From Uncertainty to Unyielding: Bryson Capansky’s Journey to Cornell College
By FRED KRONER
Bryson Capansky’s feelings as a sixth-grader don’t coincide with the ones he has now that he is soon-to-be a Salt Fork High School graduate.
As he reflects, he realizes, “Mom was right.”
Back in 2018, not so much.
And now, the sport he will continue to pursue in college, at Cornell, is the one he almost gave up in sixth grade.
“I started wrestling in Colorado at the age of 7,” Capansky recalled. “My stepbrother (Gage Slaby Maxfield) was signed up for it, so my mom decided to sign me up as well since we would already be at the tournaments.
“I was not very good at all. Wrestling is a tough sport, and it took a while for things to click for me.”
When the family relocated to Illinois, Bryson was in fifth grade. He became active with Storm Youth Wrestling, but he still wasn’t convinced the sport was for him.
“Wrestling is not for everyone and for a short period of time I felt like it wasn’t for me,” said Capansky, a four-year letterman for the Oakwood/Salt Fork wrestling program. “I would be lying if I didn’t say I really wanted to quit the sport because I thought I just didn’t have what it took to be a solid wrestler.
“Luckily, my mom (Tara Capansky) talked me into giving it one more season and that was the best thing I did for myself and a sport I enjoyed.
“I can now say I love wrestling and all that it entails. I like that wrestling pushed me to another level mentally and physically.”
Fast forward from that fateful sixth-year year to his final year of high school wrestling.
Capansky qualified for the state championship match in Class 1A at 157 pounds and wound up in second place. His final season record was 43-8 and his career mark was 143-40. He didn’t win fewer than 37 matches in any of his last three seasons with the Comets.
Though the Oakwood/Salt Fork program has flourished under the direction of head coach Mike Glosser, the school is not on the radar for many national collegiate programs.
The Capanskys had to make certain that wasn’t a hindrance after Bryson set his goal as a sophomore to compete in college.
“The recruiting process was a learning curve for my mom and me,” Capansky said. “We didn’t really know where to start, so first we made a YouTube channel that coaches could go watch my matches.
“Next my mom filled out ‘recruit me’ forms for any school we could think of, even schools like Penn State. My mom said if I am going to dream, I needed to dream big.”
Cornell College (located in Mount Vernon, Iowa) was one of the first universities that reached out to Capansky and one of the few schools that he visited before embarking on his senior wrestling season.
“I heard from a total of 15 different schools from all over the place and different levels from NAIA to D1,” Capansky said.
Cornell first contacted Capansky in the summer of 2023.
“After we first visited the college, Coach (Brent) Hamm reached out and said he would really like for me to join the program,” Capansky said.
The teen-ager soon found out how true some other words of wisdom from his mom were as he prepared for his future.
Division III schools, such as Cornell, cannot offer athletic scholarships, but have aide available based on either financial need or a student’s academic prowess.
“Maintaining my GPA (grade-point average) was very important,” Capansky said. “My mom always said that student comes before athlete in ‘student-athlete’ for a reason. ‘You must kick butt in the classroom just as much as on the mat.’”
Based on his academics, Capansky was able to find a fit at Cornell, which has an enrollment of about 1,100 students.
Various coaches have played key roles in Capansky’s development in wrestling. It was a non-coach, however, who was instrumental in getting everything pulled together.
“I was lucky enough to have a mom who helped fill out forms and college applications for the colleges that showed interest,” Capansky said, “but once the coaches started reaching out, I was stressed on making the right decision for my future as a student and wrestler.
“It was nothing like I had expected. I never thought I would have so many schools interested in me to wrestle for them.”
He might have been surprised, but Oakwood wrestling head coach Mike Glosser was not.
“Bryson Capansky is what wrestling is all about,” Glosser said. “He didn’t come in as the most decorated youth wrestler or bring a bunch of state medals from IKWF wrestling, but what he did bring was a phenomenal work ethic and belief in himself.
“He went from not qualifying (for state) as a freshman to state finals as a senior. His journey is one that I will use for years in my room with incoming freshmen.
“Bryson set his goals high and knew all the little things it was going to take to reach those goals and he lived on the mats in the offseason. He progressed every day and just kept getting better. His best wrestling is yet to come.
“Once a college coach gets a hold of a kid like him with his passion and dedication, the sky is the limit. I’m just lucky I got to be part of the journey for a few years.”
The first coach in Illinois to impact Capansky was Storm Youth Wrestling director Vince Chambliss.
“Coach Chambliss has always pushed me on the mat and no matter what, win or lose, he was in my corner supporting me even after I left his program and went to high school,” Capansky said. “I was lucky enough that by my junior year he was brought on as the assistant coach at my high school, so I was able to end my high school career with him in my corner on the mat again.
“I have had some great high school coaches that have fine-tuned my wrestling and helped me take it to the next level. Coach Glosser, Coach (Bryce) Ivey and Coach (Brendan) Watson have been very important to my development, especially when it came to the mental side of wrestling.”
Oakwood/Salt Fork’s strong program – the team placed fourth at state in Class 1A in Capansky’s junior year and had a 28-3 dual-meet record his senior season – meant outstanding competition in the practice room.
“I was very lucky to have some strong wrestling partners in the room like Reef Pacot, among others, to help in my development as well,” Capansky said.
A year ago, he made a bigger off-season commitment to wrestling.
“I had done a couple off-season tournaments throughout the summers, but last year I decided I wanted to give Freestyle/Greco a try,” Capansky said, “so, I joined up with Patton Trained for my off-season wrestling.
“I knew Coach (Logan) Patton from youth and high school wrestling, which was nice. I learned a lot in my first season from Coach Patton and all the talented coaches and older athletes he brings into his room.
“I just started my second season of Freestyle/Greco and my goal is to qualify for Fargo (site of the national tournament).
“I have been lucky enough to surround myself with some great coaches throughout my career. They have all molded me in some way, shape or form into the wrestler and person I am today.”
Capansky said his support system helped pave the way to success.
“Without everyone in my corner, I am not sure my dreams of wrestling in college would have come true,” he said. “From my mom, sister, coaches, teammates – Team Family – teachers and community members, I know no matter what, I have them in my corner and it makes this next adventure that much more exciting.”
During his years in high school, multi-sport athlete Capansky also participated in cross-country, football and track and field.
“Throughout the years, my confidence grew in wrestling and by my senior year, I decided to invest all my time in wrestling and stopped participating in other sports,” he said.
In his formative years, Capansky often thought about competing in college.
“When I was younger, I dreamt of participating in a sport in college,” he said. “At the time I would have said it was going to be football.
“Growing up in sports, you always dream about competing at the next level,” he said. “For me, I never thought I was good enough to wrestle in college.
“I would have said football was my favorite sport. Wrestling is very demanding, and I loved the sport, but just wasn’t that great at it in my youth days.”
What changed was the energy and time he put into wrestling.
“After my sophomore year I decided that wrestling in college is something that I wanted to do,” Capansky said. “I knew if I kept putting in the extra work that I could be good enough to wrestle in college.”
He systematically considered his various options, first creating a top-10 list and then narrowing it to a top-five list to visit.
That final group, besides Cornell, included Aurora, Campbell, Eureka and Quincy.
Ultimately, Capansky only visited two colleges, though Campbell, Eureka and Quincy all made offers.
“Once I had my overnight (visit) with Cornell, I knew that it was where I wanted to go,” Capansky said. “Coach Hamm came to state to watch me wrestle, which really showed me he was interested.
“I didn’t want to go to school far away. I wanted to stay close to home, but when I got to Cornell for my visit it just felt like home. I like the smaller class size and the block learning schedule (students take one class at a time).”
When he enrolls at Cornell, Capansky will be about 475 miles from home.
“I think no matter where you go to school, it will be a hard transition just due to it all being new,” he said. “I am very close with my mom and my sister. It has always been just the three of us.
“I know we will all have a hard time, but my mom has looked over the schedule from this season and she noticed a lot of dual meets or tournaments within a five-hour driving range.
“On the weekends, I am 100 percent sure that if my sister doesn’t have one of her sports going on, then they will be in the crowd supporting me like they always have been. I won’t be surprised if she doesn’t drag along a bus of people on her road trips.”
Capansky recognizes that the challenges ahead of him will be many and often difficult.
“I feel like I have a lot of room to continue improving in wrestling,” he said. “I haven’t done much weightlifting in high school, so I am looking forward to having someone help me get stronger while maintaining weight.
“I think my best wrestling is yet to come, that is for sure. I don’t plan on making wrestling my career and I know I have four years of eligibility, so me being able to wrestle all four years was a big part of my decision.
“I love the fact that I am going to hit the floor running. I want to wrestle, and I am very excited that I will have that opportunity to contribute right away.”
Capansky, who hopes to wrestle at 157 pounds, plans on majoring in physical education.
“In 10 years, I see myself being a PE teacher and coaching,” he said. “I would love to coach wrestling and help athletes like me live out their dreams.
“I have a younger sister (current sixth-grader Danika Maxfield), so I plan on coming back home after graduation to support her. It would be nice to give back to the community and wrestling family that has given me so much.”
