First-year coach Kevin Jackson will be leading all 10 of his Cyclone wrestlers to the 2009-’10 season finale beginning Thursday at the NCAA Championships in Omaha, Neb. After a successful bout in his first year, leading his team to a 13–2 record and a 4–0 conference record, Jackson will be expecting big things from his Cyclones in the season’s last stand.

“It’s going to take all-out complete wrestling. It’s going to take our best effort,” said Jackson, who took over for Cael Sanderson after Sanderson departed to take the head coaching job at Penn State. “It’s going to take the best technical, tactical wrestling that we’ve done all year. That’s what we pointed toward is for this to be the highlight of our year, for us to wrestle our very best in this event.”

Iowa State has two No. 1 seeds in the tournament — Jake Varner at 197 pounds and David Zabriskie at Heavyweight. Both seniors, Varner is a three-time NCAA finalist and reigning national champion, while Zabriskie is a two-time All-American and three-time Big 12 champion.

Varner has beaten his archrival, Nebraska’s Craig Brester, twice this season en route to compiling a perfect 26–0 record. Last year, Varner beat Brester by a decision of 2-1 to take the crown at 197 pounds after two consecutive runner-up performances at 184 pounds.

“I’m having to calm him down, he’s bubbling with excitement,” Jackson said of Varner. “He can’t wait to get his hands on someone and make his run at his fourth NCAA final and try to win his second national championship.”

Despite the tension building up to this event, Varner insists that last year’s championship run didn’t bring any new insight than his first two years in the tournament did.

“I don’t know if I learned anything new than I did in years before,” Varner said. “It’s just hard work. I’ve been in those positions before and I know what it takes to do what you’ve got to do to win. I made sure I did all the right things that I had done in previous years, and I think it’s going to pay off.”

Last year, Zabriskie was fresh off his second Big 12 title coming into the NCAA Tournament with the No. 1 seed. After three straight decisions, Zabriskie lost to Duke’s Konrad Dudziak in the semifinals by a 3–2 decision to drop to the wrestlebacks, where he was then pinned by Iowa’s Dan Erekson to land in the fifth-place match. It was there that he beat Kent State’s Jermaine Porter by a 4-2 decision to place fifth.

Even though Zabriskie is once again the No. 1 seed in the tournament, he says last year’s experience has helped him learn from his past mistakes.

“I went in there and didn’t really have my head on straight,” Zabriskie said of last year’s semifinal match against Dudziak. “It’s my senior year, and I have to go out there and I have to give it everything I can every match. In the semifinals last year I left a little bit out on the mat and I didn’t really wrestle my match, so I kind of attribute that to the reason why I lost.”

The only Cyclone wrestler to fail to earn an automatic bid, sophomore Jerome Ward, earned an at-large bid to the tournament, making him the 10th qualifier for the Cyclones. Ward was one of three Big 12 wrestlers to receive an at-large bid after failing to earn one of the Big 12’s four automatic bids at 184 pounds after placing fifth at the Big 12 Championships.

“From a mental standpoint, the last 10 days have been very strong for [Ward],” Jackson said. “We’re expecting him to be at his best. We’ve always had high expectations for him and we get very disappointed when he doesn’t perform well. I don’t think it’s a physical thing, I thought it was more mental than anything else. I’m encouraged by what I’ve seen over the last 10 days.”

Ward will be facing Boise State’s Kirk Smith, who is the No. 1 seed at 184 pounds. Ward and Smith squared off in the first round of last year’s tournament, with Smith winning by a 3–1 decision to advance.

Redshirt freshman Andrew Long, who earned a No. 5 seed at 125 pounds, is Iowa State’s standout newcomer to the tournament. Long compiled a 23-6 record throughout the season and has a record of 6-6 against fellow NCAA qualifiers.

Two other newcomers to the tournament for the Cyclones are sophomores Dalton Jensen (141) and Andrew Sorenson (157). Jensen is 13–14 on the season after taking over for injured All-American Nick Gallick, who will seek a medical redshirt at the end of the season. Sorenson won the starting spot over junior Nate Carr Jr. to go 26-7, tying Varner for the most wins on the team.

Senior Mitch Mueller, a native of Iowa City, will be making his fourth NCAA trip, having yet to place in the event. Having compiled a career record of 6-6 at the event, Mueller will be persistent in leaving it all out on the mat for his last shot at glory.

“Anything prior to this doesn’t matter,” Mueller said. “It’s a new tournament, a fresh start. It’s my last chance and that’s the way I’m looking at it.”

Mueller earned a No. 7 seed at 149 pounds after placing second at the Big 12 Championships, earning him the second automatic bid at his weight class.

The other two Cyclones to earn seeded rankings are senior Nick Fanthorpe (No. 10 at 133) and junior Jon Reader (No. 4 at 165), both of whom placed second at the Big 12 Championships.

“You know what to expect in that kind of environment,” said Reader, a two-time All-American. “You get down there and you’re not going to be around your team a whole lot, it’s not like a dual meet tournament. You’re kind of separated from your team a little bit, but you’ve got to go down there and get the job done, and that’s what we’re expecting to do.”