Hurricane wrestlers Allan Madsen and Devin English helped head wrestling coach Ryan Christiansen perform CPR on a man experiencing a heart attack at the Comfort Inn in Orem where he and the Tiger wrestlers were staying in advance of the Class 3A wrestling tournament at Utah Valley University.
"We were in our rooms when we heard a lady yelling for help," Christiansen told St. George News . "We ran out the door, but didn't know what to expect. The boys were brave. They ran in ready to do what was needed."
"My first initial thought was the woman was in need of something, like she was getting hurt or someone was attacking her, so my initial thought was I was about to get in a fight with somebody," senior wrestler Allan Madsen told KSL-TV, the NBC affiliate in Salt Lake City.
"We came running in to see a man dead, sitting on a chair. It was a really shocking, traumatic experience," said senior wrestler Devin English.
"He was discolored, his mouth was open, he was leaning back, no movement, not even breathing," said Madsen.
The man was Kent Moser of Idaho who had been in Utah for back surgery. His wife Kathy was the woman screaming for help.
"We put the man on the floor and did CPR on him for seven or eight minutes," coach Christiansen said.
Madsen called 911 and eventually medical personnel came and took over.
"It gives me chills every time I think about it," said Madsen. "I took a CPR class just a few weeks ago at school and it was great to have that knowledge when I was there."
After seeing a TV interview with the Hurricane coach and wrestlers, Kathy Moser called and spoke to the wrestlers-turned-first responders for the first time.
"I can't even talk. They mean the world to me. I don't know them personally. I don't even know all their names but we love them dearly," Kathy told ABC4Utah .
Kent Moser was treated for blood clots and released from the hospital. The Mosers have returned to Utah.
As for the Hurricane wrestler-rescuers ... Madsen wrestled three matches, winning one and losing two. English went 2-1.
"Having that experience is something that will impact my life more than a placement at state will," Madsen said.
"It was a really good experience for putting everything in perspective," said English. "We all did what we were supposed to."
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