Wrestling | 3/14/2026 10:09:00 PM

Brackets
Team Scores

Cedar Rapids, Iowa - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse wrestling team placed second at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III Championships Saturday night at the Alliant Energy PowerHouse.

The Eagles finished with 68.0 team points while Wartburg College (Iowa) won the national title with 110.0. Augsburg University (Minn.) was third with 67.5 and New York University fourth with 65.5.

The College of New Jersey was fifth (58.5), Roanoke College (Va.) sixth (57.0), Baldwin-Wallace College (Ohio) seventh (55.5), Loras College (Iowa) eighth (54.5), Williams College (Mass.) ninth (45.5) and Central College (Iowa) 10th (37.5).

A total of 68 teams competed with 61 scoring points. 

UWL's second-place finish ties its best in school history, also being second in 2001, 2006, 2008 and 2010. The Eagles have 25 top 10 finishes at the national championships since joining the NCAA III in 1992. UWL has 15 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 24 (16 wrestlers) NCAA III individual champions.  UWL has claimed 148 All-America honors in wrestling, including 132 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 completed his 20th season as UWL's head coach. He has led the Eagles to top four finishes at the NCAA Division III Championships in nine different years, including second in 2008 and 2010.

He has coached 15 NCAA Division III champions and had 77 wrestlers earn All-America honors in 20 seasons. 

Malecek is joined by assistant coaches Zach Cook, Josh Passe, Trevor Pruett, Nolan Hertel, Tyler Goebel, Michael Douglas, Albie McKinney and Mason Kauffman.

Five wrestlers earned All-America honors, including Tanner Gerber who captured the 165-pound national title. The Eagles' Tate Flege (184-pounds) finished fifth with Noah Leisgang (174) and Markos Mihalopoulos (285) sixth. UWL's Joe Penchi (157) placed seventh.

Gerber became the first champion in school history at 165-pounds with a win (4-0) over fifth-seeded Andrew Supers of Baldwin-Wallace (Ohio). He advanced to the championship match with a major decision (10-0) over seventh-seeded Brayden Peet of UW-Whitewater in the semifinals.

He earned his second career NCAA III All-America accolade in as many appearances at 165-pounds after finishing third a year ago.

The third-seed, Gerber, opened this year's tournament with a technical fall (16-1, 6:27) over Carter Davis of Pennsylvania College of Technology in the first round. He advanced to the semifinals with a win (6-1) over sixth-seeded Keegan Demarest of Messiah College (Pa.) in the quarterfinals. Gerber finishes 33-3 this season and is 9-1 in his two-year national appearances.
 

Flege finished fifth at 184-pounds to earn his first career NCAA III All-America honor in his first trip to the national tournament. The fourth-seed, Flege opened the NCAA III Championships with a win by fall (1:03) over 13^th-seeded Casey Aikman of North Central College (Ill.) in the first round. He won by major decision (15-4) over fifth-seeded Sean Malenfant of Alfred State College (N.Y.) in the quarterfinals.

After losing by major decision (16-5) to top-seeded Ganon Smith of Elizabethtown College (Pa.) in the semifinals, Flege lost by decision (5-4) to Brandt Bombard of Augsburg (Minn.) in his next match. He came back to place fifth with a decision (5-1) over Hunter Moore of Roanoke (Va.).

Flege finished 28-4 this season.

Leisgang earned his third career NCAA III All-America honor, placing sixth at 174-pounds. He earned All-America awards with a third-place finish at 165-pounds in 2023 and second at 165 in 2024. 

Seeded second at this year's championships, Leisgang opened with a win by decision (4-1) over Nick Alexander of Augsburg (Minn.) in the first match. He then earned a decision (16-11) over 10th-seeded Xavier Preston of Roanoke (Va.) in the quarterfinals. 

Leisgang lost by major decision (8-0) to sixth-seeded Bryce McDonough of Luther College (Iowa) in Saturday's semifinals. He was forced to default in his match versus fifth-seeded Jake Deguire of Springfield College (Mass.) and was a medical forfeit in the fifth-place match against Ty Finn of New York University. Leisgang went 9-4 all-time in the national tournament while finishing 19-2 this season.

In his first career appearance at the NCAA Division III Championships, Mihalopoulos finished sixth at 285-pounds. Unseeded in the tournament, he won his first two matches in Friday's opening session, earning a decision (8-2) over 13th-seeded Nicholas Cook of Roanoke (Va.) in the preliminary round and decision (4-1) over fourth-seeded Carter Stack of Washington & Lee College (Va.) in the round of 16. Mihalopoulos defeated Wyatt Smith of Coe College (Iowa) by decision (4-1) in Friday's quarterfinals.

He lost by sudden victory (6-1) to top-ranked Mitch Williamson of Wartburg (Iowa) in Saturday's semifinals. Mihalopoulos lost by decision (3-2) to 11^th-seed Andrew Vanscoy of Baldwin-Wallace (Ohio) before losing by major decision (12-3) to second-seed Carl DiGiorgio of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy (Conn.) in the fifth-place match.
 

Mihalopoulos finished 23-11 this year.

Penchi earned All-America accolades at 157-pounds, finishing seventh overall. Making his first national appearance, Penchi lost by decision (7-4) to 13th-seed Londen Murphy of Ohio Northern in preliminary round before winning by major decision (14-1) over 15^th-seeded Braden Kmak of Ursinus College (Pa.) in the consolation preliminaries. He won by decision (10-5) over 10th-seed Thane McCoy of Wilmington College (Ohio) in the consolation round and advanced with a decision (4-1) over Karsen Otis of Augsburg (Minn.).

In Saturday's action, Penchi lost by technical fall (18-0, 4:10) to fourth-seeded Eric Kinkaid of Loras College (Iowa), but placed seventh with a decision (15-12) over second-seeded Trent Mahoney of Albright College (Pa.).

Penchi went 28-15 this season, including 8-6 at 149-pounds and 20-9 at 157.

UWL's Marcus McIntyre (141-pounds) went 2-2 on Friday while Tyler Dormanen (197) finished 1-2 and Quintin Wolbert (125) finished 0-2.

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).