The ISU wrestling team will try to stay hot this Saturday as it heads to Columbia, Mo., for the 2003 Big 12 Championships.

The Cyclones ended the regular season by winning their final three meets — one against defending Big 12 champion Oklahoma.

Overall, ISU wrestling coach Bobby Douglas has had an up and down season thus far, but said his team has shown vast improvement since the beginning of the season.

“Our conditioning is much improved and we’ve put a lot of time in at getting better in situations where we’ve fallen short,” Douglas said.

Besides a team win, Douglas wants one thing out of this tournament — qualifiers for the NCAA Championships.

“We want to send as many people as we can to the national tournament so we can get experience for the future,” Douglas said. The top three finishers in each weight class get a berth in the NCAA tournament along with six wild card selections.

Douglas is looking for strong performances from his two seniors — Aaron Holker (141 pounds) and Austen Palmer (184 pounds).

“We’re looking for them to have a good tournament since it’s their last,” Douglas said.

Douglas is also hoping for good outputs from sophomores 165-pounder Nick Passolano and heavyweight Scott Coleman, along with 133-pound junior Zach Roberson.

With only two seniors on the squad, the team is not taking as much experience into the tournament as they did last year.

As a team, Douglas wants to climb out of the bottom of the Big 12 at this meet.

“We’re in the cellar right now and we want to get out of it,” Douglas said. “We want our young guys to do their best and look at this as a motivational tournament.”

Douglas said the 141-pound weight class will be the toughest in the tournament.

“All five wrestlers in that class could be All-Americans,” he said.

Holker, the defending 141-pound Big 12 and national champion, said he is not fazed by the toughness of his class. “I feel a little pressure, but I’m just going to go out and wrestle the same I always have,” Holker said.

Hampered by elbow and shoulder injuries throughout the season, Holker is feeling primed for the Big 12 Championships. “I got a lot of rest last week and that helped quite a bit,” Holker said.