The 2023-24 wrestling season was a banner year for then junior Benny Bautista of NYU. He finished 22-6, won 125-pound weight class titles at the Ned McGinley Invitational and Racich Rumble early in the season before taking the UAA title in the same weight class in February. He placed fifth in the NCAA Division III Northeast Regional and was ready to reach even greater heights as team co-captain the following season.
By the time the 2025 UAA Wrestling Championship at Case Western Reserve University rolled around, NYU Head Wrestling Coach Bruce Haberli and Associate Head Coach Corey Luce were being interviewed on site by CWRU broadcaster Ron Jantz about Bautista’s battle with brain cancer and about a fundraiser to help defray the family’s medical costs was in full swing.
During his interview on the championship broadcast, Haberli encouraged listeners to “Bet on Benny!” despite the challenges ahead. “With anyone else I’ve known with cancer who goes through chemo and radiation, it is hell. Benny only said he got a little tired, but it was not a big deal. He feeds himself the positivity, he eats well, and he gets good rest to stay healthy. That’s why you bet on Benny,” Haberli commented. “He is the reason you want to coach. National champions and All-Americans are fun too, but to be around people like Benny is a great feeling. I am not surprised, but I am thrilled with how he has handled everything.”
“There are so many lessons to learn from experiencing coaching someone like Benny and how positive he is. The way he has handled everything makes you realize how short life is and what is most important is the relationships you develop with your student-athletes. Wins and losses come and go. The relationships and lifelong friendships are what we are doing this for,” Luce communicated.
Life-Changing Event
Bautista’s life changed in an instant in the summer before his senior year.
“I was on a plane with my family flying to Punta Cana (Dominican Republic) and I fell asleep on the flight. I woke up and was a little bit out of it,” Bautista recalled. “I lifted my head, looked around, and noticed that everybody was looking at me. I just woke up from my nap and had no clue that anything had happened.” His brother was sitting to his left and a woman he did not know was on his right. “She was trying to calm me down and asked me if I knew my name and I said, ‘Yah, Benny Bautista. Then she asked me if I knew what day it was. I was trying so hard to think, but I just couldn’t think of it. I was able to tell her it was 2024, but when she asked if I knew what day of the week it was, I couldn’t think of anything,” he described.
Bautista’s memory of the rest of the day is incomplete. “I saw a wheelchair coming toward me and remember my legs felt super weak. I couldn’t stand, so my brother and the woman helped me into the wheelchair, and I was wheeled off the plane,” he described. “I didn’t know this but apparently my mom and brother were next to me and I started tensing up and shaking. They said they could see the whites of my eyes and I started foaming at the mouth. My mom started screaming and calling out for a doctor on the plane. My dad was up in the front of the plane with the rest of our family that was on the trip. My aunt is even a nurse, so my dad jokingly told her to go help, having no idea at the time that it was me that needed assistance.”
As best he can remember, Bautista saw a doctor at an emergency medical station in the airport where they took his vitals and blood. “Everything was fine, so they let me go. That whole time was a bit foggy for me, and I still don’t remember exactly what happened. It all just came out of nowhere as I had been perfectly healthy all season,” he pointed out.
The Diagnosis
After he and his family spent a week in the Dominican Republic on their vacation, Bautista spent 12 days at the Valley Hospital in Paramus, New Jersey upon his return. “They did a lot of blood work, a spinal tap, and anything else they could think of to determine the diagnosis. They couldn’t figure it out but thought it may have been a parasite that traveled to my brain from eating uncooked pork, perhaps on our spring break trip to Colombia. I got discharged from the hospital and went to see a neurologist. There were still no symptoms, and he didn’t think anything was wrong,” he communicated.
His parents were not satisfied with that answer, not accepting that a healthy young man has a seizure for no reason. “We went to a neurosurgeon at Valley Hospital named Dr. Rupa Juthani. She ordered an MRI of my brain and saw something. She was sure that it was a brain tumor and that the cancer was one she was very familiar with, oligodendroglioma. My parents and I just couldn’t believe it,” Bautista acknowledged.
According to researchers at the Cleveland Clinic (where Dr. Juthani did her residency), oligodendroglioma starts in a type of glial cells, which are the nervous system’s support cells and make up fewer than five percent (The National Brain Tumor Society reports as little of 1.2 percent) of all brain tumors. Bautista’s experience on the plane was consistent with oligodendroglioma patients, as up to 90 percent diagnosed with the brain cancer will suffer a seizure.
At the beginning of 2025, the biopsy results came back and confirmed Dr. Juthani’s diagnosis. “The results revealed that I had grade 3 oligodendroglioma. The doctor said it may have been growing in my brain since I was born. It was a shock to us. My parents were crying because they were understandably concerned and terrified. That’s how I thought I would react, but I just said, ‘You know, I’m going to be fine. We’re going to get through this,’” Bautista shared. “I felt like God was just there with me the whole time. I could really feel his presence.”
The Surgery
Grade 3 oligodendroglioma is also known as high-grade oligodendroglioma, a malignant tumor that is more aggressive and has a higher tendency to spread within the brain and spinal cord. As a result, Bautista went in for surgery on January 9th, shortly after the diagnosis. “I was awake for the surgery because the location of the tumor could affect my motor functions and speech, so they needed to ask me questions during the procedure,” he explained. “They cut open my head, but I didn’t feel anything and they were asking me questions about what I do and if I had any pets. I said that I was a wrestler and that I went to NYU, and that I had a dog. At one point, I think I did have a seizure, but I don’t remember everything.”
Bautista did remember one thing that stunned his neurosurgeon. “Dr. Juthani was operating and asked me if I knew what I was in surgery for. I told her I was in for open brain surgery for oligodendroglioma grade 3. She was so surprised and said that in all the brain surgeries she had performed, no one had answered with the specific cancer they were being treated for,” he described. “After the surgery, she informed my parents that they were able to remove 80-85 percent of the tumor. When I woke up again, my parents were there next to me and I found out my extended family had been in the waiting room the whole time, which was really nice to hear.”
Post Surgery
Despite all he had been through, he continued the final semester of his undergraduate career at NYU. “My professors allowed me to take my classes remotely and I had a speech therapist coming to my house every week. I was having a hard time putting sentences together,” explained Bautista, who began radiation with Dr. Chad DeYoung and RN Linda Ohnikian of the Valley Hospital Gamma Knife Staff. “They printed a 3D frame that goes over my head to hold it in place so they could target the tumor. I did that once a week and that is when I started to lose all my hair. I felt weak and lost a lot of my strength. I was dealing with insecurities at the time due to losing my hair and my face swelling. It was tough looking at myself in the mirror at the time, but I knew the whole time that it was just part of the process to get me better and healed.”
He continued to attend class remotely and even attended the NYU wrestling “Senior Day,” which was an important moment in his recovery. “I just wanted to be back in the city with my friends and living a normal life. I was able to go on campus now and then, but I had to be careful about exposure because my immune system was pretty shot,” he explained.
Bautista completed his radiation and was able to attend graduation and celebrate with his friends. From there, he began a series of six cycles of chemotherapy with Dr. Lauren Schaff and RN Mary Chatfield. “Obviously, I have had frequent appointments. What is left of the tumor is not likely to ever go away, but they’re hoping it will remain dormant,” he stated. “Then they’ll just keep checking on it, giving me MRI scans every three months at first and then every year.”
Sharing the News with His Best Friends
Shortly after meeting early in their freshman year, Bautista became best friends with teammates Nick Kruczynski and Danny Lightfoot. “In our sophomore year, the three of us lived together in a two-bedroom apartment. It was the best and worst year ever,” Kruczynski joked. “It was so small that two people couldn’t pass each other in the hallway. One would have to step aside and let the other guy through. We were 20-year-olds with bunk beds. We got really close!”
“We knew of each other because of wrestling and just started hanging out. We formed a tight connection almost immediately and spent time together every day outside of wrestling. We have had a close relationship since the first week of college, becoming like brothers,” Lightfoot added.
Bautista texted them both from the Dominican Republic to let them know he had a seizure on the plane. “We didn’t believe him at first and then we thought maybe he was just sleep deprived,” admitted Kruczynski before anyone realized the gravity of the situation. “I had experienced some hardships in my life, but this was unique. It was really hard to hear, but we figured it was a hiccup, especially when they said it may have been a parasite from eating undercooked food,” Lightfoot recalled.
Bautista was on antiparasitic medicine, but it was not having an impact, and he was missing more practice time attending medical appointments. Once he had his diagnosis, he shared it with his best friends, asking them not to tell others. “He eventually told us he had brain cancer and we were shocked. We were there for him to support him as we always do. He wanted us to treat him like nothing ever happened, which was hard at first. People were asking us what was going on, but we just said he was taking care of his health without providing any details,” Lightfoot explained.
“He brought us together and told us he had brain cancer but asked us not to share the information. We kept it a secret for a month. It was very hard to hear the news and not to be able to share it even with my family,” Kruczynski expressed. “At the same time, it couldn’t have happened to anyone tougher and more positive than Benny. He has not said one negative thing about it the whole time. He always says, ‘God’s got me.’ I have never seen anyone be that positive with that kind of diagnosis. We were more worried than he was!”
Benny’s Team
Eventually Bautista told the whole team. “I was glad he got to do that as opposed to us doing it,” reflected Lightfoot, who concurred with Kruczynski about Bautista’s optimism. “It became more of a reality the deeper he got into it, losing his hair, and showing up with staples in his head. What made it not as difficult as it could have been was his mindset going through the whole process. He just went day-by-day without catastrophizing everything. His approach makes it so easy for us that we sometimes forget. He has been the same person before, during, and after the diagnosis. If anything, he has become more appreciative. He has always been the same Benny, and he didn’t want people to feel bad for him.”
“Whenever he came back to campus, he was still so positive. He was still coming to matches when he lost his hair, but he didn’t bat an eye. He just said, ‘I am bald now.’ He was still there for us even when we had our stupid problems. What he was going through put into perspective how small our problems are,” Kruczynski noted. “Even though he has had six rounds of chemo, I sometimes forget he has cancer. He never talks about himself and is always in such good humor. The mindset he has is also what made him such a great wrestler.”
“When we first heard the news, it was devastating. We were hoping for the best outcome. It wasn’t even about him losing his season, but obviously his health and well-being. That news hit us all pretty hard,” Luce remembered. “He has a great support system around him. His parents are terrific people. You couldn’t meet nicer people and one thing that separates them is their faith in God. Benny and his family are very religious, and they rely on their faith.”
“Benny is a gem. One thing that might be a little different about him is that you wouldn’t know he has any illness. When you communicate with him, he says he is doing great and plans on living a long time. He refuses to bring anyone else down,” Haberli said. He is an amazing person who inspires us. He is not denying that he has cancer, but he just takes it as it comes, which is a powerful thing. I have so much respect for him. Even at times we wanted to be sad for him, Benny was not sad,” Lightfoot observed. “He is very healthy, all things considered. His character has never changed and his hope has never faded.”
Once the team knew about his diagnosis, a GoFundMe page “Support Benny’s Fight Against Brain Cancer” was started by Renee Pontelandolfo, the mother of Bautista’s teammate Cooper Pontelandolfo. “Cooper is how a lot of people found out. Benny got so much support, and it really showed how loved he was. The GoFundMe raised $50,000 within a day and all the comments were so heartwarming. Benny was already loved but he became a celebrity on campus,” Kruczynski expressed. More than $120,0000 has been raised for the Bautista family from more than 1,400 donors, some of whom have never met Benny but have been inspired by him and his story.
“Danny and Nick were posting it everywhere and then everyone was resharing it,” Bautista recollected. “It just blew up and it was hard to believe how much money was raised. To see that you are loved by so many people was nice. I am truly grateful for everyone who donated and who has continued to reach out. People keep reaching out and checking on how I am doing. The support has been a big reason why I keep looking forward.”
Working and Coaching
He felt significantly better during his chemotherapy treatments than he did while receiving radiation and he once again has a full head of hair. Bautista is working as a commercial real estate broker, showing business retail spaces for restaurants, real estate, and art galleries among others. He is also still a part of NYU wrestling, serving as a volunteer assistant coach helping teach techniques. “I recently saw him for the first time in two weeks and could see tangible improvement. I know his hair growing back helps his confidence so much. Being completely bald to having a full head of hair back while still undergoing chemo reflects on Benny’s character and the holistic approach that he has taken to his recovery with such a positive mindset,” Lightfoot commented.
“Benny is such a great guy to have around in so many ways. Before he was sick, he was the most positive, friendly, and respectful person on my team. He was always that way. We hope having him back as a coach, particularly since he didn’t have a senior season, will be fulfilling for him,” Haberli communicated. “He helps us to keep that positivity in our program. We have two practices per day because of academic schedules. Benny and I generally run the first practice and I get the pleasure of working with him.” Bautista notes that they also spend a lot of time riding the train into work together since they live close to one another. “It is non-stop talking when the two of us are together,” he laughed.
“I marvel at how he has handled things and how upbeat and positive he is. He always brought that to us as an athlete and now brings that as a coach. He is always smiling and happy,” Luce remarked. “He is so approachable in recruiting future athletes. He was an asset to our team as an athlete and remains so as a coach. He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to coaching these guys and they love him. He was always the one I relied on with recruits, giving them his full attention and the answers they needed. He is so genuine and I knew they would get the best experience.” “I’m grateful for every single day I get to have, every day that I’m alive. I feel so loved by my teammates, the wrestling community, and the NYU community. I couldn’t have gotten through it without them.”