Upper Iowa’s Maleek Williams overcomes early-season stroke to reach NCAA Championships

FAYETTE — Maleek Williams sat in a hospital room, attempting to assess a dire situation.

He faced a serious and rare condition, learning that he had suffered a stroke less than a day after the Upper Iowa red-shirt freshman went unbeaten in the first tournament of the season.

The extreme circumstances needed immediate attention and a crucial response. Williams said he could really only recall one thought that entered his mind at the time.

'When they had diagnosed me with a stroke, all I remember was asking the doctors and nurses in the room would I ever be able to wrestle again?,' the 20-year-old from Miami, Fla., said. 'Instantly, they were like, 'No. Probably not.' My motivation to go through that whole process was just being able to wrestle again.'

Less than three months after the stroke and open-heart surgery to repair a hole in his heart that contributed to it, Williams returned to the mat, wrestling for the Peacocks. A little more than four months later, Williams will compete at the NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships, starting Friday in Sioux Falls, S.D. Williams (8-2) will face Jacob Goodwin (13-8), of Notre Dame College (Ohio) in the first round.

Battling for a national title or All-America honors seemed so far when he was fighting for his health.

Williams opened the season by winning his first three matches and then sharing the 125-pound title with teammate Garrett Wangsness. He posted a pin and a major decision en route to the final.

The next morning — Monday, Nov. 2 — Williams returned to work. He awoke and prepared to go to campus for an early-morning workout, despite not feeling well. He called his grandmother, because he didn't feel right. She hung up on him prematurely, mistaking a request to talk to his grandfather as saying goodbye, which may have been an indication that he was slurring his speech. Things progressively worsened during his workout.

'I was looking at the clock,' said Williams, noting he experienced partial paralysis to his left side, facial droop and migraines in addition to speech trouble. 'It was blurry and then everything just went blank. Then I decided that I was done working out.'

He endured a headache and fatigue and went to his apartment to sleep, foregoing classes to get better. A roommate woke him, inquiring about his health and then encouraged him to see Upper Iowa head athletic trainer Matt Rueckert, who took quick action.

'Instantly, he knew something was wrong, because I wasn't as energetic as I would normally be,' Williams said. 'He rushed me to Palmer Lutheran (Hospital) in West Union.'

At first, Bells Palsy, which is a paralysis or weakness to muscles on one side of the face, was mentioned. A cat scan revealed that Williams had a stroke. Medical staff arranged for him to be transported via helicopter to La Crosse, Wis.

'It was one of those deals where you're in a competitive mode and then all of a sudden that doesn't even enter the system,' Upper Iowa Coach Heath Grimm said. 'It's all about personal welfare, love, care and concern for someone's lifelong health. It switches gears in a hurry.'

Wrestling wasn't a concern to Grimm, but he encouraged Williams, knowing how important wrestling was to him. Grimm remembered Williams telling his grandparents on the phone that he had come too far not to be part of the Peacocks team, vying for a starting spot.

'At that point, I wanted him to be optimistic,' Grimm said. 'I thought it was good for mental health. Deep down we were at the mercy of nature.'

At Gundersen Lutheran in La Crosse, Wis., Williams said they took 15 test tubes of blood for tests to see if the condition was hereditary. Williams said he had older family members who suffered strokes, but none so young. When they came back negative, he underwent an electrocardiogram (EKG) that discovered a hole in his heart, which likely allowed the clot to reach his brain.

'It never bother me until that point,' Williams said. 'They assumed the blood clot had to go through the hole and up to my brain.'

Medication and open-heart surgery were offered as options. Surgery seemed the most effective long-term treatment. He had the procedure at Allen Hospital in Waterloo on Nov. 10.

'He's competed at a high level his whole life,' Grimm said. 'Just for it to happen now when it did, at the time it seemed unfortunate, but immediately after recovering the only way to look at it was how fortunate for him to be where he was and have the people around him who were aware.'

In the days leading up to the surgery, Williams said nervousness and fear began to set in, realizing he could have died and worrying about a mistake during it or the results might not be ideal. His support system helped him keep focus, including his grandfather, Robert Williams.

'With his motivation, and keeping good faith, I ended up washing those thoughts out of my head,' Williams said. 'Let's get this process and recovery of getting back on the mat done as soon as possible.'

A few days after the procedure, Williams was released and even went to watch his teammates compete at the Luther Open in Decorah.

Rehabilitation opened with walking for two weeks, followed by two weeks of biking. He was cleared to be on the mat four weeks after having open-heart surgery.

Williams accelerated through the 'step-by-step' process to be wrestling in mid-December and wanting to compete as early as the National Wrestling Coaches Association National Duals in January. He received his chance to return at a home dual on Jan. 30 against Minnesota State-Mankato at Dorman Gymnasium. Williams recorded an 8-5 win, helping the Peacocks to an 18-17 victory.

'My adrenaline was pumping,' Williams said. 'I wasn't completely there cardio-wise. I ended up getting tired after the first period, but I had the determination that I was not losing that match. I was going to do what it takes.'

The triumphant return was accomplished when he excitedly took the mat to wrestle. The emotional night wasn't influenced by the final score.

'It was something special,' Grimm said. 'It wasn't about getting his hand raised. He had already won the match by lacing up the shoes and running out there.

'He got down on one knee, did an extended prayer and pointed up. It gives me goose bumps, now, just thinking about it.'

Williams said his teammates, Grimm, assistant coach Nate Skaar and Rueckert were very supportive. He said he became closer with Grimm, who was at Williams' side. They forged a bond that is much stronger than coach and athlete.

'It became family-oriented,' Williams said. 'He came to see me when I was coming out of surgery. It felt like he took me in as his own child. I started calling him dad, his daughters, sisters and his wife, mom.

'It felt good just having him at my side.'

He chased that feeling with a runner-up finish at the regional tournament, punching his ticket to the national tournament. He achieved the goal that he set before the medical scare.

'When they gave me the opportunity to go in and wrestle at the regional tournament I was filled with a head of steam,' Williams said. 'Now that they gave me this shot, I've got to prove to them they didn't make the wrong decision.'

Upper Iowa has six qualifiers, including Matt Paulus (133), Damian Penichet (149), former Waverly-Shell Rock prep Jordan Rinken (157), Zak Benitz (165) and freshman 197-pounder Ryan Parmely, who was a Iowa high school state champion at Maquoketa Valley.

Williams has proved people wrong, coming back from a near fatal condition. He continued by shrinking the recovery period and qualifying for the NCAAs, where he aims to be an All-American.

'It's a testament to Maleek and his passion for wrestling and what it's done for him,' Grimm said. 'It has built him into this type of person where he can persevere through the greatest of challenges. He didn't even see this as a struggle.'

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