STORM LAKE, Iowa (Oct. 30, 2025) - The Buena Vista men's wrestling team has a strong and veteran group of wrestlers returning to the mat this season and will look to lead the program as it continues to build going into the 2025-26 campaign.

Eight of the team's top-nine individual win totals from last year's line-up are set to take the mat again this year. Seniors Tyler Japp, Luis Salazar, Trevor Kruse, Hayden Stout will give the roster a veteran presence as a strong corps of newcomers work to make an impact in the early going with hopes of vying for spots into the dual line-up.

Buena Vista was 1-13 in duals last season and 0-8 in conference action and picked to finish ninth in this year's A-R-C Preseason Coaches Poll.

 Japp, along with sophomore Jesus Olivares will be among those at the lower weights looking to get the action started. Japp has been on the mat the previous three seasons and brings the experience to the lower part of the line-up where most of his action. He picked up nine overall wins a season ago which was tied for second-most. Olivares was the team's leader with 11 wins last season and was tied for the team lead with four falls.

Stout is among the veterans returning in the middle of the line-up with Kruse, along with sophomore Aiden Kirk and junior Colton O'Hern, among the leaders in the upper weights.

Fifth-year head coach Sean White is excited for his group of newcomers that will be added to the mix with several vying for potential spots in the varsity dual line-up.

After nearly a month of preseason practice, the Beavers will begin their schedule on Saturday, Nov. 1, at the Luther Hill Invitational, hosted by Simpson College. On Thursday, Nov. 7, it travels to Briar Cliff University for the first of four straight duals. The final one of those is also the American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) opener at Loras College on Thursday, Nov. 20.

The team's first home action of the year is the annual BVU Open on Saturday, Dec. 6, inside of the Lamberti Recreation Center. It's first home dual is against Nebraska Wesleyan University on Thursday, Jan. 15 and a week later is a non-conference home match-up against St. John's University on Jan. 22. Those two competitions lead up to the A-R-C Duals on Jan. 24 with BVU facing Central College, defending champion, Wartburg College, and the University of Dubuque.

Postseason action will all be in the state of Iowa this season with the Lower Midwest Regional Tournament taking place in Dubuque on Feb. 27-28 while the NCAA DIII National Tournament is held in Cedar Rapids on Mar. 13-14.