There has been a lingering sour taste left on the collective palate of the Wisconsin-La Crosse wrestling program since March.

The Eagles finished 19th at the Division III NCAA Championships in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and although the squad had a pair of All-Americans, the expectations were much higher for UWL.

Primarily, the Eagles felt they had a wave of momentum after winning the NWCA National Duals in January and then failed to ride it into the postseason.

With that in mind, UWL head coach Dave Malecek says the Eagles are looking to erase some bad memories this weekend as they defend their title against an elite field of Division III programs in Louisville.

“We just did not wrestle well at regionals or the national tournament and that hurt,” Malecek said. “The team really took that to heart in the offseason and really have come back with purpose.”

The Eagles, off to an 8-0 start with wins over North Central College and Wisconsin-Eau Claire, the five and seven seeds this weekend, already under their belt, will be seeded third behind Wartburg College and Augsburg University.

And Malecek and the Eagles understand circumstances prevented the two Burgs from attending last year’s championships, where the Eagles went 4-0, beating Wabash, 31-9, to win the title. But Malecek says they earned the title regardless of who wasn’t in the field and somebody is going to have to come take it from them this weekend.

“The guys are excited to go to Louisville, wrestle and get tested,” Malecek said. “It is the toughest field I’ve seen and there are a ton of great individuals, great teams. You are going to see some upsets, see some amazing wrestling and you are going to have to put together two really good days, be prepared to battle in every round. That is what we want and we are excited about it.”

And, Malecek says something feels different about this squad, his 17th at UWL.

“I come home and I’m smiling and my wife will ask me, ‘Why are you smiling,’ thinking something is up,” Malecek says. “I just tell her I love this team. They are a bunch of good dudes that come to work, come to get better every day and that makes me smile.”

Both Wartburg and Augsburg have had strong starts to the 2022-23 season.

The Knights will field their full lineup for the first time this weekend as All-American Kris Rumph will appear in the lineup at 149 for the first time, and all-American Joe Pins made his debut at 133 at the Desert Duals just before the winter break.

“It is midseason and I believe that every team is still a work in progress,” Wartburg head coach Eric Keller said. “All the top teams in the country are going to be in Louisville and it is an opportunity to find out where you are at pretty quickly.

“This weekend is fun because it is a learning tool for down the stretch. You see what guys have to fix, where you got to get too…I like learning and winning, but either way, it is an opportunity to learn.”

Keller adds this is an event Wartburg circles on its calendar because it is a different type of championship environment than the one the Knights will see in Roanoke, Virginia in March at the NCAA championships.

“In March everybody is an individual out there doing his own thing, here everybody is together and on top of the mat and supporting each other. It is such a different atmosphere, definitely a fun one,” Keller said.

Ausgburg comes in with just a 2-0 dual record, but the Auggies showed their strength in other ways with dominating performances, including winning a loaded NCC Invitational in December with six individual champions out-distancing the host Cardinals, who are seeded fifth this weekend.

Johnson & Wales is seeded fourth and comes in unblemished this dual season at 8-0. On Dec. 10, the Wildcats picked up wins over New Jersey City University and the University of New York to give head coach Lonnie Morris his 399th and 400th career victories.

Morris became the 31st head coach across all NCAA levels of wrestling to reach 400 dual wins. 

The field is made up of 24 teams. There will be eight preliminary matches to get the field down to 16.

Here are Friday’s first-round pairings:

Baldwin Wallace vs. Dubuque, winner faces UW-Whitewater.

Coe vs. RIT, winner faces North Central

TCNJ vs. Mount Union, winner faces Johnson & Wales

Castleton vs. Olivet, winner faces UW-La Crosse

UW-Platteville vs. Wilkes, winner faces Wabash

Millikin vs. NYU, winner faces Wartburg

Loras vs. Cortland State, winner faces UW-Eau Claire

Averett vs. Luther, winner faces Augsburg