The ISU wrestling team placed fourth in Big 12 Championships on Saturday, but came in dead last in the only category that mattered.

Only five Cyclones qualified for the NCAA Tournament – the fewest number of qualifiers out of the five conference teams.

Three of the qualifiers – Nate Gallick (141), Trent Paulson (157) and Kurt Backes (184) – won Big 12 titles in front of the Hilton Coliseum home crowd.

Travis Paulson (165) took third place to continue his season, and Jesse Sundell (133) earned a wild card selection after finishing fourth.

“I’m not happy with the results,” coach Bobby Douglas said. “But I’m satisfied with the team’s best effort.”

Only four ISU wrestlers won their first-round matches. Jason Knipp (149) and Richard Schopf (HWT) finished in fourth place along with Sundell.

“Overall, I don’t think we wrestled as well as we could have,” said Gallick, who became Iowa State’s 11th three-time conference champion.

“The Big 12s are tough.”

Travis Paulson lost his first-round match to Missouri’s sixth-ranked Matt Pell, 4-1. He gave up a takedown with just over a minute left in the first period.

Pell rode him out in the third to close his second victory over Paulson this season.

Sundell lost his first-round match to Missouri’s Tyler McCormick, 7-4. Wrestling for third place, the senior couldn’t come back to beat Nebraska’s Patrick Aleksanyan, falling 10-9.

In the Cyclones last regular-season meet, Sundell pinned the Husker.

Douglas praised the effort of his team.

“They gave us all they had,” Douglas said. “This is the toughest [conference] tournament in the country.”

Oklahoma State easily won their fourth-straight Big 12 title, crowning four champions and sending nine to the national tournament.

Nebraska is also taking nine to nationals. Oklahoma will bring eight and Missouri will take up seven spots in the tournament bracket.