Zelbacher earned All-American status in two events at the 2006 NCAA Division III Swimming and Diving Championships hosted by Carleton College on Thursday March 16 through Saturday March 18.
Zelbacher finished third in the 100-butterfly event, garnering his first All-American award. On Saturday, Zelbacher finished fourth in the 100-freestyle, garnering a second All-American honor. In the preliminary heat of the 100-fly, Zelbacher recorded the third fastest time of :49.13 seconds. He led halfway through the final heat, but wound up third again, finishing in :49.40. On Saturday, Zelbacher was third after the prelims of the 100-fly and finished fourth in the final with a time of :45.31. On Thursday, Zelbacher who was the #1 seed in the 50-yard freestyle, finished 13th in the preliminaries on and did not qualify for the championship heat. Zelbacher did rebound rebound however, to win his consolation heat in a time of :20.53 and garner ninth place honors. Had he made the final, Zelbacher's time would have been the second fastest in the championship heat.
