Former Greenwood three-sport athlete Nick Willham wrestles in the 197-pound weight class for Indiana University.
Submitted photo
As a wrestler, there are worse nicknames to be saddled with than Mr. Balance.
Indiana University junior Nick Willham picked up the moniker courtesy of his two roommates — wrestling teammates Sean Grim and Jack Chesman — because of an ability to perform at a high level both on and off the mat.
Willham currently carries a 3.26 grade-point average as an informatics major at IU. He’s also won eight of his nine matches this season as the Hoosiers’ starting 197-pounder.
The former Greenwood three-sport standout faces his toughest challenges of the season today and Thursday. Indiana is one of eight Big Ten Conference squads (and 35 overall) competing in the Ken Kraft Midlands Championships at Northwestern University.
The tournament has the potential to be a dependable barometer for where Willham stands among some of the country’s top wrestlers in his weight class.
“Every year, I set myself to the highest standard I can,” Willham said. “I want to be an NCAA All-American, which would mean finishing in the top eight of my weight class at the end of the year. I still want to get better with my takedowns and staying calm before my matches.
“In a match, you can lock up if you’re nervous.”
Willham, who started wrestling in middle school, went on to an outstanding career with the Woodmen that saw him win three individual Mid-State Conference titles and two more at the annual Johnson County tournament.
He rolled up a 36-3 record as a senior at 195 pounds, advancing all the way to the state championship match against Shenendoah senior Silas Allred inside Bankers Life (now Gainbridge) Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. Willham lost, 11-2, to finish his four-year run with a 124-36 record.
Willham’s first year in Bloomington resulted in a 16-20 record, followed by a 2-8 mark a year ago.
“Honestly, the biggest turnaround for me has just been my training,” said Willham, who was also a member of the football and track and field teams at Greenwood. “There’s really been a big shift for me transitioning from high school to college. There have been times when it’s been difficult.
“In college, it’s mostly about the technique. Your positioning is everything, and I think my technique has improved tremendously.”
The mental aspect to what Willham does on the mat both in practice and actual competition is also a factor, according to Indiana assistant wrestling coach Riley Lefever.
“The nice thing about somebody like Nick, he always has the motivation to go,” said Lefever, a Fort Wayne native who attended Wabash College and was a four-time Division III national champion. “He’s kind of figured out that he can compete with anyone. That he belongs.
“Really, I think it was just a decision Nick made. Good day, bad day, he’s going as hard as he can.”
The Hoosiers begin the Big Ten portion of their schedule with a match at Rutgers on Jan. 7 and a trip to Penn State two days later. The conference championships will be hosted by Nebraska in early March, with the NCAA Championships slated for March 17-19 in Detroit.
Lefever, for one, wouldn’t be surprised to see Mr. Balance himself on one of wrestling’s biggest stages.
In the meantime, the Ken Kraft Midlands makes for a nice potential tune-up.
“Outside the Big Ten meet and nationals, it’s the most prestigious tournament,” Lefever said. “I want to see what I see every day from Nick. A guy like Nick, he can do as well as he wants.”
