Eureka College wrestlers and coaches are gearing up to prepare for their 2025-2026 season; with it the Red Devil wrestlers face change, excitement, and proper preparation to achieve the goals a Eureka wrestler may have.
A change for the Women’s team that affects future Red Devil wrestlers, as well as current members of the team, is the NCAA Women’s Wrestling championship.
Flo Wrestling is a website used to stay up to date on personal and team statistics, as well as changes made within organizations like the NCAA. In a recent article published on Flo, there’s a breakdown of the one hundred and twelve schools offering women’s teams at the collegiate level, publicizing 6 Division I schools, 36 Division II schools, and 70 Division III schools. Flo mentions in the article, “College athletics change by the minute. We could be in for a wild ride.”
The article also states, “Division III programs do not offer athletic scholarships and are at a competitive disadvantage against their D1 and D2 counterparts. Women’s college wrestling is likely headed toward an athletic scholarship (D1 & D2) and a non-athletic scholarship division (D3).”
This split in the NCAA is just a possibility for future women wrestlers, but the first big step was creating a sanctioned championship held under the name of the NCAA. Originally, Women’s wrestling was held through the National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Championships (NCWWC) due to it not being sanctioned through the NCAA.
According to an article published by the NCAA, “The NCAA added women’s wrestling as its 91st championship sport, providing another athletics opportunity for female athletes to compete.” Before the addition, the NCAA wasn’t in control of women’s wrestling.
A Eureka College wrestler, this firsthand affects is Natallie Tobuk. Tobuk from Nome, Alaska, is a junior at Eureka College studying Kinesiology and Exercise Science.
She has been wrestling for 17 years, which is why her decision to grey shirt is impactful on the program. Tobuk explains, “Grey shirting is when an athlete decides to take a full season off from competition to save that year of eligibility for future use.”
The biggest change for this season that Tobuk expresses is, “I will not be able to wrestle in any duals, closed tournaments, or invitationals … but this will allow me to focus even more on my teammates and their successes while continuing to get stronger on and off the mat.”
Even though competition is limited for Tobuk, she explains, “I am excited to be able to go to open tournaments to compete alongside my teammates, even though I will be unattached to the school.” Tobuk is ready to face these changes, challenges, and hidden opportunities head-on.
Another change the Red Devil wrestlers are facing this season is the addition of coaches. The Red Devils have welcomed Assistant Coach Brandon Music, Assistant Coach Guy Patron, and Student Coach Thomas Culp to the team.
Assistant Coach Brandon Music started his college coaching career at a Division III college in Indiana, then went on to coach at a Division II college in Michigan, and most recently just got done coaching a high school team in LaPorte, Indiana.
Music’s biggest motivation for coaching at Eureka College is “Just being a part of building something, which was part of the big draw here, and then meeting Coach Biehl and talking to him and having similar values. We’re trying to start something here, he’s done a good job of laying out the groundwork work and I just want to continue to help him build.”
Thomas Culp originally wrestled for Coach Eric Biehl at Lincoln College before it closed down, and then transferred to Eureka College to continue to wrestle for his coach and with most of his teammates. Just last year, Culp was finishing his senior season as a wrestler on the team, and this year he returns as a student coach while he finishes his classes at Eureka.
Culp explains, “Transitioning into a new role hasn’t been an easy switch … Going from practicing alongside them every day to now motivating and coaching them has forced me to take on a completely different perspective. It’s definitely a challenge, but it’s also been rewarding to support the team in a new way.”
Head Men’s and Women’s Wrestling Coach Eric Biehl gave insight into some of the physical changes made in preparation for this season. “We raised the floor up; that was a huge change … We did a lot of painting, added some cabinets to a wall … we’re getting ready to put all conference boards up, and we got locker name plates for the athletes. We’re knocking off little things every year.”
The Red Devil Women’s Wrestling team has 13 guaranteed meets this season with 7 athletes competing, and the Men’s team has 14 meets with roughly 24 athletes competing. The first tournament for the men’s team is on November 1st, 2025. The first duel for both teams will be held on November 6th, 2025, at Blackburn College.
Of those meets, 3 are hosted at Eureka in the Regan Gym. Eureka College also hosts the SLIAC Conference Championships on February 13th and 14th, 2026.
The Red Devil Wrestling team has been taking initiative and working toward proper preparation to achieve goals throughout the season despite all the changes that surround the team.
