University of Minnesota Athletics
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197 lbs.
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Photo by: Chris Eutsler
Nelson Named an Alternate for NCAA Championships
3/10/2026 3:27:00 PM | Wrestling
MINNEAPOLIS - Minnesota's Gavin Nelson was named an alternate at 197 pounds for next week's 2026 NCAA Wrestling Championships in Cleveland, Ohio, the NCAA announced Tuesday.
Nelson has the potential to join the six members of the team who automatically qualified for the national tournament at last weekend's Big Ten Championships. According to the NCAA Championships Manual, if any wrestler withdraws or does not make weight, the alternate will be inserted into the bracket.
A redshirt sophomore, Nelson finished 11th at Big Tens, just one spot out of the 10 automatic qualifiers at the weight for the conference.Â
He sports a 12-14 record overall this season and was 4-10 in duals and 3-5 in the Big Ten. Nelson's best stretch of the season came in late January when he won three matches in a row, including a 4-2 decision over then-No. 25 Wyatt Ingham of Wisconsin on Jan. 25. Nelson entered the Big Ten Championships ranked 28th in the Coaches' Poll and 21st in the RPI, earning an allocation spot for the conference.
The at-large selections were made by the NCAA Division I Men's Wrestling Committee using the following selection criteria: head-to-head competition, quality wins, results against common opponents, winning percentage, ratings percentage index, coaches ranking and conference tournament finish.
Seedings and brackets for the 2026 NCAA Championships will be announced Wednesday night at 7 p.m. CT on NCAA.com, while the Championships are scheduled to take place March 19-21 inside Rocket Arena in Cleveland, Ohio.
Nelson has the potential to join the six members of the team who automatically qualified for the national tournament at last weekend's Big Ten Championships. According to the NCAA Championships Manual, if any wrestler withdraws or does not make weight, the alternate will be inserted into the bracket.
A redshirt sophomore, Nelson finished 11th at Big Tens, just one spot out of the 10 automatic qualifiers at the weight for the conference.Â
He sports a 12-14 record overall this season and was 4-10 in duals and 3-5 in the Big Ten. Nelson's best stretch of the season came in late January when he won three matches in a row, including a 4-2 decision over then-No. 25 Wyatt Ingham of Wisconsin on Jan. 25. Nelson entered the Big Ten Championships ranked 28th in the Coaches' Poll and 21st in the RPI, earning an allocation spot for the conference.
The at-large selections were made by the NCAA Division I Men's Wrestling Committee using the following selection criteria: head-to-head competition, quality wins, results against common opponents, winning percentage, ratings percentage index, coaches ranking and conference tournament finish.
Seedings and brackets for the 2026 NCAA Championships will be announced Wednesday night at 7 p.m. CT on NCAA.com, while the Championships are scheduled to take place March 19-21 inside Rocket Arena in Cleveland, Ohio.
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