Marshall Nelson Hired As Assistant Gymnastics Coach
6/14/2000 12:00:00 AM | Gymnastics
June 14, 2000
COLUMBIA, MO -- Three-time NCAA champion and six-time All-American Marshall Nelson has joined the University of Missouri women's gymnastics coaching staff, Head Coach Rob Drass has announced.
Nelson graduated from the University of Nebraska in May with a degree in English. He replaces Eric Geren who spent the last three years as an assistant coach at Missouri, and will be the Tigers' primary coach on the uneven parallel bars.
A native of Greeley, Colo., Nelson trained fulltime at the Olympic Training Center for a year following his graduation from Palmer High School in Colorado Springs in 1994. He trained under Ron Bryant at the Olympic Training Center from 1990-95, and placed second in the all-around at the 1994 U.S. Winter Cup to earn a spot on the U.S. Unior National Team. He enrolled at Nebraska in '95.
"I'm really excited about this opportunity," Nelson said. "Missouri is a program that is growing, and it will be a great experience to get in at the ground level and to help built something great. They're also giving me the chance to get a master's degree, and continuing my education is something I've always wanted to do." Nelson will pursue a master's of journalism degree at MU.
As a member of Nebraska's men's gymnastics team, Nelson won NCAA titles on the horizontal bar and parallel bars in 1997, and repeated as national champion on the parallel bars in '98. He was an All-American on four events during his career - vault, pommel horse, parallel bars and high bar.
"Marshall brings the total package to the University of Missouri," Drass said. "From his experience with the U.S. national team to his time at Nebraska, he's enjoyed success at the very highest levels of gymnastics. Having known him for six years, I look forward to working with someone of his caliber." Drass, a former women's gymnastics assistant coach at Nebraska, just completed his first year at Mizzou. His Tigers compiled a record of 8-10 and advanced to NCAA Regional competition for the first time since 1994.
Nelson was co-captain of this year's Nebraska gymnastics team and was a second-team Academic All-American. His career was cut short in February when he suffered the second torn ACL injury of his career on a parallel bars dismount against the University of Oklahoma. He had missed the entire 1999 season with a similar injury.
He was a two-time Scholastic All-American by the National Association of Collegiate Gymnastics Coaches and four-time member of the Big 12 Commissioner's Academic Honor Roll. Nelson was the 1998 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation "gymnast of the year."
