Tom Patterson hugs his mother JoeneThomas Patterson, former Briar Cliff University wrestler and volunteer coach for the Sioux City, Iowa school, went missing in the Missouri River after going in to rescue a friend during Labor Day weekend. His body was found later, the victim of a drowning. He was 23.
Patterson disappeared Sunday, Sept. 4 in the Missouri River near a beach about four miles southwest of Elk Point, South Dakota. Other students who were there that afternoon said he got caught in the current while trying to help other swimmers cross back to the other side of the river.
Patterson had wrapped a dog leash around him to use as a tether. The other individual helping those caught in the current was able to make it to a tree near the middle of the river, but Patterson was caught in the current and unable to reach the tree. He went under soon after.
"As he was going across, I turned my back for one second, and then he was underwater and nobody saw him," said Bryce Raby, a student at Western Iowa Tech Community College, told the Sioux City Journal.
After sustained search efforts by authorities from Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota, Patterson's body was found ten days later not far from where he went into the water.
Thomas George Patterson was born March 24, 1993 in Cumberland, Maryland, and was raised in Frostburg, Maryland.
So how did a young athlete from western Maryland travel 1,000 miles west to Sioux City to wrestle at Briar Cliff University?
"I always said it was fate that we wound up here (at Briar Cliff) because he started getting recruit letters coming in," his mother Joene Patterson told CliffNews.net, a website for the university. "I would sit in the evenings at the computer and just delete. I never looked at them, I never opened them, I just sat there deleting. The only recruit letter that was opened was the one coach (Joe) Privitere sent. Now why did I stop on that one? I didn't open any of the others. When I read it Tom was sitting there. Coach Privitere was describing what he wanted in an athlete, and what he wanted for Briar Cliff. As I read it, at that moment, I felt that he was describing Tom."
"His leadership skills were an asset absolutely," said head wrestling coach Joe Privitere. "He bought into what we were selling. He was an extremely hard worker, and loved the (wrestling) program. He actually graduated and realized he had another year of eligibility, so he enrolled back into the university this fall, which shows how much this program meant to him. He was just a special kid. If we could have forty of him, we would."
"Seven years ago Thomas's dad called me and told me, 'Thomas Patterson will be the hardest worker you've ever had,'" Privitere continued. "I hear it all the time, and in this case it was true. He was the hardest working kid I've had. And it came into fruition with him. You hear it all the time, 'he'd run through a wall for you,' Thomas Patterson would run through a wall for you."
Here's what coach Privitere wrote for the GoFundMe.com page established to help the Patterson family with funeral expenses.
"As his college wrestling coach, I recruited Tom 7 years ago. Originally from Frostburg, MD he took no time making an immediate impact on those around him and across the Briar Cliff community here in Sioux City, IA. Tom earned his undergraduate degree in the spring of 2015 and selflessly volunteered the next year with the program. In a random conversation between him and I he said, 'I wish I had another year to compete with the program.' To that, I let him know he did. Due to an injury his junior year he was unable to compete and essentially red shirted. Long story short, he re-enrolled at the university in an effort to bolster his criminal justice degree with a psychology degree as well as reach his goal to become an All-American."
According to his Briar Cliff wrestling bio for the 2013-14 season, the 5'10" Patterson had wrestled at 157 and 174 pounds for the Chargers. In high school, Patterson was a two-time Maryland state qualifier and senior team captain.
Patterson graduated from Briar Cliff in May 2015 with a degree in criminal justice, a minor in sociology and a coaching certificate. After spending a brief time back in Maryland, he returned to Sioux City and volunteered with the wrestling program.
In August, Patterson re-enrolled at BCU to pursue an additional degree in psychology. His parents say he had aspirations to become a counselor.
A memorial service for Patterson in Sioux City has already been held. Future memorial services are slated to take place in Frostburg, Maryland at a date to be announced. Those wishing to make a donation in Tom Patterson's name are encouraged to consider a gift to the Briar Cliff wrestling program at briarcliff.edu or to his GoFundMe.com page.
Founded in 1930, Briar Cliff University is a private, four-year Catholic university located in northwest Iowa. It has a student enrollment of approximately 1,200 students. The Chargers wrestling program competes in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA).
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