By Luke Plansky

Daily Staff Writer

The second-ranked ISU wrestling team feels it is on the verge of something special.

Nine NCAA Tournament qualifiers from last season, including six All-Americans, are penciled into the Cyclones’ starting lineup, which appears as deep and talented as any in the country.

“This team is as good as we’ve had since I’ve been here, and actually a lot more solid even than any team I was on at Iowa State,” said third-year coach Cael Sanderson. “So we’re looking forward for two years; we have no seniors in our lineup. If we do our job as coaches, and just make sure these guys are sharp and ready to go, we’re going to have a lot of fun.”

That fun could include winning a third-straight conference title, which has never been done by the storied wrestling program. The Cyclones’ returning talent makes them the favorite to defend consecutive Big 12 crowns.

NCAA Tournament All-Americans Nick Fanthorpe (133), Nick Gallick (141), Cyler Sanderson (157), Jon Reader (165), Jake Varner (197) and David Zabriskie (HWT) are back this season. National qualifiers Tyler Clark (125) and Mitch Mueller (149) have tournament experience, while junior Duke Buke (174) transferred from Northern Illinois and is immediately eligible to compete.

Iowa State was seconds away from a second-place finish at last year’s NCAA tournament, but finished fifth. The Cyclones haven’t won an NCAA title since 1987.

“We just need to get it done,” Sanderson said. “We’ve got the talent. We’ve got the work ethic. We’ve have the knowledge and the plan as a staff, and these guys know that they are going to be and feel at their best when they need to be. Now we just need to get it done.”

Had Varner won his NCAA Championship match last March, the Cyclones would have overtaken Ohio State for second place.

Varner lost to the Buckeyes’ Mike Pucillo earned six more seconds of riding time to win on criteria.

Iowa ran away with the championship and, like Iowa State, returns six former All-Americans this season. The Big 12 remains one of the toughest conferences in the nation, with four of its five teams ranked seventh or better nationally.

Though the team wants to win the conference title, Sanderson said winning an NCAA Championship is the team’s primary goal.

“How do we get to be a team that can win the National Championship? We have to be a team that competes every second of the match, that continues to improve every day that we’re in here,” Sanderson said. “Have the right attitude, and we need to have a little fortune along the way and stay injury free … but I think we’re doing everything we need to to win the national championship, but it’s just a matter of stepping out there and taking it.”

Five Cyclones are ranked fifth or better nationally in their weight classes, including fourth-ranked sophomore Jon Reader. He said there is a growing excitement in the room as the season nears.

“We’re a team that’s going to be there at the end,” said Reader, who finished seventh at the NCAA Tournament last season. “I think our team has all the capability in the world; it’s whoever is going to show up. That’s why I don’t think rankings mean anything, because you have to battle no matter what rank you are.”

Reader said he thinks the team believes in each other more than last year, and held each other accountable in the off-season.

The Cyclones returned only one All-American last season, and five of the Cyclones’ junior third-year starters moved up weight classes. Varner, the other third-year starter, moved up a weight class after two straight runner-up finishes.

Only one weight class has yet to be determined, as junior Joe Curran and redshirt freshman Jerome Ward are competing for the 184-pound spot in the lineup.

“There is a lot of excitement that’s going to be created this year,” Curran said. “There is just a feeling — every day you come into the wrestling room, you see somebody that is going to be putting points on the board in Hilton. There are going to be some crowd pleasers, I think, this year.”

The team will open the season with intrasquad wrestle-offs, which are open to the public on Friday at 7 p.m. at Lied Recreation Center. Iowa State has its first dual at Hilton Coliseum next Thursday, hosting Utah Valley.