College Post Season Coverage KEARNEY, Neb. - Jim Makovsky has a pretty good idea what it's going to be like watching the NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships this weekend. "From a fan's perspective, it's going to be a really exciting tournament," Makovsky said. "From a coach's perspective, we may need a jug of Maalox because it's going to be a very tight team race." The veteran Minnesota State-Mankato coach would know. His team is expected to be right in the mix in what is expected to be a very close battle for the Division II team title on Friday and Saturday at the University of Nebraska at Kearney's Health & Sports Center. Second-ranked Minnesota State has qualified all 10 of its starters for the national tournament as has No. 3 Central Oklahoma. Top-ranked Nebraska-Kearney qualified all but one of its wrestlers. Fourth-ranked Nebraska-Omaha, winner of the last three Division II national titles, qualified eight wrestlers. Fifth-ranked Pitt-Johnstown and No. 6 Upper Iowa also are taking eight wrestlers apiece. Minnesota State's only national title came in 1965. The Mavericks placed second in the country in 1994. "You can look at the brackets and analyze this thing to death, but what it all boils down to is having your guys prepared," Makovsky said. "We've got a pretty balanced team, UCO is really balanced and Kearney is really balanced. And Omaha is still a dangerous threat as well. I don't see anybody running away with it." Nebraska-Kearney coach Marc Bauer is hoping to lead the Lopers to their first NCAA tournament championship. UNK, second at the NCAA meet in 2003 and 2006, won its second National Duals title earlier this season. "The national championship really is up for grabs," Bauer said. "Whoever gets on a roll is going to win it. We're ready to go. Our team is really clicking right now and our guys are excited about this tournament." Traditional powerhouse Central Oklahoma is looking for its first national title since it won back-to-back D-II tournament titles in 2002 and 2003. "You've got to keep guys alive and score bonus points - that is going to be a real big factor," UCO coach David James said. "Every match is going to count and every point could be a difference-maker. You've got to stay alive. If we drop a match, guys have to regroup and come back. It's going to take a total team effort this year." A young Nebraska-Omaha team isn't going to relinquish its throne as the top D-II team without a fight. The Mavericks are led by senior two-time NCAA champion J.D. Naig at 174. UNO's remaining qualifiers include four freshmen, including two true freshmen, and three sophomores. Sophomore Ross Taplin (165), third at the NCAAs last year, is the only other Maverick with national tournament experience. Nebraska-Omaha placed second at the National Duals before placing third at the North Regional. "It's going to be a really exciting tournament," UNO coach Mike Denney said. "This is the best team I've seen UNK have in my 28 years here and this is the best team I've seen Mankato have in 28 years. Plus Central Oklahoma has another really strong team. It's going to be a great battle." Nebraska-Kearney's powerful lineup includes three top-ranked wrestlers. They include returning national champion Brett Allgood (133), national runner-up Tervel Dlagnev (heavyweight) and All-American Trevor Charbonneau (125). The Lopers also have ranked wrestlers in Matt Farrell (No. 3 at 184) and Joe Ellenberger (No. 5 at 157). Minnesota State-Mankato is led by past NCAA runner-ups Jason Rhoten (149) and Travis Krinkie (184), along with top-ranked Andy Pickar (165). Pickar is a returning All-American. Rhoten is ranked first and Krinkie eighth. The Mavericks also have ranked wrestlers in Travis Elg (No. 2 at 141), Nick Smith (No. 3 at 125), Jeff Pfaffinger (No. 3 at 133), Brady Wilson (No. 3 at heavyweight), Brandon Girtz (No. 4 at 157) and Ben Janike (No. 8 at 197). Central Oklahoma is led by returning NCAA runner-up Kyle Evans, who is top-ranked at 141. The Bronchos also have ranked wrestlers in Josh LeadingFox (No. 2 at heavyweight), Shea Timothy (No. 3 at 149), Jason Leavitt (No. 3 at 157), Jared Hess (No. 4 at 184) and Justin Wood (No. 6 at 165). In addition to the top-ranked Naig and fourth-ranked Taplin, Nebraska-Omaha has ranked wrestlers in Todd Meneely (No. 2 at 149), Jacob Marrs (No. 5 at 197), Yasiim Bribieseca (No. 6 at 141) and Tony Lewis (No. 7 at heavyweight). Meneely has been ranked No. 1 for much of the season before falling to Rhoten in the regional finals. "The key for us is we need to be hitting on all cylinders and really click," said Denney, whose teams have won four national titles. "We really performed well at the National Duals, but since then we haven't quite put it together. We need to do that. We're real young, but we know we can still have an impact this weekend." A key early matchup comes in the opening round at 165 where Taplin meets Wood of Central Oklahoma. Wood won his regional and Taplin was fourth in his regional behind Pickar, returning national champion and second-ranked Nate Baker of Minnesota State-Moorhead and No. 3 Mitch Norton of Upper Iowa. "There are some really big matches right off the bat and those could be critical," said James, who has coached UCO to a combined 11 national titles in NAIA and Division II. "We have to step up immediately. We have a regional champion (Wood) who is wrestling a guy in the first round (Taplin) who has beaten him twice this year. That's a big match." The 157 class features two wrestlers who won national titles last year in No. 1 Tony Guerra of Findlay and No. 2 Brad Becker of Wisconsin-Parkside. Guerra won nationals at 149 last year and Becker was the gold medalist at 157. The 133 bracket also has a pair of national champions in Allgood and Andy Uhl of Findlay. Allgood beat Uhl, the 2005 national champion, in the finals last year. Uhl is ranked second behind Allgood. The top two finishers also are back at 174 with Naig and No. 4 Michael Jackson of Indianapolis among the qualifiers. Naig pinned Jackson in the 2006 NCAA finals. Pitt-Johnstown is led by returning NCAA runner-up Mike Corcetti, who is ranked No. 1 at 184. UPJ won the East Regional. Sixth-ranked Brandon Reasy (133) also is a returning All-American for Pitt-Johnstown. Upper Iowa's Mitch Norton (157) and Ryan Phillips (197) are ranked third in their respective weight classes with teammate Tyler Mumbulo ranked fourth at 125 and John Gamble fifth at 141. The Peacocks placed second, just ahead of Nebraska-Omaha, in the tough North Regional in Moorhead, Minn. Upper Iowa has made a big splash in just its second season of Division II competition after moving up from Division III, where it had one of the nation's top programs. "Upper Iowa has a nice team," Denney said. "They have some good wrestlers and they could be right in the mix." Top-ranked Casey Woodall (197) is the leader on an Adams State team ranked seventh nationally. Teammates Arsenia Barksdale (125) and Jared Deaguero (184) are both ranked second. Mercyhurst's Zach Schafer is ranked third at 174 after placing second nationally at 165 last season. Heavyweight Andrew Ubben of Fort Hays State is a past NCAA runner-up. Ubben is ranked fourth. The two Nebraska teams hope to benefit from the meet being in their home state. "This is almost like a home meet for us," Denney said. "I know we are bringing a lot of fans over there. It should be a great atmosphere." Said Bauer: "Wrestling at home really is a big plus for our team. We're in our comfort zone and our guys have wrestled really well here. We'll have plenty of fans here supporting us and cheering for us, and I think that will benefit our team." Tickets are still available for the NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships. As of late Wednesday afternoon, approximately 1,200 tickets were still available for each of the tournament's four sessions. 2007 NCAA DIVISION II CHAMPIONSHIPS, KEARNEY, NEB. Friday, March 9 11 a.m. - Session I, First round 6 p.m. - Session II, Quarterfinals and wrestlebacks Saturday, March 10 10 a.m. - Session III, Semifinals, wrestlebacks, consolation finals 7:15 p.m. - Session IV, Finals