A new twist on the Big 12 wrestling tournament this weekend in Lincoln, Neb. will make the scene a bit different than past years.

Last week, the NCAA released its automatic qualifying spots based on the new system implemented to get the best wrestlers in the country to the NCAA Championships.

The new system uses three criteria to create a specific number of automatic qualifiers at each separate weight class.

To sum it all up, the tougher a certain weight is at the conference tournament, the more qualifiers it receives.

“I think it’s pretty cut and dry with the formula [the NCAA] has,” ISU coach Cael Sanderson said.

“You can’t argue with the procedures that they’ve set up, and as long as it’s followed accurately and consistently, it is what it is.”

Under the old system, the Big 12 tournament’s weights all qualified the top three finishers and the other two wrestlers were then put into an at-large discussion for a wild card spot in the national field.

The new criteria, instead, guarantees that 37 of the 50 entrants at the Big 12 Championships will get into the NCAA Tournament.

Three weights will see each of the five wrestlers qualify for the national tournament before even slipping on a green or red anklet Saturday.

At 165, 197 and HWT, the final criteria determined each weight was allotted five qualifiers, so win or lose, the Cyclone’s Jon Reader (165), Jake Varner (197) and David Zabriskie (HWT) all have their tickets punched to St. Louis for a shot at a national title.

Other weights will also take two, three or four qualifiers.

A concern running throughout the season was whether or not the new system would actually benefit the wrestlers and not affect the conference tournaments. Sanderson doesn’t see it that way at all.

“You know, I really don’t know if it’s going to have the affect that the committee was hoping for,” Sanderson said. “I hope it does…it doesn’t really take into consideration injuries and things like that.

“[The qualifying] shouldn’t have too much effect on our guys. Every match has got to be important because of the pride and the singlet you’re wearing. They know that they have to earn it.”

Regardless of whether a wrestler places in the required spots to qualify, the at-large decision is still a possibility.

This puts the Cyclones, who have all of their wrestlers ranked in the top 20, in a great position to get all 10 individuals to the national championships.

If it were up to Sanderson, however, he doesn’t want to put anything to chance.

“It isn’t a situation where you sit back and hope to get a wild card, because there are no guarantees. If you don’t make it through the Big 12 Conference, we don’t know how they’re going to seed it,” Sanderson said.

A different qualifying standard also could impact the intensity of certain weight classes throughout the nation if there are fewer automatic spots than previous years.

At 149 pounds, the Big 12 is only allotted two qualifiers, making each match that much more important.

A total of 37 automatic qualifiers were allotted to the Big 12 ranging from all five at some weights to as low as the two at 149 pounds.

The National Championships are set to begin March 19, but the final wild card spots will not be released by the NCAA committee until March 11.