Wiggins, who won the 130-pound Florida Class A state title for Plant City in 2002 then went on to wrestle at what was then called Cumberland College in southern Kentucky*, drowned in a lake near Lakeland in central Florida Saturday night. He had dived into the water from a boat after his sunglasses fell off his face. A companion threw a chair cushion towards him, then dove into the water in an attempt to rescue the former wrestler, but to no avail. Wiggins' body was retrieved nearly 24 hours later on Sunday.
Wiggins had overcome personal tragedies and a serious car crash in his young life.
During his senior year at Plant City High School, Wiggins' foster mother died of congestive heart failure. According to the Tampa Bay Times, Wiggins had considered giving up wrestling but instead returned to mat, concluding his prep career as a four-year starter with a 126-16 overall record.
As a freshman at Cumberlands, Wiggins was in a car crash that killed a teammate and left him with a fractured skull, broken leg and blood clot in his brain. Advised to sit out a semester, he went right back to class instead.
"It's the kind of thing a kid can shut down from, feel sorry for himself," Wiggins' high school wrestling coach Mark Ackett told the Tampa Tribune back in 2003. "But he didn't."
In fact, the opposite appears to be the case. Friends of Wiggins - who called him Corn - described a fun-loving individual whose appearance and sense of humor reminded them of comedic actor Kevin Hart.
A GoFundMe.com page has been set up to honor Cornelius Wiggins by raising funds for a memorial scholarship for future wrestlers.
Funeral services have yet to be announced.
* Not to be confused with Cumberland University in Lebanon, Tennessee. Wiggins' alma mater changed its name to University of the Cumberlands in 2005.
Recommended Comments
There are no comments to display.
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now