WARRENSBURG, Mo. — Hearing a doctor say the word “cancer” can be terrifying for anyone, but University of Central Missouri wrestler JD Culp turned his diagnosis in his early 20s into a blessing.
“At the time, I would just go to the bar, hang out with my friends, do all that,” Culp, 28, an Air Force veteran and cancer survivor, said. “After cancer came, it just changed my mindset, my mentality. I wanted to settle down, I wanted to have a family, I wanted to pursue goals other than just being 20 years in the military. ... It just kind of woke me up to make me want to do more and be more.”
Culp initially enrolled at UCM after graduating from Warrensburg High School in 2014 and joined the Mules wrestling team, but the lack of dedicated facilities at the time took a toll and soured his experience.
“We would roll out mats every day at Lovinger Gym over by the (student) rec (center),” Culp said. “We'd roll them out and roll them up every day. The room was cold, the mats were hard, and people would get hurt and injured all the time.”
Disillusioned, Culp left school and joined the U.S. Air Force only to wind up stationed at Whiteman Air Force Base, a little more than 10 miles from where he grew up.
“When you join to travel and stuff then you get sent back home, at first you're like, ‘What?’ so it was kind of frustrating,” said Culp, who showed an aptitude for electronics and avionics.
During the next three years, Culp helped maintain the fleet of B-2 bombers and also found refuge, at least in part, as an assistant wrestling coach at nearby Knob Noster High School. It was during wrestling season that winter that Culp’s world was upended by Hodgkin's lymphoma.
“I noticed that there was a giant lump in my neck right here,” he said, gesturing to the left side of his neck. “I noticed it during wrestling season when I was helping Knob (Noster), and was like, ‘Well, this can wait.’ My girlfriend, now wife, kept telling me, ‘You need to go get this checked out.’”
Culp eventually heeded Taylor’s advice and a series of tests, including a surgical biopsy on his 22nd birthday, confirmed he had cancer.
Early in treatment, Taylor had another surprise.
“Probably after my first or second round (of chemotherapy), I found out my girlfriend at the time — now my wife — is pregnant,” Culp said. “So, I'm battling cancer, my girlfriend's pregnant.”
It was a lot to manage, but it also brought into sharp focus what mattered most — and that eventually led him back to the UCM wrestling team.
Culp beat cancer in September 2018, married Taylor two months later then welcomed his son, Joseph, into the world in January 2019.
“It was like blessing after blessing after that, so I've been pretty thankful for the events that happened,” Culp said. “If it wasn't for cancer, there's a lot of things in my life that probably wouldn't have happened the way they've happened.”
With a young family and a new determination to build a life he envisioned, Culp leaned into coaching and joined the Air Force wrestling team for enlisted soldiers. He’d occasionally compete in “old-man tournaments,” but it didn’t satisfy the itch he’d left behind eight years earlier.
By the time the Culps were set to welcome a second son — Logan, who was named after the superhero character “Wolverine” — he was ready for a new challenge. Culp left the Air Force, joined the Missouri Air National Guard and re-enrolled at UCM in 2022.
Wrestling coach Cody Garcia was about to begin his first year with the Mules.
“I was actually just starting the recruiting process,” Garcia said. “It was a whirlwind for me. That first month was chaos.”
He met Culp on a visit to Knob Noster and put him in his phone as a Panthers assistant coach, but when Culp, who competes at 157 pounds, called it wasn’t about a recruit. He wanted to join Garcia’s program.
“He has a life of service and that's something that's commendable,” Garcia said. “It is a lot of sacrifice — not only the sacrifices he's making outside of this room, but the sacrifices he makes in this room.”
But it also sets an incredible example for the younger wrestlers in the room, which is now a dedicated space after the pool at the Jerry M. Hughes Athletics Center was filled in.
“The other guys, they definitely get on me and like, ‘Oh, all right, old man’ and stuff like that,” Culp joked. “But I know that they know that I'm there for them anytime. Sometimes people come to me for advice and help for school and all that stuff, too. I think I help bring a sense of maturity to a team.”
Culp, who is double-majoring in computer information systems and economics with a minor in big data and analytics, is kind of like the Mules’ team dad.
“A little bit, right? I think he does see it that way sometimes,” Garcia said. “He's been through things. When you have experience and you have an understanding of different situations, going back to that resiliency word right, he has a way to connect with these guys in that regard. He's still young enough that he connects with them more than probably I can from a social standpoint, but also somebody he has a lot of responsibilities. ... It kind of puts things in perspective for them.”
Culp received a medical redshirt last season after a broken rib and torn labrum, which required shoulder surgery, ended his season. But he’s even grateful for that.
“Just knowing what I've gone through, it makes this stuff easy, right?” Culp said. “In comparison, on the mat, I won't be going through my eighth round of chemo, dying. I won't be making my family cry because of the news. I'm just able to give it my all out there and enjoy it. I'm able to enjoy it now more than I ever have, because I know how much of a blessing it is.”
Culp was one of six student veterans recognized last spring with a Military Friendly Student Veteran Athlete of the Year Award.
Roughly 10% of UCM's enrollment is military-affiliated and the school is rated among the nation's most military-friendly campuses. That includes 1,600 students last year, the school said.
KSHB 41 reporter Tod Palmer covers sports business and eastern Jackson County. Share your story idea with Tod.
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