The congregation of talent at Saturday’s Kaufman-Brand Open led Travis Paulson to call it a “mini-national tournament.”

And with Iowa in the 42-team field, the seventh-ranked ISU wrestling team has even more motivation to fare well in the nation’s largest single-day college meet.

Oklahoma State, Iowa and Minnesota are some of the teams Paulson said he is looking forward to wrestling.

Approximately 650 wrestlers in two divisions are expected to crowd the mats of the Sapp Fieldhouse in Omaha.

“I’m really excited for this tournament,” said Paulson, who was named the outstanding wrestler of the meet in his freshmen season in 2003.

“Some of my top guys are going to be there. This is a really good measuring point to see where you are at the beginning of the year, so I’m really pumped.”

Paulson said winning the meet as a freshman gave him confidence for the rest of the season, which is why the junior was anxious to see the results of the younger Cyclones in the meet.

Iowa State didn’t wrestle in the tournament last year, but in 2003, three Cyclones were crowned champions. Travis, his brother Trent Paulson and eventual national champion Zach Roberson received the honor.

Coach Bobby Douglas said the tournament is reliably competitive.

“Usually, guys who do well for us in the Brand Tournament usually do well all season,” Douglas said. “There are great opponents. It’s a very tough tournament and I’m looking forward to it.”

Nate Gallick (141) and Grant Nakamura (125) both finished second at the 2003 Kaufman-Brand Open, and Kurt Backes (184) placed third.

Travis and Trent each won their titles at 157 and 149, respectively.

The Kaufman-Brand is the Cyclones’ last before the annual dual with the Hawkeyes on Dec. 2.

“Iowa is going to be there this weekend, so when I think about it, I want to wrestle the Iowa guy and get it in his mind that he doesn’t want to wrestle me in the dual,” Travis said. “I want to wrestle him tough and get the point across.”

Douglas said he just wants his team to get time on the mat.

“It’s a good warm-up for Iowa,” Douglas said.

Wrestling team notes

After missing both meets last weekend, Douglas said Backes is tentative to compete on Saturday … Gallick will compete in the NWCA All-Star Classic on Monday in Stillwater, Okla. He will face Oklahoma’s Teyon Ware in a matchup of last year’s NCAA championship final … Douglas was recognized earlier this week as the 2005 recipient of the ISU Alumni Impact Award, both for his work as head coach and his hand in wrestling in the state of Iowa. “I’m just trying to do a good job of graduating our people and helping them reach their goals,” Douglas said. “If people feel I’m doing an exceptional job, I’m flattered. But most of the credit should go to our kids and assistants.”