The Chesapeake, Va., native was a journeyman throughout his childhood. In the 13 years he attended school prior to coming to Penn State, he attended 10 different educational institutions because his stepfather was in the Air Force. By the time Parker settled in one place, it was time to move onto the next.

"I was constantly trying to prove myself," Parker said looking back in retrospect. "All that together, it has made me who I am."

Another big part of who he is took place one day when he was in 10th grade. That was when his uncle introduced him to wrestling.

"I never imagined in a million years that I would go to Penn State," Parker said. "Yet alone for wrestling."

Apparently, Parker quickly picked up the intricacies of the sport. His senior season, Parker won the Virginia state championships at 125 pounds, finished eighth in junior nationals and placed an impressive third place in the high school nationals, where he was first noticed by former Penn State coach John Fritz.

Fritz and the coaching staff had heard hype about Parker, but he had difficulty living up to it. His first impression was anything but impressive. Parker, though, proved he does not give up easily.

He lost the first match Fritz viewed 13-5, but bounced back to defeat his opponent in later rounds. When Fritz heard Parker was a newcomer to the sport, he and his staff frantically organized a recruiting visit at the last moment.

And when Penn State coaching assistant Kerry McCoy saw Parker in a wrestling tournament in Delaware, he liked what he saw.

"His name was there -- people said, ‘Keep your eye on that Nate Parker guy,' " McCoy said. "He just had that fire."

But not everyone was as receptive to Parker as McCoy and the other Penn State coaches. His classmates at Great Bridge High School, where he was coached by former Iowa wrestler Steve Martin, did not believe in him.

But Parker, the No. 18 wrestler in the nation at 133 pounds, would not listen to the naysayers. He found his strength to persevere from within.

Still, Parker is still struggling to overcome a bit of the adversity he has faced. His performance thus far has been somewhat erratic. He started strong at Mat-Town, winning the tournament. But a few weeks later, Parker was ridden for more than five minutes in the team's dual meet with Nebraska and was bounced in the first round of the Penn State Open. Lately, he is starting to turn it around. He posted an 11-4 victory over Oklahoma's then-No. 10 Dane Valdez.

"Sometimes, his performance is up and down," Penn State coaching assistant Dave Hart said. "But for the most part, it's pretty good."

As for Celestin, a sophomore 149 pounder, he took an unorthodox path to the starting lineup as well. A Miami native, he planned to come to Penn State a student, but wrestling was on his mind from day one.

Other Div. I and III schools attempted to woo him, but he would not bite. Once he heard about the Penn State wrestling tradition and the university's academic reputation, he fell in love. His love's labor was lost, though.

Due to a housing snafu, he was forced to attend Penn State Altoona, ending his hopes of walking on. At least for last year.

But while at Altoona he did not give up on his dream. Celestin worked out whenever he had the time, with anyone who he could go against.

A few emails to Fritz alerted the former coach of Celestin's interest to come to State College. He wrestled in last season's Penn State Open, where Fritz was given a first-hand look at what Celestin had to offer.

Fritz helped him gain admission, despite the protocol forcing many commonwealth campus students to be restrained to a branch campus for two years.

"I took an unusual road," Celestin conceded. "Not many people have taken that road before."

And with nothing more than a chance, Celestin walked onto the squad. He served as the understudy to All-American Jamarr Billman.

But he received his opportunity when Billman sat out the team's dual meets with Clarion Dec. 11 and Edinboro Dec. 12 to study for his finals. Billman had other academic woes as he was prohibited from competing since the Spring Semester began because of an academic inquiry of his transcript.

While Billman was waiting for a decision on his fate, Celestin won the starting position by defeating Bellefonte native Brandon Frantz in a wrestle-off. Eventually, the inquiry ended with Billman being declared academically ineligible.

"Miracles happen," Celestin said. "That's what it is -- a miracle."

While Celestin is sympathetic, he knows he has to make the most of his chance as a starter -- for his sake and the team's.

At this juncture, he has posted a 5-11 mark, including two losses this past weekend -- one a 25-10 thumping by No. 1 Iowa wrestler T.J. Williams.

"Jean has the mental part of the wrestling game beat," McCoy said. "He is always open to suggestions and anything that is going to help him get better. You can't get him down. It's all in his hands as long as he pushes himself."

Parker also believes in his roommate. He knows Celestin's work ethic and dedication to be the best.

"Give him time," Parker said. "I think by the end of the year he will do well."

After all, Celestin has overcome many obstacles to get to where he is now. Parker is confident Celestin can go even further.

He has helped Parker get to where he is now, and Parker hopes he can help bring Celestin along. Sometimes, he and Celestin have to battle it out roughly in practice, but that all comes out in the wash because they know it helps each other with their skills.

"If you watch them wrestle in practice, you can't really tell that they are friends," Hart said. "As soon as they get off the mat, it's easy to get back to being friends."

Their respective struggles to be starters have helped make them very close. They wake up at almost the same time in the morning, embark to class together often and walk home from practice together.

"We are pretty much in the same boat," Parker said. "We are pretty much best friends. We're real compatible."