His wrestling future was decided — then Anthony Capul got a phone call

Andale wrestler Anthony Capul made it a priority to decide on his college destination as early as he could in his senior season.

A highly sought-after recruit, Capul wanted a clear mind for his final season of high school wrestling. So he committed to Boise State in the fall, signed his letter of intent in November, then completed an undefeated senior season that culminated with a successful title defense of the 195-pound championship in Class 4A.

It was a perfect senior year: a Division I scholarship, an undefeated season, another state championship. But that utopia came to an abrupt end three weeks ago when the Boise State athletic department announced it was ending its wrestling program — effective immediately — to pursue adding a baseball team.

Just like that, with no prior notice, Capul was left without a college wrestling team.

“I had my mind set on, ‘I’m going to Boise,’ for five months, so to have that rug pulled out from under me was just really overwhelming,” Capul said. “I had to start the whole recruiting process over again.”

First, Capul was granted a release from his letter of intent. The next concern was if Division I programs even had space and money for him this late in the recruiting process.

“That’s what I was scared of, that there wasn’t going to be any money left and there wasn’t going to be a place for me,” Capul said.

The exact thing he thought he had eliminated — stress — had entered into the equation at the worst time. Not only did Capul have to worry about final exams things like finals and graduation, but now he had to decide again where he was going to spend the next four years.

Since Capul committed so early the first time, he still had paid, “official” visits left to take under NCAA rules. The day after he found out Boise State was cutting its program, Wyoming called and offered to fly him to Laramie for a visit. Capul left last Friday and was so impressed with the coaching staff that he was committed by the time he landed back in Wichita on Sunday.

“They’ve got a great thing going there and it’s going to be a really tough program, but I like that,” Capul said. “They’ve had a lot of success and it’s going to be a good fit for me. It’s kind of out in the country and I like that. I don’t really need anything too pretty. There’s a lot of good guys there already and I’m looking forward to competing.”

Wyoming has another local wrestler, Goddard’s Cale Davidson, in its incoming recruiting class.

“It’s awesome to have another Kansas kid going out there, too,” Capul said. “Hopefully we can keep the Kansas tradition alive.”

Capul, who will wrestle in the 197-pound division, hopes to sign his letter of intent soon and lock up his future — hopefully for the last time.

“I’m just thankful and real grateful for the opportunity to find another home,” Capul said. “It got a little hectic there for a bit, but I’m excited about the future and I’m ready to compete.”

This story was originally published May 10, 2017 at 3:54 PM with the headline "His wrestling future was decided — then Anthony Capul got a phone call."