Scott Cappos

Coaching Honors

• More than 50 All-Americans
• More than 50 Big Ten Champions 
• More than 100 NCAA Qualifiers
• USTFCCCA Region Throws Coach of the Year (2007)
• Team USA Assistant Coach (2011 Pan American Junior Championships)

Scott Cappos enters his seventh year as Nebraska’s throws coach in 2021. Cappos joined the Husker staff as the team’s throws coach in the fall of 2014 and has had more than 100 athletes qualify for the NCAA Championships (preliminary round and finals) in his 24 years of collegiate coaching. He has coached more than 50 athletes to conference championships and All-America honors in the shot put, discus, javelin, hammer, weight throw, long jump, high jump, heptathlon and decathlon.

In the 2020 indoor season, Cappos coached Alencar Pereira to All-America honors and a Big Ten title in the weight throw. Pereira’s toss of 72-6 1/4 (22.10m) earned the record of best throw in school history. Burger Lambrechts Jr. earned silver in the shot put with a mark of 63-9 (19.43m). On the women’s side, Cappos coached Kristina Insingo to All-America honors by qualifying for the NCAA Indoor Championships after finishing 11th in the shot put with a throw of 52-4 3/4 (15.97m) at the conference championships.

In 2019, Cappos coached Chase Wolinski to first-team All-America honors in the javelin, as she placed fifth at the NCAA Championships. Wolinski was the Big Ten Champion in the javelin with a throw of 180-1 (54.90m), good for No. 5 on the NU all-time top-10 list. Cappos also coached Brittni Wolczyk and Sydney Otto to third and fourth-place finishes, respectively, in the javelin at the Big Ten Championships. Otto’s throw of 166-9 (50.84m) at the Big Ten Championships was good for the No. 8 throw in school history.

During the 2018 season, Cappos coached senior Nick Percy to the Big Ten outdoor title in the discus for the third consecutive year with a launch of 200-11 (61.23m) and an eighth-place finish at the NCAA Championships with a throw of 186-1 (56.72m). Percy garnered first-team All-American accolades with his throw. Cappos also coached Cody Walton and Wolczyk to runner-up finishes in the javelin at the Big Ten Championships.

The 2017 season was another successful one for Husker throwers, as Cappos coached Percy to the Big Ten title in the discus for the second year in a row with a season-best throw of 206-4 (62.91m). Cappos also helped Wolczyk to the Big Ten title in the javelin with her personal-best throw of 178-9 (54.48m). Percy and Wolczyk both earned second-team All-America honors as well in 2017. Freshman Sydney Otto went on to finish fourth for the U.S. Junior National Team at the 2017 Pan American Junior Championships in Peru, while Percy competed for Great Britain in the discus at the IAAF World Championships after winning his second straight British discus championship.

In 2016, Cappos coached Percy to the NCAA discus title in addition to the Big Ten title. Percy threw a Scottish record 207-11 (63.68m) to move to No. 3 in NU outdoor history. He also set a hammer throw school record of 222-7 (67.85m). Cappos also helped Wolczyk and Sarah Firestone to second-team All-America honors in the javelin, while the freshman Wolczyk was the Big Ten runner-up. Wolczyk broke the Canadian Junior national record with a throw of 176-1 (53.67m) and represented Canada at the IAAF U20 Championships in Poland. Firestone placed seventh at the U.S. Olympic Trials and represented Team USA at the NACAC U23 Championships in El Salvador.

Cappos made his mark on the program in his first year with the Huskers in 2015. He guided Firestone to the Big Ten javelin title with a school-record throw of 184-3 (56.15m). He also led Will Lohman and Percy to second-team All-America honors in the hammer throw and discus, respectively. Firestone also qualified for nationals in the javelin, as did Lohman in the shot put. Lohman broke his then-hammer throw school record twice in the outdoor season. Meanwhile, Percy, a native of Ventnor, England, was named the UK’s top freshman athlete competing in the NCAA in 2015.

Before coming to Nebraska, Cappos spent 18 seasons at the University of Iowa as an assistant coach and director of field events. While at Iowa, his athletes tied or broke Big Ten records in the hammer throw, javelin and long jump. The 2011 Iowa men’s team won the Big Ten Championship with heavy contributions from athletes Cappos recruited and coached. His athletes qualified for the NCAA Championships 15 years in a row and were named All-Big Ten 18 years in a row by either winning or placing second at the Big Ten Championships. Cappos has coached more men to 60-foot throws in the shot put and 190-foot throws in the discus than any other coach in Big Ten history. His athletes rewrote the records at Iowa, including eight of the top-10 all-time shot-putters, nine of the top-10 all-time discus throwers and all 10 of the top javelin, hammer and weight throwers in Hawkeye history.

Before coaching at Iowa, Cappos was an assistant coach at Western Michigan University. He trained seven All-Americans during his tenure, and Western Michigan won the MAC and CCC team titles both seasons. Cappos started his coaching career at West Salem High School in Wisconsin.

Cappos is one of a handful of USATF Level III certified coaches in the throwing events and is a USATF Level II certified coach in the jumps and a certified instructor for USATF. Cappos coached with Team USA at the 2011 Pan American Junior Championships, leading athletes to 10 gold medals. Cappos also earned Regional Throws Coach of Year from USTFCCCA in 2007.

Several of Cappos’ former athletes have represented their countries in various international competitions, including the Olympic Games and World Championships.

Cappos was a professional track and field athlete while teaching and coaching. He competed all over the globe and at several major international meets, including the Pan American Games, World University Games and the Commonwealth Games for Canada. During his athletic career at Indiana University, Cappos won the Big Ten Championship in the shot put in 1990 and 1991 and was a three-time All-American. He earned his bachelor’s degree in kinesiology with a minor in social science.

He and his wife, Jennifer, have a son, Sam, and a daughter, Amelia.