NCAA WRESTLING NATIONALS

The 77^th NCAA Division I Wrestling Championship will begin on Thursday March 15^th and end on St. Patrick’s Day (March17th). The NCAA Wrestling Pot of Gold awaits 10 NCAA Division I wrestlers at "The Palace at Auburn Hills" on Saturday, March 17th, where the "Rainbow" ends and the best collegiate wrestlers in the nation are crowned. Clarion will have 1 NCAA Qualifier competing this year in A.J. Brooks (HWT, So. Lewes, Delaware).

The 77th NCAA Division I Wrestling National Championships will get underway on Thursday, March 15th 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 11am, with the semi’s slated for 7:00pm Friday night. Saturday will feature the All-America place matches starting at 10:00am, with the championship finals scheduled for 8:00pm live on ESPN.

Brooks, a sophomore at Clarion with an 18-11 record this season, qualified for nationals with a second place finish at the EWL (Eastern Wrestling League) Championships. He will wrestle Missouri’s Mark Ellis in the first round. Ellis, not seeded in the tournament, is a red-shirt freshman and finished third in the Big 12 Tournament two weeks ago to qualify for the NCAA’s.

Brooks, who was seeded sixth at the 2007 EWL’s, won two key matches to get to the finals. He opened the EWL’s on Saturday with a 4-2 win in the second overtime period against Pitt’s Zach Sheaffer. Sheaffer was the 2005 EWL heavyweight champion. Then Brooks used a takedown with 36-seconds left in overtime to defeat WVU’s #2 seeded Dustin Rogers 3-1 to advance to the EWL (Eastern Wrestling League) finals. Brooks lost a 5-3 decision to Bloomsburg’s Mike Spaid in the finals. Brooks was 14-18 as a freshman and finished 4^th at the EWL Championships, just missing a qualifying spot to nationals. He has a two-year record of 32-29.

Clarion first year head coach Teague Moore, no stranger to the wars at D-I Nationals, is preparing Brooks for Ellis. "We want to be aggressive, but smart at the same time," said Moore. "The best thing for AJ is to relax, wrestle his own match and let the chips fall where they may."

Minnesota seems to be heavily favored in the team race, even though Oklahoma State has won four straight team titles. Minnesota, the last team to win other than OSU, won the team crown in 2002 and 2001. Also vying for the team title will be Missouri and Iowa State.

Last year in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma State won the NCAA team title going away with 122.5 points, while Minnesota was second with 84 points and Oklahoma was third with 80.5.

In 2005 at the Savvis Center in St. Louis, Oklahoma State won the team title with 153 points, while Michigan was second with 83 at Oklahoma third with 77.5 points. 2005 was also the 75^th Anniversary Year for NCAA Division I Wrestling where Clarion’s Wade Schalles and Kurt Angle were honored as two of the top 15 wrestlers in the first 75-years of collegiate wrestling.

In 2004 in St. Louis, Oklahoma State won title with 123.5 points, Iowa was second 82 points and Lehigh and Ohio State tied for third with 77.5 points.

In 2003 Oklahoma State won the 73^rd NCAA D-I Nationals held at the Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Missouri, with 143 points, while two-time defending champion Minnesota finished second with 104.5.

In 2002 Minnesota won the 72^nd NCAA Division I Nationals at the Pepsi Arena in Albany, New York. The Golden Gophers scored 126.5 points, besting Iowa State who was second with 104 and Oklahoma who was third with 101.5.

In 2001 Minnesota won the nationals at Iowa’s Carver - Hawkeye Arena 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. Minnesota was the only team to win an NCAA title without posting a finalist. Clarion was 42^nd with 4 points.

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.

CLARION NOTES: Clarion did not have an NCAA Qualifier last year (2006) for the first time since going to the D-I Nationals in 1967... In 2005 Clarion had 2 wrestlers at nationals Frank Edgar (141) and Chris Horning (157), with Chris Horning earning A-A status with an 8^th place finish... 2005 was also the year that Clarion stood tall at the 75^th Anniversary of the NCAA Wrestling Championships ... 15 wrestlers were named the best of All-Time.. Clarion’s Kurt Angle and Wade Schalles were named 2 of the top 15 collegiate wrestlers of All-Time... 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 43 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)... 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 .... Ken Nellis led the Eagles from 1998-2006 and his top team finish was 24^th in 1998 and 26^th in both 2000 and 2003... Clarion has an NCAA match record of 310-268 since 1967.