08/07/2026
Shawn “Half Man, Half Nelson” was as mean as they come on the mat.
In the words of Brian Brakeman, Shawn Nelson’s secret to success was his “relentless pressure that he applies that almost inevitably wears down an opponent both physically and mentally.”
Wrestling for North Royalton, Nelson took 5th in the state at 98 pounds in 1986 as a freshman.
After that season, he never lost another match in high school en route to 3 State Championships.
After his senior year of high school, he met 4x undefeated Pennsylvania state champion Cary Kolat in a freestyle tournament.
Nelson pinned him in the first period.
He had no fear of any opponent and was as determined to dominate as he was to win.
After high school, Nelson committed to wrestling at Penn State.
While he was all business on the mat, he never lost his sense of humor off it.
In one instance, after a match against Michigan, he hopped on the airport luggage conveyor belt and rode it into a restricted area.
After a two-week suspension, Nelson was back on the mats.
At Penn State, Shawn was a 4th place NCAA finisher his sophomore year.
He fell in the blood round the following year, just shy of All-American status.
In his senior campaign, Nelson wrestled 126 most of the year and was ranked #1 in the nation.
Late in the year, he was asked to cut down to 118 to improve the team’s lineup and chance of winning a national title.
However, the cut proved to be too much, and he was unable to make weight at the Big Ten tournament.
After college, Nelson won the University freestyle national championship, but a knee injury prevented him from continuing his international career.
After a short stint coaching at Michigan State as a grad assistant, Shawn started coaching at the University of Findlay, where he’s been the head coach since 1996.
In 2012, Nelson was named the Division II coach of the year.
