MASON CITY— In an update to a story we had earlier this week, normally soccer players are not supposed to dive. But in this case, a group of North Iowa Area Community College men’s soccer players dove into action to save a man’s life.

The incident happened around 1pm Tuesday afternoon on the NIACC campus. Head Coach Michael Donovan said they were all hanging out in the locker room when some of the guys came in and said a guy was drowning in the lake. He details what happened when he arrived on the scene.


“I get there and Lolo and Lucas and Connor are all dragging him out of the water and saving his life. I mean, you know they stopped him from drowning. I got there and 9-1-1 was called. They arrived and the guy was, from what I know, I mean I know he’s doing pretty well. But, I mean they saved his life. It’s incredible really. And then fifteen minutes later we’re on a bus on the way to Waldorf to play a scrimmage. It’s amazing really.”

Men’s soccer player Layton Wheeler was one of the players who saved the man from drowning. He says once he heard the man screaming for help he dove into action.

“So, I was walking to the changing rooms and we saw an old man struggling in the pond. So we were looking and we were a bit curious to see what was happening and all of a sudden screaming for help. So and then, I got my bag off, took all my clothes off and I went straight in that pond and tried to get him out. Tried to get his head above the water. Then I got a couple of lads to come in, Vinny, Connor, Ojo; and they come and help me put him on the bay. Thankfully he’s alive now.”

The man, whose name hasn’t been released, was taken to MercyOne-North Iowa. First responders say the man was NOT breathing when the call came in to dispatch but he was breathing on his own when he was transported to the hospital.

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