Cael Sanderson obviously knew how to peak as an athlete.

The four-time NCAA champion, who went undefeated in college, already has proven as a coach that he knows how to get his teams to peak as well.

In his first year as head coach at Iowa State, Sanderson's Cyclones won the Big 12 tournament title and placed a close second to Minnesota at the 2007 NCAA Championships.

Now in his second year at ISU, Sanderson's third-ranked Cyclones appear to be peaking at the right time again. Iowa State is the favorite to win the Big 12 Championships on Saturday at Oklahoma State's Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater, Okla.

But like last year, when the tournament came down to the final match, another very tight team race is expected between ISU, No. 4 Nebraska, No. 5 Oklahoma State, No. 12 Missouri and No. 14 Oklahoma.

"This is going to be a real exciting weekend," Sanderson said Wednesday morning on the Big 12 Coaches' Teleconference. "There are no heavy favorites going in. Just like the whole college season, there is a lot of parity."

The top three finishers in each weight class, plus eight wild cards overall, will qualify for the NCAA Championships on March 20-22 in St. Louis.

"It's going to be a great tournament," Oklahoma coach Jack Spates said. "This is the toughest conference tournament in the country with some great wrestlers."

Just how tough is the Big 12?

In recent years, returning All-Americans have fallen short of qualifying for nationals as well as wrestlers ranked in the top 10 nationally.

The Big 12 has a total of 33 wrestlers ranked in the top 20 nationally by InterMat.

The best example of the Big 12's strength comes at 165. Missouri's Nick Marable is ranked second, Oklahoma State's Jake Dieffenbach is fifth, Nebraska's Stephen Dwyer is seventh and Iowa State's Jon Reader is eighth.

Iowa State emerged as the Big 12 tournament favorite after beating then-No. 2 Nebraska 22-12 in their final Big 12 dual meet in Ames.

"It was a good confidence-booster for our team," Sanderson said. "We obviously want to be at our best at this time of the year. We need to be ready to go in that first round. With only five teams, the team that has a good first round will be in a real good position to win this."

Iowa State's star-studded sophomore class is led by top-ranked Jake Varner (184), who placed second in the nation last year. ISU heavyweight David Zabriskie came through in the final match of Big 12s last year, edging Oklahoma State's Jared Rosholt to give his team the championship.

"The key for us is to have all of our sophomores have their best performances at Big 12s and at nationals," Sanderson said. "I have all the confidence in the world in these guys and they are starting to feel it themselves."

Another key for ISU may be the performance of senior David Bertolino, who is coming off an upset win over Nebraska's Craig Brester at 197 in a recent dual meet.

"Bertolino doing well is real important for our team and he knows that," Sanderson said. "He is a senior and has that experience. He's ready, we just need him to make it happen and lead like a senior by being consistent."

The Huskers have nine ranked wrestlers in their lineup. The only NU wrestler who is not ranked, junior Chris Oliver, was second in the 2007 Big 12s and is a returning national qualifier at 157.

"Iowa State is favored, but crazy things happen at this tournament," Nebraska coach Mark Manning said. "It could come down to the last couple of matches, it really could. There is a lot of parity and a lot of good wrestlers."

Nebraska placed second at the National Duals. NU is expected to have No. 1 seeds for Big 12s in Paul Donahoe (125), Jordan Burroughs (149) and Brandon Browne (174).

"Peaking at the right time, there is an art to it," Manning said. "You obviously can't overtrain and your kids can only get up so many times in a season. Our kids understand that. People remember you by what you do at the end of the season.

"We're well-prepared and our guys are excited and ready to go. There are going to be a lot of hard-fought battles."

Oklahoma State, which has won 8 of the 11 team titles since the Big 12 was formed, also will be in the mix. The Cowboys, who own a record 34 NCAA team titles, handed top-ranked Iowa its only dual-meet loss of the season.

OSU is led by senior standouts Coleman Scott at 133 and Nathan Morgan at 141. Both will be seeded No. 1. Morgan, a two-time All-American, is seeking his fourth Big 12 title. Scott, a three-time All-American, is seeking his third Big 12 title.

The Cowboys also have four wrestlers who are expected to be seeded fifth.

"We have to wrestle better than we have all year, no question, to win the Big 12 championship," said OSU coach John Smith, whose teams have won five NCAA titles. "We have to do special things and have guys turn in their best performance to win."

Wrestling in their home arena could make a difference for OSU.

"It's good to have the Big 12 tournament back in Stillwater," John Smith said. "We're excited about it and our team is excited about it."

Said Sanderson: "Home-field advantage is always real. They have one of the better fan bases in the country, but we're not planning on letting it affect our guys."

Missouri, third in the NCAA team race in 2007, has a veteran team that is expected to be in contention as well.

Coach Brian Smith has a pair of returning Big 12 champions in Raymond Jordan (184) and Max Askren (197). Jordan will be seeded second behind Varner while Askren, a sophomore, will be a No. 1 seed.

The Tigers also are expected to have top seeds in Marable and Michael Chandler at 157.

"Every weight class is going to be real tight with four and five guys ranked at a lot of weights," Brian Smith said. "There will be some people left home who belong at the NCAA tournament."

Askren, brother of two-time Hodge Trophy winner Ben Askren, has come on strong in the second half of the season. Max Askren, 20-2 this season, is now ranked seventh nationally. He was seeded No. 1 at the 2007 NCAA tournament, but went 0-2 as a freshman.

"Ever since the National Duals, Max has been wrestling the best he's ever wrestled," Brian Smith said. "He wasn't as focused in the first semester, but he's been wrestling great in the practice room. He's becoming more offensive and taking people down. He's always been very good on top."

Donahoe is a returning national champion at 125, but suffered a loss to true freshman Joey Fio of Oklahoma in a dual meet. Donahoe and Fio are seeded 1-2.

Donahoe placed second to Oklahoma's Sam Hazewinkel in the 2007 Big 12 tournament before beating Hazewinkel in the NCAA finals. Donahoe, a junior, is 18-3 this season.

"Paul's lost a few times, and I think the pressure is really off him as far as being the defending national champion," Manning said. "It's all about going in there and winning another title. Paul has the experience and he has shown great composure in big tournaments."

Fio is part of a young Oklahoma team that gained some late-season momentum by knocking off Oklahoma State in their Bedlam dual.

"Joey comes to wrestle, and when you do that you give yourself a chance to win," Spates said. "He's an incredibly hard worker and anything you show him he will do. He has an intense desire and displays it on the mat."

The dual win over OSU has provided a much-needed boost for OU.

"That win was a long time coming and our guys are excited about it," Spates said. "It bolsters our belief that if we wrestle hard good things are going to happen. We are, on paper, the bottom team, the fifth-place team. But that's not the attitude we are taking. We're really coming on."