum, who placed fourth at the 2011 NJCAA meet at 165 pounds, was the NAIA national runner-up last season for the Vikings. He was ranked No. 1 at 149 pounds in the preseason NAIA rankings.
Lowman won a national title for the Vikings last year at 157 pounds and was ranked No. 1 to start the 2013-14 season.
Mitchell said Lowman could be back on the mat after “normal concussion recovery time.”
Mitchell said doctors initially said it would likely be three weeks before Tatum could do light conditioning work.
“It’s still fairly early in the season, but the next thing you know it’s going to be February,” Mitchell told the Register. “We don’t know if he’ll be able to get back out there this year or if we’re going to have to look at a medical redshirt.”
