ALBANY, N.Y. — Princeton — an academic haven, brilliant professors, ivy-covered buildings, world famous education and research, a rising power in college wrestling.

Wrestling?

After this past weekend's NCAA wrestling championships, Princeton and wrestling will draw fewer and fewer befuddled looks after being used in the same sentence, in thanks, for the most part, to Greg Parker.

Parker may have single-handedly put the Princeton wrestling program back on the map this past weekend with his stunning performance at the national championships. The lone Tiger at the tournament, the 174-pound Parker, a native of nearby Clifton Park, N.Y., came back to his old stomping grounds with a 29-1 record and No. 4 seed and put on a show.

Three straight victories, including a 6-4 win over Missouri's John Kopnisky in the quarterfinals, guaranteed Parker to be Princeton's first All-American since 1985 and sent him careening to a showdown with Michigan's top-seeded Otto Olson in the semifinals.

Against Olson, one of the country's toughest and most aggressive wrestlers, Parker didn't back down. He took the action to the Wolverine, beating Olson at his own game, mat wrestling, and came away with a thrilling 12-8 win.

"I definitely think I took him out of his gameplan when I took my offense to him," Parker said. "He's used to guys wrestling defensively against him."

In the biggest match of his career, Parker removed the shackles from his ability.

"I know I have good shots, but sometimes, in big matches, I get to nervous to use them," Parker said. "But coming in, I knew I had already secured All-American so I figured I could go out there and wrestle as hard as I can."

Princeton head coach Michael New marveled at his wrestler's warrior spirit.

"Greg was an underdog to everyone, but I knew he would win it," New said. "Greg's heart and determination are beautiful things. We've been dreaming about this, coming back to Albany and going to the national finals, since Greg was a freshman."

For New, Olson's aggressive style played into Parker's hands.

"Olson is phenomenally tough," New said. "I respect him so much because he's an aggressive champion, he really came after Greg. But the more you come after Greg, the better he gets."

Parker's win over Olson sent him into a finals matchup with West Virginia freshman phenom Greg Jones, the only wrestler to beat Parker this season.

Against Jones' astonishing combination of athleticism and technique, Parker finally succumbed. Two first-period Jones takedowns were too much to overcome and Parker fell 12-5, relegating him to the silver medal. Parker's loss in the national championship match, however, could not put a damper on its significance.

While Parker's run to the finals was a fantastic individual accomplishment, it may have been more important for his team. In the early-'90's, Princeton dropped its wrestling program. From the time it had been reestablished, thanks almost entirely to private contributions, the road has been uphill. Success in the EIWA and NCAA tournaments, the places where progress is judged, was hard to come by. The only championships the Tigers were pulling in were NWCA GPA titles (academic award given to the team with the highest grade point average), which Princeton has claimed for six straight years.

Things were not looking any different this year, even with a strong regular season by Parker. The Tigers struggled at the EIWA tournament, getting Parker through as their lone qualifier. But Parker's performance this weekend changed things. Princeton finished in 29th place in the team race with 17 total points, ahead of more established wrestling schools such as Penn State, Michigan State and Clarion.

"We just have to keep getting good recruits," Parker said. "Competition in the room is getting tougher and tougher and that can only help this program."

Parker is the symbol of that resurgence. He is proof that academic and athletic excellence are not exclusive.

"Greg's an awesome student-athlete, and that's what wrestling is after — great student athletes," New said. "You see all of these eastern schools, Harvard, Lehigh, Cornell, going strong. The reason is because guys like Greg Parker are willing to work academically and athletically."

The work for Parker, a computer science major, is not easy. It requires effort and discipline.

"It can be difficult at times," Parker said of balancing school with wrestling. "You have to concentrate on school, but you also want to stay on top of your sport as well. The key is budgeting your time. You have to be efficient and you can't mess around with things."

For New, recruiting is a double-edge sword. The Princeton name is both a huge draw and, sometimes, a huge hindrance.

"Recruiting is easy," New said. "Everyone is smart enough to realize that they want to come to Princeton. The hard part is convincing them that they can handle the work and getting them admitted. It's so competitive."

With examples like Parker though, New's job may get easier.

"I'm just trying to wrestle hard and bring back pride and tradition to Princeton wrestling," Parker said.