Men’s wrestling picked seventh in preseason poll

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – The Simpson College men's wrestling team was picked seventh in the American Rivers Conference Preseason Coaches Poll, as announced by the league office on Friday afternoon.

For the third year in a row, Wartburg sits atop the poll as favorites to win the 2022-23 league championship. The Knights went 13-1 (8-0 A-R-C) last season and received eight first-place votes (coaches are not permitted to vote for their own teams) in the poll for a total of 64 points. Loras (53 points) captured the final first-place vote to come in third behind Coe, which garnered 54 points to rank second.

Simpson (21 points) finished last season with a 7-7 overall record, tying the team's win total from the 2014-15 campaign as the highest in a season since 2005-06. The Storm are eager to continue building under the direction of head coach Dylan Peters, who returns for his fourth season.

"I look forward to this upcoming season," said Peters. "Our team is filled with many great leaders. Having the ability to have multiple fifth-year guys come back and continue the improvement of the program is exciting."

Among those coming back for a fifth year are Dylan McChesney (125) and Shyler Langley (174). McChesney, a 2021 All-American, is coming off a 20-5 season which ended with a seventh place finish at regionals. He boasted an 11-match win streak midway through the season and was Simpson's pins leader for the fourth year in a row with 13. Langley led the Storm with 27 overall wins and 10 dual victories in 2021-22. He also topped the team in bonus-point victories, compiling nine pins, four technical falls and three major decisions.

Senior Zach Stewart (141) also returns to the mat after posting a 22-8 record in his first season with the Storm last year. Stewart went 9-2 in dual action and tallied a team-high six major decisions to go with five pins and a technical fall. Robert Silva (157) is back for his senior campaign after finishing fourth on the team with 17 wins last year.

"The Simpson wrestling program has a different environment than in years past," said Peters. "Competing in the American Rivers Conference is always a challenge. I'm excited to see where the team stacks up against the nation's best programs."

Simpson starts the new season on Nov. 3 at home against Cornell. The Storm will host the annual Luther Hill Invitational two days later and compete in their first league dual at Wartburg on Nov. 9.