One of the more experienced weight classes in the country is 174 lbs. However, no wrestler in the country has yet to consistently prove that they belong in the same class as Oklahoma State's Chris Pendleton, the defending national champion, and Missouri's Ben Askren, last year's NCAA runner-up.    It would take a major upset for either one of these two wrestlers not to be in the finals this year. Last year, after Askren had downed Pendleton in the Big XII Tournament, Pendleton dominated Missouri's freshman phenom in the NCAA finals, nearly winning by a major decision.    While their wrestling styles may be contrasting, their attitudes are very similar. Both Pendleton and Askren want to not only win, but do so in dominating fashion.    Pendleton has defeated Askren twice this year. Those are the only losses on the year for Askren. Pendleton's only loss is to E.K. Waldhaus of Oklahoma in a Bedlam dual, where anything can happen. Waldhaus has fizzled at the end of the season.    Despite the power at the top of this weight, it is still very deep. Everyone seeded down to No. 12 will have a legitimate chance at earning an All-American place.    Pete Friedl of Illinois is the third seed. His losses this year are to Pendleton, fourth seed Jake Herbert of Illinois and ninth seed Eric Hauan of Northern Iowa. But his win over Herbert in the Big Ten finals sealed a No. 3 seed, putting him on the same side as Askren.     Herbert must now try to get through Cornell's Joe Mazzurco, the fifth seed, before getting a shot at Pendleton. But many in the wrestling world were hoping for a matchup between Herbert, the top freshman at 174 this year, and Askren, who provides a similar style of wrestling.    Central Michigan's Mitch Hancock is one of nine Chippewa wrestlers in this tournament, but he may be the best one. As the sixth seed, he sits on the same side as Friedl.    Travis Frick of Lehigh has not been as steady this year as he has been in the past couple of years, but he is still very dangerous. He is one of the toughest draws in this tournament, and he also has a couple of prior matchups with Pendleton. He knows how to wrestle with the best.    Andy Roy of Rutgers has also been solid this year. He had one nasty loss earlier in the year, but he also went overtime with Friedl. A red flag on his season may be getting majored by Mazzurco at the EIWA Tournament.       Top 4 Seeds: 1. Chris Pendleton (Oklahoma State), 2. Ben Askren (Missouri), 3. Pete Friedl (Illinois), 4. Jake Herbert (Northwestern)    Top Contenders: Askren, Pendleton    The Others: Travis Frick (Lehigh), Mitch Hancock (Central Michigan), Eric Hauan (Northern Iowa), Joe Mazzurco (Cornell), Andy Roy (Rutgers)    Darkhorse: Bryce Hasseman (Bloomsburg)    Top Freshmen: Herbert    Finals Prediction: Pendleton defeats Askren      34 Qualifiers  1st ACC - Kevin Gabrielson (North Carolina State)  2nd ACC - Rocco Caponi (Virginia)  1st Big Ten - Pete Friedl (Illinois)  2nd Big Ten - Jake Herbert (Northwestern)  3rd Big Ten - Brady Richardson (Indiana)  4th Big Ten - R.J. Boudro (Michigan State)  5th Big Ten - Kelly Flaherty (Wisconsin)  6th Big Ten - Nick Roy (Michigan)  7th Big Ten - Gabriel Dretsch (Minnesota)  1st Big XII - Chris Pendleton (Oklahoma State)  2nd Big XII - Ben Askren (Missouri)  3rd Big XII - E.K. Waldhaus (Oklahoma)  4th Big XII - Nick Passalano (Iowa State)  1st CAA - Paul Siemon (Hofstra)  2nd CAA - Sean Jenkins (Rider)  1st East Region - Mark Himes (Duquesne)  1st EIWA - Joe Mazzurco (Cornell)  2nd EIWA - Andy Roy (Rutgers)  3rd EIWA - Travis Frick (Lehigh)  4th EIWA - Daniel Waters (American)  5th EIWA - Dustin Wiles (Pennsylvania)  1st EWL - Bryce Hasseman (Bloomsburg)  2nd EWL - Eric Ring (Edinboro)  3rd EWL - Carlos Ponce (Lock Haven)  1st MAC - Mitch Hancock (Central Michigan)  2nd MAC - J.J. Holmes (Eastern Michigan)  1st PAC-10 - Leonel Sanchez (Cal State-Fullerton)  2nd PAC-10 - Jeremy Larson (Oregon State)  3rd PAC-10 - Imad Kharbush (Stanford)  4th PAC-10 - Ron Silva (California-Davis)  1st Southern Conference - Joe Lowe (North Carolina-Greensboro)  1st West Region - Eric Haven (Northern Iowa)  2nd West Region - Kenny Robertson (Eastern Illinois)  3rd West Region - Chris Gifford (Fresno State)