Honors & Awards
- NCAA All-American (7th, 165, 2016)
- Four-Time NCAA Championships Qualifier (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016)
- NWCA All-Academic Team (2014, 2015, 2016)
- Tom Osborne Citizenship Team (2014, 2015, 2016)
- Big Ten Distinguished Scholar (2016)
- Four-Time Academic All-Big Ten (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016)
- Nebraska Student-Athlete HERO Leadership Award (2016)
- Nebraska Most Improved Wrestler (2012-13, 2015-16)
- Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll (Fall 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015*; Spring 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016)
*-denotes perfect 4.0 grade-point average
2015-16 (Senior)
NCAA Championships
Making his fourth NCAA Championships appearance, Austin Wilson collected All-America honors for the first time with a seventh-place finish at 165 pounds. Wilson opened the tournament with back-to-back decisions over Cody Wiercoch of Pittsburgh and seventh-seeded Anthony Perrotti of Rutgers. In the quarterfinals, Wilson fell to No. 2 seed Isaac Jordan of Wisconsin, 3-1.
In the Round of 12, Wilson responded with a 4-1 decision over 13th-seeded Jim Wilson of Stanford to clinch a spot on the podium. Despite falling to No. 6 seed Steven Rodrigues of Illinois in the consolation quarterfinals, Wilson won his final collegiate match in the seventh-place bout, a 4-2 decision over Perrotti.
Big Ten Championships
Wilson took fourth place at the Big Ten Championships with a 4-2 mark. After defeating Michigan State's Dean Vettese in the first round, Wilson fell to Rodrigues, 3-1. In the consolation bracket, Wilson bounced back with a major decision against Michigan's Jordan Amine before pinning Penn State's Geno Morelli in 38 seconds. Wilson strung together a third straight win, this one by medical forfeit, against Perrotti to advance to the third-place match. Rodrigues defeated Wilson, 4-2, for third place.
Regular Season
Wilson went 27-11 at 165 pounds in his final season in Nebraska's lineup with eight bonus point wins. He pinned three opponents, while winning one by technical fall and four by major decision. Wilson started every dual, compiling a 12-5 record in the process, and added a fifth-place finish at the Midlands Championships. He opened his senior campaign with seven consecutive wins to rise to No. 4 in InterMat's rankings in mid-December. After going 7-2 at Midlands, Wilson won four of his next five dual matches. He added a major decision over Northwestern's Luke Norland on Feb. 12, leading up to the Big Ten Championships.Â
2014-15 (Junior)
NCAA Championships
Wilson knocked off No. 2 seed Michael Moreno of Iowa State in the first round of the NCAA Championships, but suffered back-to-back losses to be eliminated from the tournament. In the second round, Wilson dropped a 6-3 decision to 15th-seeded Ethan Ramos of North Carolina before falling to Ohio’s Harrison Hightower by sudden victory-1 in the consolation bracket.
Big Ten Championships
Wilson produced a seventh-place finish at the Big Ten Championships after a 3-2 performance. He downed ranked grapplers Nick Wanzek of Minnesota (16th) and Nick Moore of Iowa (10th), but fell to a pair of top-eight foes. In the seventh-place match, Wilson shut out Purdue’s Pat Robinson, 4-0.
Regular Season
Wilson started every dual for the Huskers at 165 pounds, going 17-16 overall, while producing an 8-7 dual mark. He earned three pins, one technical fall and four major decisions. Wilson wrestled at the Cowboy Open, Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational and Southern Scuffle, but fell short of a spot on the podium in each tournament.
2013-14 (Sophomore)
NCAA Championships
Making his second NCAA Championships appearance, Wilson went 1-2 at 165 pounds. In the first round, he fell by a 5-3 decision to 10th-seeded Cooper Moore of Northern Iowa to fall to the consolation bracket. Wilson responded with a 6-1 decision over Missouri’s Zach Toal before being eliminated by ninth-seeded Joseph Booth of Hofstra by a 4-2 sudden victory.
Big Ten Championships
Wilson compiled a 3-3 record en route to a sixth-place finish at the Big Ten Championships. After opening with a 4-1 decision over Purdue’s Pat Robinson, Wilson fell to top seed and eventual NCAA champion David Taylor of Penn State, 22-4. In the wrestleback bracket, Wilson managed a 10-2 major decision over Ohio State’s Joe Grandominico before taking down No. 10 Dan Yates of Michigan, 5-1.
Wilson suffered a 4-2 loss to No. 20 Danny Zilverberg of Minnesota to move into the fifth-place match. Wilson fell by a 6-2 decision to No. 13 Jackson Morse of Illinois to take sixth place at 165 pounds.
Regular Season
Wilson finished his sophomore season with a 23-16 record and had five technical falls, which tied for the team lead. He collected two pins and three major decisions. Wilson took runner-up honors at the Reno Tournament of Champions and finished fifth at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. Wilson started every dual for the Huskers at 165 pounds, compiling a 7-7 record.
2012-13 (Redshirt Freshman)
NCAA Championships
Wilson battled to a 3-2 mark in his first NCAA Championships appearance at 165 pounds. He fell by a 6-2 decision to Missouri’s Zach Toal in the first round to fall to the wrestleback bracket. Wilson responded with three consecutive victories before losing a major decision to No. 5 seed Steven Monk of North Dakota State, 9-1. Wilson’s wins came over Central Michigan’s Mike Ottinger (D, 6-2), Buffalo’s Mark Lewandowski (F, 2:01) and Chattanooga’s Josh Condon (D, 10-7).
Big Ten Championships
Wilson suffered losses to Ohio State’s Mark Martin and Indiana’s Ryan LeBlanc at the Big Ten Championships. Martin won a 6-2 decision, and LeBlanc notched a 9-2 decision over Wilson.
Regular Season
Wilson went 27-14 at 165 pounds, compiling a 7-4 dual mark in the process. He pinned three opponents in 2012-13, while adding four technical falls and four major decisions. Wilson opened the season with a second-place showing at the Warren Williamson/Daktronics Open before winning three of his first four dual starts. Wilson also notched a third-place finish at the Grand View Open in January.
In the final dual at the NU Coliseum, Wilson pinned Michigan State’s Nick Proctor in the final match to give the Huskers a come-from-behind 23-19 win. For his work in the classroom, Wilson garnered a spot on the academic All-Big Ten team.
2011-12 (Redshirt)
Regular Season
Wilson went 10-3 while wrestling in three open tournaments at 165 pounds as a redshirt in 2011-12. He opened the season with four consecutive wins before losing the championship match at the Warren Williamson/Daktronics Open. He did not place at the Harold Nichols Cyclone Open, but won the Nebraska-Kearney Holiday Inn Open. He recorded one pin and three major decisions on the season.
Wilson was named to the Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll for his work in the classroom during both semesters.
Before Nebraska
Wilson finished his high school career as one of the most prolific wrestlers in Nebraska high school history after amassing a state record 180 wins. He lost just three times while capturing three Class C state championships. Wilson capped his career by winning the 160-pound title as a senior, while tying his own state record for wins in a single season by going 48-0. Ranked as the No. 18 wrestler in the country at 160 pounds by InterMat, Wilson finished his career by winning his final 143 high school matches, also a Nebraska high school record. As a junior, Wilson won the 145-pound state championship with a 48-0 record, and took home the title as a sophomore at 130 pounds going 47-0. Wilson captured second place at the 2011 NHSCA Senior National Wrestling Championships at 160 pounds in Virginia Beach, Va.
Personal
Austin is the son of Craig and Donna Wilson. He was born on July 10, 1992, in Plainview, Neb. Wilson has a younger sister, Ashley. Austin is majoring in biology at Nebraska and has four times earned a spot on the Academic All-Big Ten team, while making the NWCA All-Academic Team three times. He is a nine-time member of the Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll and three-time Tom Osborne Citizenship Team member. In 2016, Wilson won a prestigious Nebraska Student-Athlete HERO Leadership Award and earned a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar Award.