Brian Eveleth: Work over words

Sometimes actions speak louder than words. For senior Brian Eveleth, these are words to live by. As co-captain of the Penn wrestling team, Eveleth has earned a reputation as the team's silent leader. "I think my role as captain is more to lead by example," says Eveleth a three-year varsity starter at 126 pounds. "I'll talk some, I but I lead more with my work ethic." "The results of his intensity in training from the end of last year until now are really beginning to show themselves," says Penn coach Roger Reina. So far this season, Eveleth's work ethic has earned him a 9-1 record, a tournament title at the Keystone Classic at the Palestra, and a third-place finish at the highly competitive Penn State Open. He has established himself as a dominant wrestler on his feet as well as a formidable mat wrestler. "He's a very complete wrestler technically," says Reina. "Pound-for-pound, he may be the strongest wrestler on the team. He's very quick and very explosive...He's got all the tools, and when he stays on the offense he can go with anybody." "Brian's a really hard worker and is very focused. He knows what he needs to work on to be an all-American," Penn co-captain Clinton Matter said. "I just think he's a good guy." Eveleth, an economics major, was the Maryland state champion at 125 pounds his senior year at Chesapeake High School, where he compiled a 73-9 career record. He came to Penn on the advice of high-school rival and '95 Penn grad Gary Baker, former two-time captain of the Quakers. After earning a varsity spot and winning 20 matches his sophomore year, Eveleth took a year's leave of absence from school after surgery for a serious shoulder injury. Eveleth returned to school and the team last year and won 18 matches. "Last year I wrestled a lot of close matches with top guys, and it ended up coming down to the wire and I lost those matches. This year it looks like I'm winning those close matches. I think it's just a lot of mental preparation and getting a handle on your confidence." Eveleth's individual goals for this season include an Eastern championship and all-American honors, which would place him among the top eight wrestlers in the country at 126 pounds. For Eveleth, however, his greatest pleasure comes in watching the team's evolution into a national wrestling power. "A year or two before I came here, we were wrestling some Division II and III teams. Now we're wrestling teams in the top-20 in the nation...Roger [Reina] has done a great job of building a better team every year. It's not like I came to a school that was already established. I was part of building a winning tradition...It's been really great to be a part of that."