ROANOKE, Va. – For the second straight year, Augsburg University’s Victor Gliva (JR, Farmington, Minn./Farmington HS) was named as the recipient of the NCAA Elite 90 Award as the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average at the NCAA Division III Wrestling National Championships, it was announced on Saturday. He was presented with the award by Augsburg Athletic Director Jeff Swenson prior the national title round on Saturday night at the Berglund Center in Roanoke.
According to the NCAA: “The Elite 90, an award founded by the NCAA, recognizes the true essence of the student-athlete by honoring the individual who has reached the pinnacle of competition at the national championship level in his or her sport, while also achieving the highest academic standard among his or her peers. The Elite 90 is presented to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average participating at the finals site for each of the NCAA’s championships.”
An accounting major with a 4.00 grade-point average, Gliva has earned National Wrestling Coaches Association Division III Scholar All-America honors in both 2017 and 2018. Last year, Gliva was also named to the Google Cloud Academic All-America (men’s at-large first team) and Academic All-District squads by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
It’s the fourth time an Augsburg student-athlete has earned NCAA Elite 90 honors since the program started in the 2009-10 school year. In addition to Gliva’s honors this year and last year, Lauren Rice earned the honor for women’s indoor track and field in 2014, and Tony Valek earned the honor for wrestling in 2012.
A two-time All-American and three-time NCAA Division III national tournament qualifier, Gliva finished fifth in the 125-pound weight class at the 2019 NCAA Division III National Championships, going 3-2 with two pins, including a second-period pin in the fifth-place match. Gliva finished eighth at the 2017 national tournament at 125, after winning the NCAA West Regional qualifying tournament title. He finished as NCAA Upper Midwest Regional runner-up each of the last two seasons. In his high school career at Farmington, he was a three-time state tournament qualifier, with a 2016 Minnesota state title and 2015 runner-up finish to his credit.
He finished 28-7 in his junior campaign, with nine pins, three technical falls and six major decisions. In his Augsburg career, he is now 89-22, with 24 pins, nine technical falls and 19 major decisions.
Gliva is the son of Augsburg wrestling alumnus Steve Gliva ’85, who was an NCAA Division III national titlist at 118 pounds in 1984, and holds the distinction of being the only Auggie wrestler ever to earn five All-American honors (three NCAA, two NAIA). The Glivas are the second father-son duo to ever earn All-America honors in Augsburg wrestling history, joining the Adams — father Bob ’83 and son Jason ’10.
Augsburg claimed its 13th wrestling national championship at the Division III national meet over the weekend, with four Auggies winning individual national titles, among seven competitors that earned All-American honors.
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