On the Mat with Nick Nelson
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Sophomore Nick Nelson was an All-ACC wrestler at 141 pounds last year, and is off to a solid start this year. He recorded a huge upset in the ACC Championships last year, but it’s his narrow loss in the championship match which left a bitter taste and set the tone for his offseason. Now a year wiser, Nelson plans on having a big sophomore season for Virginia. This weekend, Nelson and the No. 24 Cavaliers travel to Binghamton, N.Y., for the Sprawl and Brawl and take on No. 14 Penn State and AIC.
You had a strong freshman season, so what are your expectations for this year?
Nelson: My goal is to always be on top and to perform at the highest level I can. In high school, it was to win the state title and in college, it’s to win ACC and national titles. I came in here and from the start have busted my butt and have come in every day and trained as hard as I could. Training for second place is not me, so obviously the goal for myself and my teammates is to win a national title.
You had a great win at the ACC Championships last year (over nationally-ranked Joe Caramanica of NC State) but then fell just short in the finals. How has that fueled you this year?
Nelson: ACCs were rough on me last year. It was the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. I went out there and beat Caramanica, and we have a picture hanging up that shows the coaches’ reaction, and every time anyone sees it, they say what a great win.’ My dad told people, this is one of the reasons why I went to Virginia because of the coaches’ excitement. Everyone sees it from the perspective that it was my big win, but every time I look at it, I think of choking in the finals. That photo is motivation for me because it shows that if I stay focused and keep working hard, I can be that high again.
Last year was rough but it was my true freshman year and I look back and have reflected on it and I could have redshirted, but honestly it may have been one of the best things for my career because it’s the reason why I stayed here all summer to train and that’s why I did those morning workouts and came in twice a day because you never want to feel that feeling of emptiness and loss again.
What was the summer like for you?
Nelson: I stayed down here for summer school classes and came in twice a day to work out. I had a morning lift before class and had a wrestling workout or technique sessions after class. After that, I went home and studied, then went to bed, woke up and did the same thing over and over again. In August, I went home and trained at my old club and worked out with some Division I guys there, and I came back a little bit early before classes got going and started up the training again.
You were an Academic All-Conference selection last year. Talk about the work you put in on that side of things as well.
Nelson: Coach always jokes around about how methodical I am and how much thinking I do. But there are a lot smarter guys on the team than me, but I think one of the reasons he looks to me is because I’m not the smartest kid and I’m not the most talented kid on the mat, but I just work hard, pay attention to every detail and put my time in to do the best that I can, whether it’s on the mat or in the classroom.
Talk about your relationship with your twin brother Matt.
Nelson: We have a good relationship. At times it’s a little rocky. I always used to say there is nobody harder on me than me. Now that my brother can’t wrestle because of his concussion, the hardest person on me is me, A, and my brother, B. I was watching film today and we could hear him screaming and yelling at me and there are times when Coach Garland has to turn the corner and say hey Matt, I’m trying to coach here. Let me get a few words in.’
Last year he wasn’t in town and had to medically withdraw and get things straightened out with his head, and I really missed him. Being with someone 24-7 for 19 years and then not having him is pretty hard, but it made me grow up a lot more and made me a tougher person and really made me more of an individual. Obviously, we’re two peas in a pod we came from the same place. It’s great to have him back.
Being a Pittsburgh native, how special will it be to wrestle Penn State this weekend?
Nelson: Growing up, I always liked Penn State, but they weren’t my team. A lot of my best friends, you can probably split them down the middle and half are Pitt fans and half are die-hard Penn State fans. You can spot a Penn State fan from a mile away they are die-hard and all about JoePa (Joe Paterno). I root for them, but I’m not that die-hard. But anytime you go home back and wrestle a team from your home state, especially one like Penn State with its great wrestling program, it’s special.
Coach Garland put together one of the toughest schedules in school history this year. What is that like for you and the team?
Nelson: Every week you have something to look forward to. Every Monday you have a reason to come in and refocus and get to work because you know you won’t have any cupcake matches the upcoming weekend. You won’t have an easy match you’re going to have a battle. That’s great because for me and a lot of guys on the team we’ve had some tough losses so far but it shows the resiliency of the team. We had tough matches against Wisconsin and Illinois last weekend and we had to refocus and come back, and then we beat Michigan State, who is right on the verge of being in the Top 25. It shows a lot about our team and the resiliency that we have that we had tough losses to Wisconsin and Illinois but we refocused to beat Michigan State. Now we need to refocus and beat Penn State.