A big weekend for UW-La Crosse athletics as track, basketball, gymnastics and wrestling all compete at Nationals all over the country. For the wrestling team, eight are headed to the championship tournament, beginning Friday in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The 2026 NCAA Division III Championships take place March 13–14 at the Alliant Energy PowerHouse in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Malecek UW-L sophomore All-American Tanner Gerber — who took third at Nationals last year — says that while the stage is big, having Hall of Fame coach Dave Malecek in their corner gives the roster a distinct advantage. “Obviously he knows what he’s talking about, he’s a Hall of Famer, and he’s done it before,” Gerber said after practice Wednesday. “He was an All-American himself, so he knows what’s going on in our heads when we’re out there. And it’s nice to have a coach that’s been in the same exact spot as us.” Malecek was a Division I All-American at Northern Iowa and a two-time Olympic Trials participant. In college, he was a four-time national qualifier and finished fourth in the 1994 NCAA Championships. In his 20 seasons at UW-L, Malecek has coached 14 individual national champions and 72 All-Americans. Gerber says coach has some stories for those rides to meets. “All the van rides, we’re quizzing him on what stuff was like,” Gerber said. “But, I mean, he just talks about times even he got his butt kicked in practice and coming back the next day just fired up ready to go again. So, that kind of attitude, it’s kind of fun to think, he was just once in our shoes, too.” Of the eight from UW-L headed to Iowa, senior Noah Leisgang is the most decorated — making his third trip, after previously finishing second and third in the nation. Leisgang is the number-two seed at 174 pounds and enters the weekend with a perfect 17-0 record. The full list of UW-La Crosse qualifiers and their records includes: 125: Quintin Wolbert (14-4) – #10 seed 141: Marcus McIntyre (25-8) 157: Joe Penchi (24-13) – Aquinas graduate 165: Tanner Gerber (30-3) – #3 seed 174: Noah Leisgang (17-0) – #2 seed 184: Tate Flege (25-2) – #4 seed, Aquinas graduate 197: Tyler Dormanen (20-4) – #7 seed 285: Markos Mihalopoulos (20-8) ...read more read less