Celestin leads wrestlers into battle with Ohio State, Iowa

By CHRIS ANTONACCI
Collegian Staff Writer

With a sweat-saturated, stretched-out T-shirt engulfed around his body and blood emitting from his lips, Jean Celestin pauses.

He grabs three puffy, white cotton swabs and dabs his lips, hoping to stop some of the blood that has already dripped onto his shirt and blending into his red wrestling shoes.

Satisfied the blood has clotted somewhat, the Penn State 149-pound wrestler then throws the swabs to the side, slams his hands to the mat thrice and gets right back down to business -- sparring and training for a formidable challenge that looms on his horizon.

Celestin, along with his fellow No. 11 Lion (6-2) wrestlers, will face an arduous task when they host two Big Ten foes this weekend -- Ohio State (9-4) at 7 p.m. tomorrow and No. 3 Iowa (7-1) at 1 p.m. Sunday. Both dual meets take place in Rec Hall.

The Iowa dual meet will be televised also via tape delay at 6 p.m. on WPSX-TV.

Despite the challenge that lies in waiting, there is still some levity in the team's Rec Hall headquarters. Celestin is sitting on the mat with Penn State coaching assistant Kerry McCoy and 133 pounder Nate Parker, his roommate, talking. First-year Nittany Lion coach Troy Sunderland walks over and joins the trio.

McCoy practices a few back-flips, and Celestin tries unsuccessfully to imitate -- but he tries nonetheless. Meanwhile, Parker grapples with Sunderland, and takes down the seventh-place finisher at the 1998 U.S. Open Freestyle Championships.

Sunderland chuckles with his prodigy. His one-on-ones with Parker have paid off.

Apparently, old dogs can teach young pups new tricks.

Celestin and Parker will need those tricks as they wrestle with the defending national champion Hawkeyes for the first time in their collegiate careers. They know of the Iowa legacy -- a tradition that strikes fear in the hearts of many.

Celestin is not one of them.

"I know myself better than anybody," Celestin said. "I know what I have to do. I just have to believe in myself. I'm prepared for this weekend. I have nothing to lose. I don't fear anything that can't kill me."

Thus far, Celestin has proven to be a survivor.

He has been given a chance to represent the team as a starter in a surprising matter. Penn State's incumbent at 149 pounds, Jamarr Billman -- an All-American who also earned Big Ten Freshman of the Year accolades for last season's efforts -- has been sidelined due to an academic inquiry of his transcript.

Celestin emerged as the most unlikely of candidates to win the starting slot. A Miami native, he spent last season at Penn State Altoona due to a housing miscue. But former Lion coach John Fritz sought him out and helped him find a home in State College.

With nothing more than hope and potential to start someday, Celestin walked onto the squad. And now a few months later, Celestin worked his way up from understudy notoriety to a starter, thrusting himself into the limelight faster than a one-hit wonder climbing the charts.

"Miracles happen," Celestin said with a big smile on his face. "God gave me a chance to prove myself."

For Penn State's sake, he must.

The team is in dire straits. Along with the absence of Billman, other substitutes will be called upon to fill in for starters who have suffered from a plethora of injuries. Hence, Celestin must turn his dismal 5-9 mark around if he and his team want to resurrect their national championship bid.

Still, Celestin has come this far and he has shown it is hard to keep him down.

"The thing that distinguishes Jean from other wrestlers is his heart," Parker said. "He has a lot of heart and he does not fear anybody. He has that little edge over anybody when he steps on the mat."

But heart can only take Celestin so far -- he will need his physical attributes as well. And only time will tell if those attributes will help him defeat the stellar competition ahead.

Still, Sunderland has faith in his man. After all, Celestin has scraped his way to the top thus far. With a win this weekend, he can climb even higher.

"It's going to be a tough weekend, but he's a fighter," Sunderland said. "He's not going to hold anything back."