2019 Distinguished Member Brandon Paulson

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Successful at virtually every level of his storied career, Brandon Paulson is recognized for his wrestling prowess and coaching expertise by the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as a 2019 Distinguished Member.

The highlight of his wrestling career was winning the silver medal at 114.5 pounds in Greco-Roman competition at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. He also competed three times in Greco-Roman at the World Championships, winning a silver medal in 2001 and finishing eighth in 2002. A four-time U.S. Open champion,  Paulson excelled at every age-group level of USA Wrestling, winning Cadet, Junior, Espoir and University national titles and a silver medal at the Espoir World Championships in 1993. He was an All-American at the University of Minnesota and was a three-time Minnesota high school state champion for Anoka High School. He had a career high school record of 155-12-1 and was named Mr. Minnesota Wrestling in 1992.

He was named Greco-Roman Coach of the Year by USA Wrestling in 2008 and received the honor again in 2016. Paulson was a member of the U.S. coaching staff at the 2008 Olympic Games while also helping coach the U.S. Junior Greco-Roman World Team in 2007 and 2008.

He has partnered with NCAA champion and U.S. Olympic Team Trials runner-up Jared Lawrence at the PINnacle Wrestling School, coaching youth, high school and international wrestlers. PINnacle Wrestling has produced nine age-group world medalists, including three world champions.

He has served as a club coach with the Minnesota Storm, working with senior-level and age-group athletes at the U.S. national championships and World Team Trials. Paulson has also been a member of the Minnesota/USA Wrestling coaching staff for the Junior and Cadet Nationals, helping produce numerous national champions and All-Americans for one of the strongest Greco-Roman programs in the nation.

Paulson was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum's Alan and Gloria Rice Greco-Roman Hall of Champions in 2013 and was a member of the Charter Class of the Anoka High School Hall of Fame in 2011.