Nate Carr (born June 24, 1960) is an American former collegiate and international senior level freestyle wrestler. He grew up in a family of 16 children in Erie, Pennsylvania. Five of these, including Nate, would become All-American wrestlers (an NCAA record) and two, again including Nate, would compete in the Olympic Games. In 2003, Carr was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as a Distinguished Member.[1]
High school
During his high school career at Erie Tech High School, Carr was coached by Tom Carr (no relation) and posted a record of 115-7, winning a Pennsylvania state championship.
College
Upon his graduation from Erie Tech, Carr received a wrestling scholarship to Iowa State University. There he had a career record of 117-20-1 in the 150 pound weight class. He earned three NCAA wrestling championships and two Big Eight Conference Titles.
Senior level
After graduation from Iowa State, Carr continued his freestyle wrestling career at the international level. In 1983 Carr earned a spot on the US World Team. In 1986 he won both the World Cup and the Pan-American Championships.
He began training for the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul while working as an assistant coach at West Virginia University. While staying in the Olympic Village, Carr did not participate in any of the recreational activities offered to the athletes because he felt it would interfere with his focus toward winning gold. At the 1988 Olympics, Carr lost in the semifinal match and wrestled back to earn the bronze medal. There have been accusations of a scoring error by a judge during his semifinal match, which may have adversely affected his placement.
He returned as a member of the US World Team in 1990 and also won his weight class at the Goodwill Games.
Subsequent career and family
Carr continued his participation in the sport as an assistant coach at West Virginia University. After his retirement from WVU, he moved to Jones County, Georgia. There, his son, Nate Carr, Jr. was a nationally ranked high school wrestler and three-time state champion. Nate, Jr. originally committed to West Virginia University, but instead opted to attend Iowa Central Community College, where he won the NJCAA 157 lb. National Title. Nate Carr currently works as the head club coach for the Regional Training Center at Iowa State University, where his youngest son David is a member of the Iowa State Cyclones wrestling team. David went on to become a two-time NCAA Champion for Iowa State, winning titles in 2021 as a Freshman and closing out his collegiate career with another title as a Senior in 2024.
References
^NAte Carr. National Wrestling Hall of Fame. Retrieved October 3, 2022.
