QUINCY, Ill. – McKendree was crowned the 2026 Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) Men’s Wrestling Champions on Sunday afternoon at the Pepsi Arena on Quincy’s campus. The Bearcats earned its seventh league championship, the most in the conference since the sport became sponsored in 2017.
Maryville and Upper Iowa followed in second and third place, respectively. Indianapolis, Quincy, and Drury rounded out the field, finishing in fourth through sixth place.
QUARTERFINALS
#3 Maryville 43, #6 Drury 3
RECAPS:
MU |
DU
- MU wins: Elijah Almarinez (125), JP Homfeld (133), Caleb Carter (141), Nicolas Zamora (157), Mustafa Salimi (165), Cole Ritter (174), Dalton Litzsinger (184), Jeremiah Larson (197), and Jonovan Smith (285).
- DU victories: Mason Knight (149).
- MU’s Salimi and Larson both secured falls in under two minutes, and Carter earned a dramatic 3-2 victory in the third overtime for the Saints.
- DU’s Knight recorded the lone win for the Panthers, winning by 3-0 decision.
#4 Indianapolis 41, #5 Quincy 6
RECAPS: UINDY |
QU
- UINDY wins: Nathan Smith (125), Aidan Sprague (133), Zach Haughton (141), Gavin Garcia (149), Michael Ortega (157), Logan Farnell (165), Shane Bates (174), Ethan Farnell (197), and Cale Gray (285).
- QU victories: Callan Ivy (184).
- UINDY’s Garcia and Logan Farnell pinned their opponents, while Bates, Ethan Farnell, and Gray all won via tech fall.
SEMIFINALS
#1 McKendree 22, #4 Indianapolis 13
RECAPS: MCK |
UINDY
- MCK wins: Ronan Schuelke (141), James Hoskinson (157), Sam Richardson (165), Zeke Waltz (174), Darion Johnson (184), and Logan Kvien (197).
- UINDY victories: Smith (125), Sprague (133), Garcia (149), and Gray (285).
- MCK’s Richardson secured the lone pin of the dual at the 4:14 mark.
- UINDY’s Gray shut out his opponent with a 7-0 decision.
#3 Maryville 25, #2 Upper Iowa 17
RECAPS: MU | UIU
- MU wins: Almarinez (125), Homfeld (133), Zamora (157), Ritter (174), Larson (197), and Smith (285).
- UIU victories: Tanner Arjes (141), Ethen Doty (149), Nick Mueller (165), and Braxton Westendorf (184).
- MU’s Almarinez and Smith both snagged victory via pin.
- UIU’s Doty (18-0) and Westendorf (17-2) earned dominant tech-fall wins.
FIFTH-PLACE MATCH
#5 Quincy 30, #6 Drury 17
RECAPS:
QU |
DU
- QU wins: Kaden Rios (125), Te’Andre Allen (133), Isaiah Nichols (157), Jackson Jones (165), Ivy (184), and Judah Yates (197).
- DU victories: Nathan Wishne (141), Knight (149), Jeremiah Halter (174), and Hunter Tennison (285).
- QU’s Yates won by fall in 2:51, while Nichols and Jones picked up tech-fall victories.
- DU’s Knight pinned his opponent in just 1:41 to grab six points for the Panthers.
THIRD-PLACE MATCH
#2 Upper Iowa 30, #4 Indianapolis 11
RECAPS: UIU | UINDY
- UIU wins: Treyton Ackman (125), Dawson Schmit (133), Doty (149), Collin Altensey (157), Mueller (165), Griffin Luke (174), and Matthew Marcum (197).
- UINDY victories: Haughton (149), Christian Chavez (184), and Gray (285).
- UIU’s Altensey (16-1) and Marcum (15-0) collected wins via tech fall.
- UINDY’s Gray contributed five points with a 18-2 tech-fall victory.
CHAMPIONSHIP
#1 McKendree 20, #3 Maryville 18
RECAPS: MCK | MU
- MCK wins: Ronan Schuelke (141), Caleb Lavine (149), Richardson (165), Johnson (184), and Kvien (197).
- MU victories: Almarinez (125), Homfeld (133), Zamora (157), Ritter (174), and Smith (285).
- MCK’s Johnson and Schuelke accounted for 11 of the team’s 20 points, picking up wins via pin (2:11) and tech fall (16-1) respectively.
- MU’s Almarinez improved to 3-0 after pinning his second opponent of the day.
The All-GLVC teams and major award winners will be determined in the coming weeks, pending a vote of the league’s head coaches. Five of the six conference teams now await the NCAA Division II Super Region IV tournament, which will take place on February 28 in Edmond, Okla. Upper Iowa will compete in Super Region V in Marshall, Minn.