DES MOINES — Despite how much the word “excited” is thrown around as a knee-jerk answer from athletes when asked of an upcoming event, wrestlers and coaches meant it when they said they were excited for this weekend.

The 2013 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships will start in less than 24 hours at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines and will serve as the “ultimate advertisement” for the sport in the wake of the International Olympic Committee’s decision to drop it from the Olympic games in 2020.

“The NCAA tournament has the greatest fan support just from sheer numbers and TV exposure than any other wrestling event in the world,” said Penn State coach Cael Sanderson. “Anyone that comes to the national tournament, they’re coming back. That’s just the way it works.

“That’s why the tickets are hard to get because once you’ve witnessed the excitement … you’re going to come back because you’re going to love it here.”

Sanderson, the former ISU wrestler who capped off the only undefeated season in NCAA history, brings in a Penn State team that has won the last two NCAA titles and is looking for a third.

Sanderson also served as the coach for Iowa State before assuming his current post at Penn State.

This year, the championship bouts will feature a new “main event” format that will pit the 165-pound title match as the last one of the session. That match will possibly pit No. 1 Kyle Dake, a three-time NCAA champ of Cornell, and No. 2 David Taylor, the defending 165-pound champ.

“It’s kind of exciting for me at least,” Dake said. “It’s something cool that the NCAA is doing [but] it wouldn’t matter if I was the last match or the first match. Honestly, I could care less; I’ll just go out and wrestle.”

Dake is vying to become the first wrestler in NCAA history to win four titles in four different weight classes. The senior captured the 141-pound title as a freshman, won at 149 as a sophomore and posted his three-peat last season at 157.

This season, Dake is 2-0 against Taylor with 3-2 victories in both matches.

Iowa State is the official host of the tournament, having brought seven qualifiers this season after having a combined nine in the past two tournaments.

For the Cyclones, getting past the recent passing of Willie Gadson, the father of 197-pounder Kyven, has been the main task heading into the tournament.

“We’ve been extremely focused over the last few months,” said ISU coach Kevin Jackson. “It was a major distraction with Kyven going through his situation with his father, but I think he’s dealt with it like a champion.”

Gadson is currently the No. 6 seed at 197 pounds and will put his 23-2 record on the line in vying for a national title in his first season of collegiate competition.

“I’m not sure how much more motivation he needed for a national championship, but obviously his father passing is something that I’ve never had to deal with and he seems to be handling it very, very well,” Jackson said.

Action begins at 10 a.m. Thursday and will go until 7 p.m. Saturday night, when the championship matches for all 10 weight classes begin.

Stay tuned to iowastatedaily.net for live coverage of the event.