That’s why Colvin was patient when Stockmaster didn’t take him up on his gym offer right away (Stockmaster finally returned to Colvin’s in-house gym about a month ago). “We’ll go a whole workout session, and he might say 20 words,” Colvin said. When he first started training Stockmaster, Colvin remembers entire workout sessions passing without Stockmaster uttering more than a few sentences. That came as no surprise to Colvin, who said that Stockmaster has always kept to himself. “He doesn’t want people to feel sorry for him.” “He doesn’t want people to know about his cancer just by looking at him,” Spayd said.
Since September, Caleb has worn ice-cold headgear before each chemotherapy session to avoid hair loss (commonly known as “cold-capping”) and prevent people from identifying his disease. Spayd said Stockmaster worried about sharing the news he thought people would treat him differently once they knew about his cancer, a worry that persists to this day. Colvin only learned of Stockmaster’s diagnosis when a friend of Veronica Spayd, Stockmaster’s mother, told him. He worked out alone at Cleveland State’s rec center and told few people about his disease. Once Stockmaster was diagnosed, he kept to himself. Division I strength coaches took Colvin’s place. “Let me know when you’re ready to get back in the gym.”Ĭolvin had trained Stockmaster during Stockmaster’s senior year at Margaretta, but it took awhile for Colvin to reunite with his former client.Īfter high school, Stockmaster wrestled 12 matches for Kent State before transferring top Cleveland State for his sophomore season. When Jeremy Colvin, Stockmaster’s former trainer, learned of Stockmaster’s diagnosis, Colvin sent him a simple text message. I just lay there and think about all the negative things, I keep piling on.” “If I don’t (work out), then all I do is lay in bed and think about it,” Stockmaster said. Instead of wrestling glory, his daydreams center on his cancer. Before COVID-19 hit, he was back to running 3.2 miles five days per week.Įxercise is Stockmaster’s ultimate coping mechanism. He spent the 2018-19 wrestling season as an assistant coach with Margaretta when cancer kept him away from his Cleveland State teammates.Īnd now, as he continues his battle with cancer and quest to return to wrestling, he’s working out three days per week, two shy of the five-day regimen he maintained during his prime. He watched his wrestling videos when the tumor stole his ability to move. So he turned to athletics, as he often did. Soon, Stockmaster learned his L2 vertebrae was deteriorating from the tumor that started in his esophagus and spread to his back. He was bed-ridden from the back pain that started with an innocent tweak at wrestling practice. Stockmaster watched that match from his Castalia bedroom in August 2018, right before he learned he had esophageal cancer. He was convinced he could’ve won the match if he’d just trusted himself more.
Representing Cleveland State, Stockmaster lost the match by three points, a promising result for the sophomore. 24-ranked Forrest Przybysz of Appalachian State. His match of choice was his 2018 Southern Scuffle blood-round (winner makes podium, loser eliminated) match against No. Editor’s Note: This story originally appeared in the Sandusky Register.ĬASTALIA, Ohio - On the worst days, Margaretta graduate Caleb Stockmaster watched himself wrestle.
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