CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – The Loras College men's wrestling program was picked to finish third in the 2023-24 American Rivers Conference preseason coaches' poll, as announced Friday by the league offices. The Duhawks, who are coming off a 15^th-place team finish at the 2023 NCAA DIII National Championships, earned 53 points and one first-place vote, 11 points behind first-place finisher Wartburg College, who was selected to repeat as the conference champion for the third-straight year.

"We are very excited for another great year of competition in the toughest conference in Division III," said head coach Jeren Glosser. "We returned several tough starters and have added some strong, young talent to our lineup. Looking forward to great duals and competition this year!"

The Duhawks return some key contributors, including the likes of Eric Kinkaid, Jalen Schropp, Gabe Fiser, and Zab Gnida. Kinkaid was a national qualifier in 2022 to go along with being named All-Conference, while Gnida was an All-Conference selectee that same year. Schropp and Fiser return to Loras to continue their decorated careers, as the pair each have been named All-Conference three times (2021, 2022, 2023), a 2020 NWCA All-American, and are two time national qualifiers.

Loras gets its 2023-24 campaign underway in just over three weeks, as the Duhawks compete in the Luther Open. Following that, Loras takes on Buena Vista University on Nov. 16, before shifting its attention to the Concordia Open on Nov. 18.

The program heads up to Minneapolis, Minn. to face Augsburg University on Nov. 30 before playing host to Cornell College on Dec. 7. The Kalahari Duals begin on Dec. 16 and will serve as the final tournament of the year for Loras before it opens 2024 at the NWCA Division III National Duals on Jan. 5.

The Duhawks return to action against Central College on Jan. 11 in the Lillis Athletic & Wellness Center before heading out to Mount Vernon for the Cliff-Keen Mike Duroe tournament, hosted by Cornell College on Jan. 13.

The closing stretch of the season begins on Jan. 20, when the team competes in the American Rivers Conference Duals, before hosting teams for the Pat "Flash" Flanagan Open on Jan. 27. The Duhawks then take on Dubuque on Feb. 2 and Wartburg College on Feb. 9 to close out the regular season.

The postseason begins on Mar. 1 with the NCAA Regionals. From there, Duhawk qualifiers head over to La Crosse, Wis. on Mar. 15 to take part in the NCAA Nationals Tournament.
 
2023-24 A-R-C Coaches' Preseason Poll
1.Wartburg (8)                64 points            14-1 overall, 8-0 A-R-C (A-R-C & Regional Champions)
2. Coe                             54 points            9-6 overall, 5-3 A-R-C
3. Loras (1)                     53 points            16-4, 7-1 A-R-C
4. Luther                          40 points            14-6 overall, 5-3 A-R-C
5. Central                         35 points            7-5 overall, 4-4 A-R-C
6. Dubuque                      33 points            7-8 overall, 4-4 A-R-C
7. Simpson                       20 points            6-7 overall, 2-6 A-R-C
8. Buena Vista                  15 points            3-13 overall, 1-7 A-R-C
9. Nebraska Wesleyan     10 points            1-12 overall, 0-8 A-R-C