Wrestling | 3/10/2026 8:34:00 AM

La Crosse, Wis. - Eight University of Wisconsin-La Crosse wrestlers are set to compete at the 2026 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III Championships Friday and Saturday, March 13-14. Action is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. both days at the Alliant Energy PowerHouse in Cedar Rapids, Iowa with the American Rivers Conference serving as host of the championships.

Seniors Noah Leisgang of Ashwaubenon (H.S.) and Joe Penchi of Genoa (Aquinas), juniors Tyler Dormanen of Boyceville (H.S.), Tate Flege of La Crosse (Aquinas) and Quintin Wolbert of Wales (Oconomowoc) along with sophomores Tanner Gerber of Cameron (H.S.) and Marcus McIntyre of Brodhead (H.S.) and freshman Markos Mihalopoulos of Huntley, Ill. (H.S.) will represent UWL at this year's championships.

Leisgang is appearing in his third national meet, earning a pair of All-America honors in his previous two trips. He placed third at 165-pounds in 2023 and second at 165 in 2024. Wolbert and Gerber will wrestle in their second NCAA III Championships. Wolbert went 1-2 last season at 125-pounds while Gerber earned All-America honors with a third-place finish at 165-pounds a year ago. 

Penchi, Dormanen, Flege, McIntyre and Mihalopoulos are making their first trip to the NCAA Division III Championships. 

Leisgang qualified for the NCAA III Championships at 174-pounds after winning the NCAA Division III Region VII Regional on February 28. He is 17-0 on the season and won the 174-pound title at the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Championships on February 14. Seeded second in this year's national tournament, Leisgang faces the winner of the Nick Alexander of Augsburg University (Minn.) versus Mike Slade of Wartburg College (Iowa) match.

Seeded 10th at 125-pounds, Wolbert faces seventh-seeded Mason Jones of Manchester College (Ind.) in his first round match. Wolbert placed second at the NCAA III Regional. He is 14-4 this year, including 11-1 at 125 and 3-3 at 133.

Gerber enters the NCAA III Championships with a 30-3 record. He placed second at the regional and won the WIAC title at 165-pounds. Gerber is the third-seed and will take on the winner of the Carter Davis of Pennsylvania College of Technology versus Jashon Holmes of Vermont Castleton College in his opening match.

Penchi qualified for the tournament after a third-place finish at the NCAA III Regional at 157-pounds. He was also second at the WIAC Championships. Unseeded in this year's NCAA III Championships, Penchi is 24-13 overall, including 8-6 at 149 and 16-7 at 157. He faces Londen Murphy of Ohio Northern University in his first match.

At 197-pounds, Dormanen is seeded seventh and wrestles 10th-seed Gunnar Garriques of the University of Chicago (Ill.) in the first round. Placing second at the NCAA III Regional and winning the conference title, Dormanen is 20-4 this year.

Flege is the fourth-seed at 184-pounds and his opening match will be against the winner of the James Liedo of Arcadia University (Pa.) versus Casey Aikman of North Central College (Ill.). Second at the 2026 WIAC Championships and third in the regional, Flege is 25-2 on the year.

Unseeded at 141-pounds, McIntyre faces Andrew Schoen of Ursinus College (Pa.) in his first match. He was second at this year's regional and third at the conference championships. McIntyre is 25-8 this season.

At 285-pounds, Mihalopoulos is 20-8 this year after placing third at the NCAA III Regional and fourth at the WIAC Championships. He is unseeded entering the national tournament and his first match is versus Nicholas Cook of Roanoke College (Va.).

UWL has 24 top-10 finishes at the national championships since joining the NCAA III in 1992, including a school-best second-place showing in 2001, 2006, 2008 and 2010.  The Eagles finished with a school record 106.0 points at the 2006 championships.  The Eagles have had 14 top-four finishes at the national meet. The 2020 and 2021 NCAA III Championships were canceled due to the COVID-19 public health threat. 

The Eagles have claimed 23 (15 wrestlers) NCAA III individual champions.  UWL has claimed 143 All-America honors in wrestling, including 127 in the NCAA III and 16 in the NAIA. The Eagles had a school record seven wrestlers earn All-America recognition in 2005 and 2006.  

Dave Malecek is in his 20th season as UWL's head coach. He has led the Eagles to top-four finishes at the NCAA Division III Championships in eight different years. UWL placed second in 2008 and 2010, third in 2007, 2009, 2011, 2024 and fourth in 2012 and 2013.

UWL won its first NCAA Division III Regional title in 2025 after placing second in six of the previous seven years. Malecek has been named the NCAA Division III Regional Coach of the Year four times (2015, 2018 (co), 2020, 2025). The Eagles placed second at this year's regional championships.

Named the 2023-24 and 2024-25 National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) Division III Coach of the Year, Malecek was inducted into the NWCA Hall of Fame in 2024. He was also named the 2007 NCAA Rookie Coach of the Year and 2010 D3wrestle.com Coach of the Year.  He had coached 14 NCAA Division III champions and had 72 wrestlers earn All-America honors in 19 seasons. 

He has been named the WIAC Mertz Mortoreilli Coach of the Year seven times in his career (2007-11, 2015, 2017). UWL also earned the WIAC Coaching Staff of the Year award for eight straight seasons (2018-25).
Malecek is joined by assistant coaches Zach Cook, Josh Passe, Trevor Pruett, Nolan Hertel, Tyler Goebel, Michael Douglas, Albie McKinney and Mason Kauffman.

UWL is set to host the 2027 NCAA Division III Championships on March 12-13 at the La Crosse Center in downtown La Crosse.  It will mark the sixth time UWL has hosted the NCAA III Wrestling Championships (2011, 2012, 2017, 2021, 2024, 2027)