Wrestling 10/31/2025 2:41:00 PM

Hawks Wrestling Gearing Up for a Big Season

Palatine, IL: The Hawks wrestling program heads into the 2025–26 season with renewed energy and high expectations. With hard work already underway in the Hawks' Fieldhouse, the team looks to build off the strong foundation laid last year and push toward the program's standard of national-level achievement.

Assistant coach Justin Selby — himself a former individual national champion and part of Harper's 1994 team title — answered some questions and laid out a clear vision for the season. "We focus on getting better every day, in the classroom and on the mat," Selby explained. His emphasis on daily improvement underscores that success is built one drill, one match, one decision at a time.

Selby described the coaching team as unified and complementary, saying "All the coaches have their role to play and we complement each other well." To sharpen technique and conditioning, the staff is locked into a "drill, drill, drill" approach with immediate feedback from coaches. That repetition and attention to detail serve as the training ground for tougher competition ahead.

When asked about the team's chemistry, Selby didn't hold back: "This team has the potential to be one of the best teams I have coached." It's a bold statement that speaks to the belief in this group's work ethic and cohesion. For Selby, success this year is straightforward: "NJCAA Division III National Champs." That goal reflects Harper's championship legacy and underscores how the team is aiming high.

This year's roster mixes returning contributors and a deep incoming class. Notable names on the 2025–26 roster include sophomores Esteban Delgado and Lennon Steinkuehler, and a number of freshmen such as Truth Vesey and several others who will add depth across multiple weight classes. The Hawks' staff list again features Dan Loprieno as head coach with Justin Selby among the assistants. The roster shows the team has options at nearly every weight and room to develop talent through the season.

Harper's schedule gives the team multiple chances to test itself and build toward the district and national qualifier events. Early season invitationals and duals will serve as measuring sticks before region and district competition late in the winter and the NJCAA national championships in March. Those events will reveal how quickly the younger wrestlers adapt and how the team responds to the staff's emphasis on repetition and detail.

Headed into the season, the Hawks have a clear game plan and the confidence to execute it. With a staff committed to fundamentals, a roster ready to rise, and a schedule built for progress, the pieces are in place. The goal is ambitious yet grounded in Harper's tradition: championship level performance. If the team stays true to its daily grind, drills, and unity, the Hawks will be in position to make a serious run.

Keep an eye on the Hawks Fieldhouse for matches streamed on HudlTV.

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Players Mentioned

Esteban Delgado: Sophomore

Lennon Steinkuehler: Sophomore

Samuel Sikorsky: Freshman

Truth Vesey: Freshman

Players Mentioned

Esteban Delgado
: Sophomore

Lennon Steinkuehler
: Sophomore

Samuel Sikorsky
: Freshman

Truth Vesey
: Freshman