New London — New London’s three-time defending state champion Marcel Lopez has made his college decision official.
Lopez will continue his wrestling career as a member of Southern Illinois-Edwardsville.
The Cougars are in their infancy stages of Division I wrestling and are associate members of the Mid-American Conference.
They have not had an individual national champion since 1993.
Lopez was named the Dan Gable Mr. Wrestler last year after defeating Lisbon’s Brandon Paez in the state finals.
He has a chance to become just the 30th four-time state champion in Iowa High School wrestling history.