The Pot of Gold awaits 10 NCAA Division I wrestlers, at the Pepsi Arena in Albany, New York this Saturday, March 23^rd, where the "Rainbow" ends and the best collegiate wrestlers in the nation are crowned. Clarion will have 4 NCAA Qualifiers competing this year including Eric Mausser (Jr. Sharon - 197), John Testa (Jr. Newark, De. - hwt.), Rad Martinez (Jr. West Jordan, Utah - 133) and Jeremy Reitz (So. Brookville - 157).

The 72^nd NCAA Division I Wrestling National Championships will get underway on Thursday, March 21^st with Round 1 beginning at 11am. A second prelim round will start at 6:30pm, followed by a round of consolations. Friday has the quarterfinals starting at 10am, with the semi’s slated for 5:30pm Friday night. Saturday will feature the All-America place matches starting at 8am, with the championship finals scheduled for 2pm. Saturday’s early times were a result of ESPN 2's coverage of the event. The championship finals will be aired Saturday at 7:30pm, which is the second year in a row that the finals have been aired with "same day" coverage.

Last year, Minnesota won the 71^st NCAA Division I Nationals at Iowa’s Carver - Hawkeye Arena. The Golden Gophers won the team championship scoring 138.5 team points, edging Iowa who finished with 125.5 in second place and Oklahoma State who was third with 115.5 points. Rounding out top five were Oklahoma in fourth place with 93.5 points and Illinois fifth with 89 points. Minnesota posted 10 All-Americans, which was the first time that had ever been achieved at the D-I National Championships. They were also the only team ever to win an NCAA title without posting a finalist.

Clarion meanwhile scored 4 team points and finished in 42^nd place as a team.

Iowa won the team title in 2000 with 116.0 points, edging Iowa State with 109.5 points. Rounding out the top 5 in 2000 were third place Minnesota with 80 points, fourth place Oklahoma with 69.5 and fifth place Oklahoma State with 66.5. Clarion finished 26^th with 15 points.

The team title in 2002? Minnesota will be the pre-tourney favorite having won the dual meet championship in January over Ohio State. The Big Ten has plenty of talent to challenge Minnesota in Iowa, Michigan, Ohio State. Big 12 teams like Iowa State, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State should be up for a showdown, while the East has Penn and West Virginia who could have the best runs to place high as a team.

Remember this. The Iowa Hawkeyes won 6 straight NCAA titles before last year’s second place finish and 20 NCAA crowns since 1975.

Oklahoma State coach John Smith led the Cowboys to the promised land in 1994. The closest team title in years was in 1999 at the Bryce Jordan Center at Penn State, when Iowa edged Minnesota 100.5 - 98.5 points. That team title was decided in the last match of the tournament when Minnesota heavyweight Brock Lesnar lost a 3-2 decision to Cal-Bakersfield’s Stephan Neal.

Clarion will be led by fifth year head coach Ken Nellis. The Golden Eagles posted a 6-11 dual meet record and a 3-4 mark in the rugged Eastern Wrestling League. Clarion finished 6^th as a team in the recently completed EWL Tournament and qualified four wrestlers to the nationals. The qualifiers include EWL Champions Eric Mausser at 197 and John Testa at heavyweight, plus EWL runner-up Rad Martinez at 133-pounds and Jeremy Reitz, who earned a wild card entry with a fourth place finish at 157-pounds.

Mausser, a junior, defeated Edinboro’s Dave Shunamon 6-3 in the EWL finals two weeks ago and enters the EWL’s with a 31-7 overall record. He is the 2002 PSAC & EWL Champion. Mausser, who is unseeded, has drawn the #1 seed, three-time NCAA Champion Cael Sanderson (Iowa State), possibly the best collegiate wrestler of all-time. Sanderson, who has won three national titles at 184, moved up to 197 pounds this season. He enters the NCAA’s with a season record of 35-0 and a career record of 154-0. He is looking to become the first wrestler in NCAA history to win four titles and finish his career undefeated. Mausser is making his third trip to the NCAA’s. Last year Eric was 2-2 at nationals. In his opening match he was pinned at 5:49 against #5 seed Owen Elzen of Minnesota. That match was a lot closer than the final score. Mausser actually led 3-0 in the second period and 3-2 at the end of two periods, but in the third period while riding Elzen, he was caught and pinned at 5:49. In his first wrestle back match he defeated Lock Haven’s Avery Zerkle 3-2, then continued with a 7-6 win over Ty Matthews of Indiana. In his fourth match he lost a 3-1 decision to #4 seed Rusty Cook of Boise State. Mausser finished the year with a 29-11. Mausser has a 2-4 career NCAA record and has a Clarion career record of 85-34.

Testa, a junior, enters the NCAA’s with a 32-5 overall record this season and is seeded #12. Testa, the 2002 PSAC and EWL Champion, has drawn Navy’s Steve Kovach in the first round. Kovach has notched a 32-6 record this year and placed third in the EIWA Tournament. If Testa wins his first bout he would meet the winner of #5 seed John Lockhart (Illinois) and Eric Webb (Oregon). Lockhart is the defending NCAA Champion at heavyweight, but suffered a significant knee injury in the quarters of the Big Ten Tournament and followed a win there with a medical forfeit the remainder of the tournament.

Last year, Testa was seeded #8 at heavyweight, opened his NCAA Tournament with a 12-3 major decision win over Adrian Thompson (Howard), but lost a 3-2 decision to Oklahoma’s Leonce Crump in round 2 and then lost a 4-2 decision to Kevin Hoy of Air Force and finished the season at 29-6.

Testa is making his third trip to nationals. In 1999 he was 3-2 at nationals after posting a 28-11 record. He enters the NCAA’s with a career record of 89-22, and is a two-time EWL and three-time PSAC Champion.

Martinez, a junior, also had a strong season for the Golden Eagles notching a 28-5 overall record at 133-pounds and placed second at the PSAC and EWL Tournaments. Rad is seeded #12 at 133 pounds and has drawn Penn State’s Marat Tomaev in the first round. The PSU sophomore was 20-11 overall this season and placed 6^th at Big Ten’s to qualify for the NCAA Tournament. The two wrestled in a dual meet at Clarion in December and Martinez defeated Tomaev 8-1. If Mausser were to win, he would get the winner of #5 seed David Douglas (Arizona State) and Dave Hoffman (Va. Tech).

Martinez was unseeded at 133 last year and was 0-2 at the NCAA’s while hampered with an elbow injury suffered in practice prior to the tournament. In his opening bout Rad lost a 9-4 decision to Ben Richards of Oregon State, then in the wrestle backs he lost a 4-1 decision to Nick Boucher of Cleveland State. Martinez has a two-year record at Clarion of 57-15.

Reitz, a sophomore at 157-pounds, is in his first season wrestling at Clarion. Jeremy posted an 18-12 overall record this season and enters the NCAA’s as an unseeded wrestler. Reitz placed fourth at EWL’s. He has drawn unseeded Levi Weikel-Magden (Stanford). Weikel-Magden was 27-11 in the PAC-10 and placed 4^th in punching his ticket for nationals. If Reitz were to win, he would get the winner of #3 seed Luke Becker (Minnesota) and Gabe Webster (Cornell).

Reitz transferred to Clarion last year after wrestling half the season at Penn State. He was 21-7 as a Nittany Lion and has a collegiate record of 39-19. He is from nearby Brookville High School.

CLARION NOTES: The last time the NCAA Tournament was held in the state of New York was in 1964 at Cornell ... Kansas City will host the 2003 NCAA’s ... In 2002 the Heavyweight Weight class is the most talented of them all this year ... Returning All-Americans include national champion John Lockhart, 2001 runner-up Tommy Rowlands (Ohio State), 3^rd placer Garrett Lowney (Minnesota), 4^th placer Leonce Crump (Oklahoma), 6^th Paul Hynek (UNI), 7^th Matt Brink (Michigan) and 8^th Jake Vercelli (Purdue)... Add in #2 seed Stev Mocco (Iowa), #7 seed Jason Cooley (Oregon State) and #8 seed Kevin Hoy (Air Force) and you see what I mean ... Clarion has had tremendous success at the NCAA’s over the years ... 8 individual titles have been won including two by Kurt Angle (1990, 92), two by Wade Schalles (1972, 73), and one each by Sheldon Thomas (1996), Garry Barton (1972), Don Rohn (1973) and Bill Simpson (1973) ... Clarion also has 40 NCAA Div.I All-Americans ... Bryan Stout was Clarion’s only 4-time A-A (1994-97) ... 3-time All-Americans include Kurt Angle (1990-92), Sheldon Thomas (1995-97), Don Rohn (1973, 74, 76) and Charlie Heller (1980-82)... Nellis also led Clarion to a 27^th place finish with 16 points in 1999 and a 24^th place finish in 1998 with 25 points... Bob Bubb who coached Clarion from 1967-92 led Clarion to top team finishes of 4^th in 1973, 6^th in 1972 and 1987 and 8^th in 1992 ... Under Bubb Clarion had 16, top 25 finishes at the NCAA’s and 12, top 20 endings ... Jack Davis (1993-97) led Clarion to a 12^th place finish in 1996, 14^th in 1997 and 15^th in 1994 and 95 .... Clarion has an NCAA match record of 283-236.