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While their rivals in Iowa City are going through some tough times, the Iowa State University wrestling team made the news for all the right reasons recently.
The Cyclones, who were in California for a match against Cal Baptist, recently stepped up to help find a lost 1-year-old child in their team hotel.
The young child, named Marley, escaped from her father Matt’s view as he and his two other children his three children left their hotel room to check out the lobby and explore the hotel.
Matt then came across Iowa State coach Kevin Dresser, who was in the lobby with the rest of his team. Dresser, who was unaware of the situation, offered Matt a slice of pizza. That’s when Matt declined and explained that he was searching for his 1-year-old son.
Iowa State Wrestling Team Finds 1-Year-Old Child Lost Near Team Hotel
That’s when the Cyclones sprung into action.
“I noticed Marley wasn’t at my side anymore and my other son told me that he never got off the elevator with us,” Harley told Iowa State athetics. “I knew he had gotten off with us but went back to check anyways. When Marley wasn’t in the elevator, I immediately ran down the hallway on every floor looking for him.”
The team immediately began to search the hotel while strength coach Ben Durbin called 911.
The search lasted nearly 20 minutes and ended when 197-pound starter Julien Broderson found the child sitting in the corner of the parking garage beneath the hotel.
Marley had found his way down a hallway, onto an elevator and into an empty, gated garage.
“I found Marley crying in the corner behind a gate,” Broderson said. “I picked him up, told him it was going to be okay and that I was going to bring him back to his dad. He held onto me super tight the entire way.”
Broderson is also the father of a young child as of last summer.
“I put myself in that dad’s shoes immediately,” Broderson said. “I can’t even imagine what Matt was going through and I hope I don’t ever feel the way he felt during that 20-or-so minutes. I texted Macie, my fiancé, afterwards and told her about the entire situation. It was crazy.”