NAPERVILLE – North Central – which won last season’s College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) Men’s Wrestling Championship and has swept the last six regular-season dual schedules – is the preseason favorite to win the league again in 2023-24, according to a preseason coaches’ poll conducted last month.

2023-24 Preseason CCIW Men's Wrestling Coaches' Poll

Team (First-place votes)	Points
1. North Central (8)	80
2. Millikin (2)	74
3. Wheaton	53
T4. Augustana	49
T4. Aurora	49
6. Concordia Wisconsin	48
7. Elmhurst	45
8. Carthage	22
9. MSOE	20
10. Lakeland	10

The Cardinals were the recipient of eight first-place votes and 80 points in the poll. NCC, which finished fourth at the NCAA Division III Championship last season, was ranked seventh nationally in a preseason poll released by the National Wrestling Coaches Association on Tuesday.
 
Millikin, which won three consecutive CCIW Championships from 2020 through 2022, was the runner up in Wednesday’s league rankings. The Big Blue collected two first-place votes for 74 points. MU was also ranked nationally in the preseason NWCA poll, checking in at a tie for #21.
 
Wheaton was third in Wednesday’s CCIW poll with 53 points, while Augustana and Aurora tied for fourth with 49 points apiece. The bottom half of the rankings were rounded by Concordia Wisconsin, Elmhurst, Carthage, MSOE and Lakeland.
 
The 2023-24 season officially begins Thursday night when Millikin travels to Milwaukee, Wis. for CCIW duals against MSOE and Concordia Wisconsin. The 2024 CCIW Championship will be hosted by Elmhurst on Thursday, Feb. 15.