BEYOND THE SCOREBOARD
An occasional sports feature highlighting the unique stories of local athletes.
Cameron Butka knew the day would come.
The two-time All-American wrestler at Wilkes University walked onto the mat at the NCAA Division III Championships. His family sat nearby in the arena in Providence, Rhode Island.
The bout would determine if the Scranton native would earn the national title or be runner-up. In three periods — just seven minutes — a record-breaking career would be complete.
The West Scranton High School valedictorian spent four years juggling the demands of his biochemistry major, while hitting the weight room, focusing on nutrition and becoming stronger. Butka spent his life preparing for the moment.
Two-time defending national champion Massoma Endene of Wartburg College earned a quick takedown. Each time Butka attempted a move, Endene had a defensive answer.
As time expired, Butka fell 11-3. He lost the match. But he still felt he had succeeded.
“I got off that mat, and I was so happy with my entire wrestling career. It was a lot of emotions to feel at one time. I was happy, I was sad, I was exhausted,” the 21-year-old said. “There was just so many feelings all at once. It's hard to describe them, but I think the best thing that I felt was probably a really good sense of pride.”
Drive and dedication
As a young boy, Butka watched his dad, Rob, coach wrestling at West Scranton High School. The middle of three children, “Cam” began competing in sixth grade.
“He wrestled in his first match ever, and he beat somebody really, really good,” said his father, a Scranton School District administrator. “It was just something that he took on and wanted to be the best and would always push hard.”
Sometimes, that meant practicing with his brother, Jake, who is two years older and also went on to wrestle at West Scranton. Jake always wanted to know why Cam went so hard on him. Cam wanted to know why Jake didn’t go harder, their dad said.
Cam went onto win more than 100 matches at West Scranton, placing eighth his senior year at the PIAA Championships. His team named him an Iron Man each year, for not missing a practice, game or tournament.
He tried just as hard in the classroom.
“He always has said, ‘There's no point in doing something unless you can try to be the best,'” said his mom, Pina, a Scranton teacher. “Whether it was when he learned to play piano or takes a test or even art projects that he did, he just does everything 100%. There's no slacking for him. And he really sees no point in doing anything unless you put your whole heart and soul into it.”
That drive had its downfalls, too. At times, he felt the intense pressure of the high expectations he put on himself. His parents reassured him that they’d be proud of him regardless of his class rank or his wrestling record.
“I think at the end of the day, I really like to be the best person at anything that I was doing, and I kind of just lived my life by that model,” he said.
He eventually shifted his mindset a bit: instead of comparing himself to others, he started doing things for himself.
“I was just saying, ‘How far can I go? How far can I push myself to be great?’" he said. ”And I kind of feel like I proved that.”
Juggling academics, wrestling
Butka gave his valedictorian speech at Scranton Veterans Memorial Stadium in June 2021. He told his classmates to “just go for it.”
“Our choices, not circumstances, determine our success,” he said that evening. “The sky is the limit, and there’s no telling when you’ll have your last chance to do something.”
He considered playing baseball in college — a sport he also enjoyed — but decided to pursue wrestling. When he visited the Wilkes wrestling room and met the coaching staff, he knew he had found a home with the Colonels.
Jon Laudenslager has served as the program’s head coach for 22 years. He called Butka a “once in a generation” wrestler.
“Everything he does is so calculated. It's just all done to plan,” Laudenslager said. “His practice planning, his academic planning… he's a master of getting the most out of his time.”
Part of that was out of necessity. At West, excelling at academics came easily for Butka. As a biochemistry major at Wilkes, he had to work harder.
“This content that I was learning was all brand new. I didn't understand any of it,” he said. “It was an eye-opener for me, because I never really had to reach out for help before, and it was kind of scary for the first time, because I felt helpless.”
He went to his professors’ office hours. He attended tutoring sessions. He learned organic chemistry and quantum physics.
“The best students are the people that utilize all of those resources … In high school, I would have thought, if these people were using tutoring, they're probably not working as hard as they need to be," he said. "But in reality, they're working extra hard to learn things.”
For midday wrestling practices, he’d attend classes in the morning and then head to the gym. Then he’d trade his wrestling singlet for a lab coat for the rest of the afternoon.
He made sure to care for his body. He tried to not work past 9 p.m., to get enough sleep and allow his body time to recover. Rice bowls with ground beef, along with fruits and vegetables, made up most of his diet. Much of his social life revolved around the wrestling team.
He received inspiration and support from his coaches, teammates, girlfriend and his family, including his parents, older brother Jake, who will soon graduate with a master’s degree in chemistry from the University of Scranton, and younger sister Mia, who studies criminology and plays softball at Wilkes.
After graduating with honors this spring, he'll head to the University of Pittsburgh to pursue a Ph.D. in chemistry. The program will likely take between four and six years. With an interest in organic synthesis and medicinal chemistry, he hopes for a future in pharmaceutical drug development.
“It seems like there's a lot of really good opportunities for me down there, and it's about time I focused on my career rather than sports now,” he said, laughing. “So time to grow up a little bit, I guess.”
Full of joy
The March 15 national championship match pitted the No. 2 ranked Butka against the top-ranked wrestler for 197 pounds, Endene.
Butka finished fourth in the country his junior year, and his success grew his final season. He finished with the most wins in program history (137) and set the record for the most wins in a single season this year with 42.
As the deficit grew in his final match, he never gave up.
“I really think that's why he could walk off the mat after his last match and be, you know, completely joyful, not that it's over, but that he did everything in his power,” Laudenslager said. “He's made all the sacrifices he needed to. He doesn't regret anything… Not many kids get to say that.”
Butka smiled widely as he stood on the second-place podium during that night’s trophy ceremony.
“Enjoy every last second of doing something that you love, because eventually it's going to be gone. And I'm at that point right now where I've been a little bit upset that wrestling's over, but really just soak all of it in, especially if something is on a time frame,” he said. “Just really take pride in what you do and enjoy every little second before it's gone.”
