Everhart hopes to end career as nation's best

When senior Nate Everhart arrived on the IU campus his freshman year, he was far from the physical beast he is today.

Weighing below 200 pounds, Everhart was not intimidating many wrestlers with his size.  

The Tinsley, Ill., native received offers to play baseball at Iowa and Missouri but decided wrestling at a Big Ten school and getting a Big Ten education was the right path. IU coach Duane Goldman knew that he was getting a guy with brains and brawn.

“He seemed like a full-package kid,” Goldman said. “We knew that he was going to be a good fit with our team.”

Everhart did not have the time most wrestlers do to get used to the flow of Big Ten wrestling. Instead of redshirting his freshman year, Everhart earned his way into the starting lineup at 197 pounds.

“It kind of added some fuel to my fire to make sure that I get to that top level of wrestlers,” Everhart said.

As a true freshman, Everhart paid his dues in the Big Ten, finishing with a 2-6 record.

A 20-17 overall record gave Everhart plenty to build on heading into his sophomore year.

The fall of 2007 was different than any other for Everhart. He decided to move up to the heavyweight class, which meant gaining close to 30 pounds.

The unorthodox jump to heavyweight meant he was going to have to put on pure muscle.

“It’s really a competition to stay that big when you’ve been cutting weight for so long,” assistant coach Pat DeGain said.

But Everhart’s first year as a heavyweight started with an unfortunate blow. He suffered a foot injury, forcing him to sit out the entire non-conference schedule.      

Determined to come back strong with a season of Big Ten play under his belt,

Everhart made his debut in the Big Ten opener. But he failed to adjust to the pace of Big Ten wrestling and finished conference play 1-6.

Instead of blaming the foot surgery for his record, Everhart knew he still had a chance to salvage his season in the Big Ten Championships, and that’s exactly what he did.
Everhart took down three Big Ten foes to take seventh place and punch a ticket to the NCAA Championships.

“I felt the desire to prove that I could hang with some of the best guys in the country,” Everhart said.

Instead of struggling as a lighter heavyweight, Everhart has put in the time to make himself a rare breed. The No. 2 ranked heavyweight has found a balance of speed, power and finesse that has made him unbeatable this season (26-0, 2-0).

So far, Everhart’s senior highlight came at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational in December. With a slew of ranked opponents, the heavyweight bracket was no cakewalk. But he was determined to prove he could hang with the big boys.

“He just looked at me and said, ‘Coach, nobody is going to beat me. I’m gonna win this tournament,’ ” DeGain said.

The soft-spoken Everhart delivered on his word, taking down ranked opponents en route to the heavyweight podium.  

As the Las Vegas Invite and the Southern Scuffle heavyweight champ, Everhart is building up confidence to win the heavyweight title at the NCAA Championships. But he is not about to give his opponents a bulletin-board guarantee.

“It would be a letdown for me not to win it all,” Everhart said about his national championship hopes. “I’ve put in the time and the effort and I think I deserve to win it.”

Everhart has found the balance to make himself mentally and physically stronger than all that stands in his way. Whether or not Everhart brings home that national championship in March, one thing is certain – he will always look for ways to develop himself.

“He knows that there is always more to accomplish,” Goldman said. “He never gets caught in the moment and lets himself be satisfied.”