ST. LOUIS - Bonus points are always big this time of year.

But their significance may be magnified even further in what is shaping up to be one of the tightest team races in recent memory at the NCAA Wrestling Championships.

If the first session is any indication, we are in for an entertaining and closely-contested NCAA tournament.

Top-ranked Iowa grabbed the early lead with 19 points as the three-day event kicked off on Thursday before 15,513 fans at the Scottrade Center. Iowa went 7-2 in the first session.

The list of teams right behind Iowa include Central Michigan (18 points, 9-0 record in the opening session), Iowa State (16, 9-1), Nebraska (15.5, 7-1), 2007 team champion Minnesota (15.5, 6-3), Oklahoma State (14.5, 6-2), Ohio State (13, 6-1), Penn State (13, 5-2) and Missouri (12.5, 6-1).

"We wrestled well and I'm happy with the way we're performing," Iowa State coach Cael Sanderson. "We've got a real big round coming up tonight that is very important."

The Cyclones, second in this event last year, won nine matches and nearly went 10-for-10. ISU freshman Tyler Clark lost in overtime.

"Bonus points are big - I don't think we scored very many in the first round," Sanderson said. "History will show a lot of titles in this tournament are won by bonus points alone."

Returning champion Mark Perry of Iowa recorded a first-period fall over Cleveland State's Marcus Effner at 165. Perry is seeded second. Perry has placed second, third and first in three previous trips to nationals. Top-ranked Brent Metcalf (149) also won by fall for the Big Ten champion Hawkeyes.

Iowa suffered a key early jolt at 141 when No. 8 seed Dan LeClere suffered an 8-7 first-round loss to Oklahoma's Zach Bailey. Hawkeye sophomore Ryan Morningstar nearly pulled off a first-round upset at 157 before falling 4-2 in overtime to No. 6 seed Matt Kocher of Pittsburgh.

Nebraska placed second at the National Duals despite not being seeded. The Huskers were ranked second a good chunk of the season, but Nebraska was not considered one of the favorites entering this event.

"Hey, that's great as far as I'm concerned. I love it - I would rather not have the spotlight on us," Nebraska coach Mark Manning said with a laugh. "We had a really good session. The bonus points we scored were huge. Those bonus points, we need to start putting people on their back because that is going to play a big difference this weekend in the race for the team title. We're just going to keep wrestling hard."

Nebraska's Paul Donahoe, a returning champion at 125, looked dominant in blanking Ohio State's Nikko Triggas 9-0 in the first round. Donahoe, the Big 12 champion, is seeded third.

"Paul's the leader on this team," Manning said. "He's a real go-getter who really sparks us. The other guys on the team just feed off him."

Minnesota started with a flourish as Jayson Ness (125) and Mack Reiter (133) won their first matches by fall before Manuel Rivera (141) followed by prevailing by technical fall. The Gophers did suffer a setback when No. 8 seed Gabriel Dretsch fell 3-1 in overtime to Boise State's Nathan Lee in the first round at 174.

Central Michigan earned a key early win at 133 when Conor Beebe shot in before finishing on a double-leg takedown with one second left to knock off No. 9 seed Zach Tanelli of Wisconsin 7-6.

Top seed Angel Escobedo of Indiana survived a major scare at 125 before he pulled out a 3-2 win over Arizona State's Anthony Robles. Escobedo rallied from a 2-1 deficit against Robles, a strong, gritty competitor who has just one leg. Escobedo, a sophomore, placed fourth in this event last year.