New London’s Lopez up for Dan Gable Mr. Wrestler of the year

New London's Marcel Lopez, a 106 pound state champion in 2019 has garnered over 1,000 votes for 2020 Dan Gable Mr. Wrestler of the year. The Tiger sophomore was named one of seven Class 1A finalists last week.

The award is being presented by Fareway Stores Inc and Body Armor, along with IAwreslte.com and the Iowa Wrestling Coaches and Officials Association. The IWCOA accepted nominations from high school coaches for student-athletes in each of the three classes, Class 1A, Class 2A and Class 3A.

Fans are able to vote for their favorite wrestler, or the one they think is most deserving, at iawrestle.com. Fans can vote one time per 24 hours in all three classes, and can also vote for Ms. Wrestler of the year, which is in a seperate poll.

The top three voteed wrestlers will receive and offical nomination. Another round of voting will take place to determine the finalists. The IWCOA committee will include the fan vote in their decisions on who will advance to the next round.

All finalists will be invited to the end of season gala, which will be at a time and place to be announced later. The winners will be announced at the gala.

The New London community has rallied together on their social media pages to campaign for votes, some using the hashtag #VoteMarcel. As of 2:30 p.m. on Monday, Lopez is second in Class 1A voting, getting 17.91 percent of the vote. Cael Happel of Lisbon is currently leading the Class 1A poll with 1,974 votes.

Lopez is currently ranked No. 1 at 113 pounds, one weight class up from his state chamiponship season in 2019. He has an 18-0 record.

To read more about the Dan Gable Mr. and Ms. Wrestler of the Year award, visit iawrestle.com/2020/01/13/2020-dan-gable-mr-and-ms-wrestler-of-the-year-vote-top-7/