Wheeling, W. Va. – After serving 12 years as Head Athletic Trainer, Christy Schoolcraft has moved into the role of Clinical Director for the Wheeling University Master's in Athletic Training Program. The department thanks Schoolcraft for her service to its student-athletes and wishes her luck in her new role. On Monday, the Cardinals announced her successor with the promotion of Nate Harshberger as the new Head Athletic Trainer.
"I am extremely grateful to be promoted to the position of Head Athletic Trainer," said Harshberger. "I had thought of it as a dream when I was a student, and now it's a reality. It fills me with immense gratitude to come full circle from being a student to Head Athletic Trainer. I look forward to improving care for our student-athletes, coaches and everyone involved with Wheeling Athletics. I am excited to continue everything that Christy Schoolcraft did for the University and am glad she will still be a part of our athletic training staff."
Harshberger has been working with the Wheeling Athletic Department for each of the last two seasons, serving as a PRN Athletic Trainer. Over the course of his two seasons with the Cardinals, he worked with several of the University's athletic programs, including football, men's and women's soccer, volleyball, men's and women's rugby, men's and women's basketball, wrestling, softball and acrobatics & tumbling, among others. He has been on the sidelines for some of the biggest moments in Wheeling Athletics, including traveling with the men's rugby team last season to the Collegiate Rugby Championship (CRC) National 7s, where the Cardinals captured their third consecutive national championship. Along with providing care at games and practices, Harshberger also helped with athlete rehabilitation and treatment, ensuring student-athletes returned to competition safely.
Along with his work with Wheeling Athletics, Harshberger also served as an Instructor of Athletic Training/Exercise Science and Coordinator of Clinical Education at the University from 2022 through this past season. He worked with nearly all of the Athletic Training and Exercise Science students on campus, guiding them through their coursework and clinical hours. He helped the Wheeling University Athletic Training/Exercise Science Program earn recognition as one of the most focused colleges in West Virginia for Athletic Training & Exercise Science by College Factual. He also played an instrumental role in launching the department's Master's in Athletic Training Program in 2022, offering a 3+2 track that allows students to earn both their bachelor's and master's degrees in just five years.
Prior to his return to Wheeling, Harshberger served as an Athletic Trainer at Dynamic Physical Therapy & Sports Medicine Clinic in Kanawha City, West Virginia. He split his time between working with patients through rehabilitation plans during the day and serving as an Assistant Athletic Trainer at George Washington High School in the afternoons. While at George Washington High School, he worked with the football, men's and women's basketball and women's lacrosse programs for one year. He began his professional athletic training career in 2016, serving as an Athletic Trainer for Premise Health. In that role, he worked as an industrial athletic trainer at Toyota Motor Manufacturing West Virginia's plant in Buffalo, West Virginia.
"Nate Harshberger is a proud alumn of Wheeling University, and we are thrilled that he will be taking over as Head Athletic Trainer," said Wheeling University Athletic Director Carrie Hanna. "We thank Christy Schoolcraft for her dedication to our student-athletes over the years, and are glad she will continue to be a member of our Cardinal family in her new role. The health and care of our athletes has, and always will be, our top priority and we are excited for Harshberger to continue that level of care in his new role."
Harshberger is very familiar with the Wheeling University community, having completed his undergraduate degree at Wheeling from 2010-14. He competed as a member of the Wheeling cross country and track & field teams during that time, helping lead the cross country team to its first Mountain East Conference (MEC) Championship in 2013. He graduated from Wheeling with a bachelor's degree in Athletic Training/Exercise Science in 2014 before earning a Master of Science in Athletic Training from West Virginia Wesleyan College in 2016.
