The current configuration of the Great Lakes Conference was first established for the 2012-2013 season.
2012-2013
McKendree University won the inaugural GLC Tournament in a three team race which included Lindenwood-Belleville and GVSU. Each of those three would finish in the top-ten at the NCWA National Championships, with McKendree finishing as Runners-Up, GVSU in fifth, and Lindenwood-Belleville in seventh. The University of Michigan WC earned the first All-American honor in program history.
In 2013, three individuals made a huge splash on the national scene.
Carl Worthy of GVSU capped an impressive career, earning his fourth All-American honor. His four years competing in the NCWA are regularly regarded as the deepest years of competition, with numerous transitioning varsity programs calling the NCWA and the GLC home during this time.
Brendan Murphy made history - becoming the first wrestler in the NCWA to win a National Championship at two different schools. Murphy wrestled in the 133 pound final in 2011 (Runner-Up) and 2012 (Champion) for SIUe. He finished his career with a National Championship at 133 for McKendree University.
Grand Valley State’s Frank Bastien recorded seven wins, six by fall, to earn third place at 235. His six pins in a single National Tournament is a record to this day.
2013-2014
With most of the transitioning programs moved on to their new division, the GLC picked up Davenport University - a new program transitioning to varsity NAIA status. GVSU landed in a familiar spot, earning another fifth place finish. Saginaw Valley State University crowned their first All-American.
2014-2015
Grand Valley State barely snuck into the top-ten, finishing a half point ahead of the eleventh place team. Davenport University, in the final year of transition to a varsity NAIA program, crowned two National Champions, their first two All-Americans in program history. On the strength of two placers, Saginaw Valley State earned a top-ten finish in NCWA division two.
2015-2016
Newcomer University of Wisconsin WC would make an impact at the 2016 GLC tournament, finishing second - ahead of longstanding programs at Toledo, Mott, and Ohio State, but behind Grand Valley State.
Defiance College, with only two participants at the National Tournament, made a run - finishing tenth in division two, with both wrestlers earning All-American honors, the first in program history. Henry Ford College, the University of Akron, and the University of Michigan-Dearborn claimed their first All-American honors as well.
Marina Goocher became the first female All-American from the GLC, winning the National Championship at 130 for the University of Michigan-Dearborn.
With four wrestlers returning to the podium and four new All-Americans, GVSU finished third overall, and second in division one to go along with a Runner-Up finish at the National Duals.
Zachary Cooper dominated the 141 bracket, earning Most Outstanding Wrestler of the National Tournament. He earned a three minute, five second technical fall in the national championship match to avenge his only loss of the season!
2016-2017
Despite losing five All-Americans from the previous season, GVSU made a splash at the National Duals, finishing third, the highest placing non-scholarship team. They would use the points earned there and six All-American awards to finish fourth overall at the NCWA Collegiate Championships. On the strength of three All-Americans, the University of Akron finished seventeenth overall and fourth in NCWA Division Two.
Zachary Vatalare, from the University of Michigan WC, joined rare company, claiming his fourth All-American award - culminating with an appearance in the championship bout.
Vatalare and Kyler Slade, of The Ohio State University WC, each made the first national championship bout appearance in the history of their programs.
GVSU Coach Rick Bolhuis was inducted into the NCWA Hall of Champions section of the Hall of Fame, for his accomplishments on the mat in the NCWA and his continued involvement in coaching and conference leadership.
2017-18
Kent State University at Tuscarawas, a member of the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA), made their debut in the Great Lakes Conference. Kent State-Tuscarawas finished third at the USCAA National Invite with two individual finalists, prior to beginning the NCWA postseason.
Additionally, Macomb Community College completed their debut season in the NCWA. KS-T and Macomb each qualified six wrestlers to the NCWA National Tournament.
For the second year in-a-row, GVSU placed third at the NCWA National Duals. The Lakers would go on to claim the conference championship.
Five programs from the GLC claimed an All-American honor at the NCWA National Championships.
With two All-Americans apiece, GVSU, Toledo, and Mott each placed in the top fifteen overall and in NCWA D1, placing twelfth, thirteenth, and fifteenth respectively.
Toledo and Mott each put two wrestlers in the championship bout. The GLC had both finalists at 133, with Arthur Payne of Mott defeating De’Ante Evans of Toledo. Zack Blevins won a national championship at 141 for Toledo and Jerron Thomas of Mott was the runner-up at 184.
Additionally, Akron placed sixteenth overall and second in NCWA D2 on the strength of Shane Brown’s run to the finals at 174. This was Brown’s third All-American award.
Also claiming a third All-American honor was Harun Bogdanic of GVSU with a fourth place finish at 235. Brendan DeVries finished seventh at 184 for GVSU. The remaining All-American was Seth Brennock of The Ohio State University Wrestling Club, finishing fifth at 235.
In the first year of recognizing a team All-Academic award, GVSU won the GLC award and finished sixth in the national rankings with a team GPA of 3.315.
2018-19
The 2018-19 year saw a realignment of the NCWA conference borders. The Great Plains Conference was collapsed and the programs reallocated to different conferences. The Great Lakes Conference regained the states of Iowa and Minnesota. This was a homecoming of sorts for the Iowa State University Wrestling Club, the University of Minnesota-Duluth, the University of Iowa Wrestling Club, and Winona State University, who were members of the North Central Conference prior to the last realignment.
For the third consecutive year, GVSU placed third at the National Duals after winning the conference duals championship. The University of Toledo earned their highest placement to date at the National Duals, finishing in eighth. The University of Akron hosted the East Regional Duals, won by Mott Community College.
Mott Community College won their first Great Lakes Conference Championship - winning three weight classes and out-distancing Grand Valley by two-and-a-half points. The depth of the GLC was evident and left all programs excited for the National Championships.
The GLC recorded a banner year at the NCWA National Championships, with nine men’s programs with at least one All-American, earning twenty-four honors all together. Only 2012, with mostly transitioning teams, saw more programs and more All-Americans than the 2019 season.
JT Mullins of Mott Community College earned a National Championship at 165 with Brendan Hazelton (GVSU), Zach Blevins (Toledo), Major Moore (Toledo), and Jerron Thomas (Mott) recording runner-up finishes.
Hazelton, Thomas, D’Ante Evans (Toledo), Costas Hatzipavlides (Iowa State), and Kyler Slade (tOSUwc) earned their third NCWA All-American Honors in 2019. Elijah Nash, on the strength of a fifth place finish at 125, became the first All-American for Kent State University-Tuscarawas.
In the first year of the Grand Championships competition, where finishes from the National Duals, Regional Duals, and National Championships are combined to calculate a full-season National Champion, Mott (fourth), GVSU (fifth), and Toledo (eighth) earned team All-American honors!
In the women’s championships, two programs recorded an All-American, with Marina Goocher recording her fourth NCWA National Championship!