Donovan Catholic Wrestler Revived After Heart Stops During Match

LAKEWOOD, NJ — Quick actions by a group of coaches and medical professionals saved the life of a Donovan Catholic wrestler whose heart stopped during a wrestling match Wednesday night.

Donovan Catholic head wrestling coach Stephen Glawson, an oral surgeon whose practice is in Lacey, said it was "a great team effort" that saved the life of Brandon Gonzalez, a junior wrestling in the 220-pound class, when his heart stopped.

Glawson said the incident occurred when Gonzalez was competing against a Toms River North wrestler. He had just pinned the Mariners' wrestler when coaches and the official realized something was wrong.

"He went out there, full force, and pinned the kid in like 20 seconds," Glawson said. But then Gonzalez didn't get up right away. "At first it seemed like he was lying on the kid (deliberately)," but when Gonzalez didn't respond to people telling him to get up, several people, including a pair of coaches from Toms River North, off-duty EMTs and another doctor, jumped to the wrestler's aid.

"(Gonzalez) appeared to have fainted," Glawson said. "We were monitoring him, keeping his airway open, and all of a sudden I lost his pulse." Glawson said he had someone else feel for the pulse, and when they could not find it, CPR was started while someone went to retrieve the automated external defibrillator.

Among those involved were Toms River North assistant wrestling coaches John DeMarco and Josh Huber. Also assisting were off-duty EMTs who were spectators at the match and another doctor who was a parent of a wrestler, Glawson said, as well as athletic trainers. NJ.com identified the other doctor as Joseph Oleske III, a dentist whose son is a wrestler at Toms River North.

"There were two cycles of compression by the time the AED was attached," Glawson said, about two to four minutes of CPR. Glawson told NJ.com that he was doing chest compressions and Huber was performing doing mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Olesky worked the AED, Glawson told NJ.com. Glawson told NJ.com he believes Gonzalez's heart issue was triggered by a lack of oxygen.

Still, seeing the "shock indicated" message on the AED was startling to Glawson.

"I've been involved in reviving people using an AED before, but never on someone this young and healthy," he said. But within a minute of giving Gonzalez the shock, he was conscious, Glawson said. Gonzalez was taken to Jersey Shore University Medical Center, Neptune, and is expected to recover. "He called me today and said he's doing great," he said.

Since September 2014, all New Jersey high schools have been required to have staff members certified in CPR and have an AED easily accessible at all times under Janet's Law, passed in 2012 and named in honor of Janet Zilinski, an 11-year-old Warren girl who died in 2006 of a sudden cardiac arrest during cheerleading practice.

Joseph Arminio, athletic coordinator for the Toms River Regional School District, said he was notified Wednesday night about the incident and was told Huber and DeMarco jumped onto the mat immediately. DeMarco is a CPR instructor, and Huber is a lifeguard at Jenkinson's in Point Pleasant Beach in the summer, Arminio said.

"As a district, we are extremely proud of the actions of our coaches," Arminio said, noting that all the district's coaches are certified in CPR and the use of an AED.

"People can be certified," Arminio said, "but when push comes to shove, it takes a special human being to jump into action when everything is on the line, in that situation, in front of a crowd like that."

"There was a tremendous amount of expertise," Glawson said, "and having that technology right there made all the difference. If we had to wait 15 or 20 minutes (for the AED) he might not have survived."

Toms River North and Donovan Catholic were competing at Lakewood High School as part of a tri-meet, where three teams wrestle against each other at one site. The match was suspended after Gonzalez's episode, officials said.

"I'm not an emotional person," Glawson said, but after Gonzalez was revived, "I looked over and saw four or five of my wrestlers were crying, and there were parents crying," and that's when he got emotional, he said. The team was met by Donovan Catholic's pastor when they finally returned from Lakewood, Glawson said.

"All that matters to me is that he's in great health," Glawson said.

Dan O'Cone, an assistant principal at Brick Memorial High School, tweeted word of the incident Wednesday night:

U.S. Navy Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Samantha J. Webb