CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - The American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) released the women's wrestling preseason coaches' poll on Wednesday afternoon. The University of Dubuque women's wrestling team was picked to finish third, the same spot they finished a season ago in 2024-2025. The Spartans also received one first-place vote in this year's poll.
The Spartans return a trio of all-conference wrestlers from last season in senior Shea Reisel and juniors Alex Hofrichter and Mattie Papenthien. Reisel and Hofrichter, both All-Americans last season, powered the Spartans in the national polls for much of the year and will look to capitalize in 2025-2026. Joining the Spartans will be a host of newcomers as the Spartans look to challenge for a conference championship once again.
Dennis Hall begins his third season at the helm this upcoming season and he will be assisted by Jon McGovern and Dylan Koontz, along with graduate assistant Tyler Klein.
The Spartans kick off the 2025-2026 campaign at the Pointer Open on November 1. After traveling to Decorah and Storm Lake to compete in the Luther Open (Nov. 15) and the Buena Vista University Open (Dec. 6) respectively, the Spartans will travel back to Stevens Point on January 10 for a road non-conference match. The Spartans will kick off A-R-C play with a home match against Loras College on January 14 before competing in the A-R-C Championships on January 24 in Pella. After competing in the Augsburg Triangular (Jan. 31), the Spartans will travel to Augustana College (IL) to compete in the Quad Cities D3 Invite on February 7-8 to close out the regular season.
The postseason will begin with the NCAA Regionals in Indianola, Iowa on February 20-21, hosted by Simpson College. Wrestlers who advance out of the regional will compete in the NCAA Championships on March 6-7 in Iowa City, hosted by the University of Iowa.
