Upper Iowa men's wrestling was selected third in the annual Great Lakes Valley Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll, announced by the league office on Thursday. The poll was voted on by the league's seven head coaches, who were not eligible to vote for their own team, per league policy.
The University of Indianapolis was voted as the choice to win the GLVC wrestling championship after amassing 35 points and five first-place votes. The Greyhounds are coming off their first-ever conference title last season, as well as returning the GLVC Wrestler of the Year, Derek Blubaugh. They placed second in the NCAA Super Region 4 and seventh in the NCAA Championships last season. UIndy is under the tutelage of Jason Warthan, the reigning GLVC Coach of the Year, who enters his 15th season after a 13-3 overall record and 6-1 GLVC mark in 2022-23.
The Peacocks collected 26 points in the poll, six shy of McKendree who came in second with 32 points and two first-place votes.
The UIU men's wrestling team finished last season with a 10-5 record (6-3 NSIC). They will look to ride the wave of success after boasting a National Champion in
Chase Luensman, three All-Americans (Luensman,
Tate Murty and
Colter Bye) and a national qualifier in
Eric Faught, each of them making their return to the UIU men's wrestling program this year.
Head Coach
Heath Grimm returns for his 24th season at the helm of the men's wrestling team. He holds an overall dual meet record of 218-85-3 (.712) and a mark of 91-33 (.734) in the team's former league, the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.
Men's wrestling highlighted their 2022-23 regular season with a 6th place finish at the NWCA National Dual Meet Championships, as well as a 16th place finish at the 2023 NCAA Division II Championships after tallying 26.5 points at the event.
The Peacocks ignite competition on Nov. 11 as they head to Decorah, Iowa for the Luther Open.
Dorman Memorial Gymnasium will circulate with wrestling fans on Dec. 8 at 7 p.m. as the Peacocks host non-conference competitor, Davenport University, in their home opener.
Final Site duals will be held in St. Louis, Mo. on Feb. 18., while the Super Region V Championships are held on March 2 in Minot, N.D. and the NCAA Division II Championships take place on March 15-16 in Park City, Kan.
Full details on the preseason poll are listed below.
2023-24 GLVC PRESEASON POLL
| RK. |
SCHOOL |
PTS (1st-Place Votes) |
| 1. |
UIndy |
35 (5) |
| 2. |
McKendree |
32 (2) |
| 3. |
Upper Iowa |
26 |
| 4. |
Drury |
19 |
| 5. |
Maryville |
18 |
6.
7. |
Quincy
Davenport |
9
8 |
