Iowa State's Jake Varner won his first NCAA title in 2009. Larry Slater photo.

Iowa State's Jake Varner and Missouri's Mark Ellis both had their hand raised in their final matches of the 2008-09 college season.

Varner won an NCAA title at 197 pounds and Ellis followed by striking gold at heavyweight last March in St. Louis.

But neither wrestler won a Big 12 title in 2009.

That shows just how tough the Big 12 Championships have been. Just five teams in the conference compete in wrestling, but the league remains very strong nationally.

That will be evident when the teams take the mat on Saturday for the Big 12 tournament at the University of Oklahoma's McCasland Fieldhouse in Norman.

Three of the nation's top eight teams - No. 2 Iowa State, No. 3 Oklahoma State and No. 8 Oklahoma - are in the field.

Missouri is No. 17 and Nebraska, which lost returning national champion Jordan Burroughs to a knee injury, is not ranked.

Iowa State's senior class is seeking its fourth straight league title. The Cyclones shared the tournament title with Nebraska last year in Lincoln, Neb.

"It's going to be a very competitive Big 12 tournament - every match is going to matter," said first-year Iowa State coach Kevin Jackson. "We're confident we are going to get all 10 guys qualified for the NCAA tournament. We want to go into the national tournament hot and wrestling our best. This tournament is very important to our seniors because they've already won Big 12s three times. We know it's not going to come without a fight."

The Big 12 has secured at least 37 qualifiers for the NCAA Championships, set for March 18-20 in Omaha, Neb. An additional 46 overall at-large qualifiers, among all Division I teams, will be named March 10.

197 and heavyweight once again are stacked with talented wrestlers. The Big 12 already is guaranteed five NCAA qualifiers in both divisions.

Varner and Nebraska senior Craig Brester are ranked 1-2 nationally at 197. Brester beat Varner in the Big 12 finals last year before Varner downed Brester in the NCAA finals. Varner beat Brester in the all-star dual this year before edging him recently in the team's conference dual meet.

Varner wrestled for the U.S. in the 2009 World Championships, winning two matches in freestyle at 96 kg/211.5 lbs. before finishing ninth.

"Varner is the best kid in the country, without a doubt," Jackson said. "He's an absolute monster out there. He's turned it up a notch this year."

Ellis lost to All-American David Zabriskie of Iowa State in the 2009 Big 12 finals before rebounding to win the national title. All-American Jared Rosholt of Oklahoma State is ranked No. 1 nationally at heavyweight with Zabriskie fifth and Ellis seventh. Nebraska's Tucker Lane is No. 13.

Rosholt placed third and Zabriskie fifth at the 2009 NCAA tournament.

Ellis won a tough battle just to make the Missouri lineup. He won the starting spot over teammate Dom Bradley, a Junior World freestyle champion in 2009.

"Mark and Dom battle each other every day in the room - they go toe-to-toe with each other," Missouri coach Brian Smith said. "When you are scrambling just to make your own team and you are a defending national champion, that's tough on you. Mark shows up and wrestles hard and at a very fast pace."

165 is another loaded division with All-Americans Jon Reader of Iowa State and Nick Marable of Missouri, and star freshman Alex Meade of Oklahoma State, leading the way. Reader was fourth in the country last year and Marable finished seventh.

Oklahoma State has come back strong this season. In addition to Rosholt and Meade, the Cowboys feature one of the nation's best freshmen in Jordan Oliver at 133. Oliver was a Junior World bronze medalist in 2009.

The Cowboys' only two dual losses this season were to No. 1 Iowa and No. 2 Iowa State.

Oklahoma State has won eight league titles since the Big 12 was formed in 1997. The Cowboys last won Big 12s in 2006. Iowa State is next in line with three Big 12 titles.

"We've made a lot of progress this season," Oklahoma State coach John Smith said. "We've gotten better throughout the year. I feel like our best wrestling is still ahead of us. We lost two duals and we were very competitive in both of them. We grew from the matches against Iowa and Iowa State. We have a chance to have a really good end of the year."

Rosholt is looking to win his second Big 12 title after winning in 2008.

"Rosholt is a tough guy," John Smith said. "He's putting it all together right now. He's made some improvements in some areas where he's been deficient."

Oklahoma also has had a strong season. The Sooners have three wrestlers ranked in the nation's top six. Zack Bailey (141) and Kyle Terry (149) are each ranked third nationally while teammate Eric Lapotsky (197) is ranked sixth.

"We've made big strides this year and everybody is excited about the future," Oklahoma coach Jack Spates said. "It will be a very competitive Big 12 tournament again."

The addition of past NCAA and World champion Sammie Henson also has given the Sooner program a boost. Henson, who has coached numerous NCAA champions and All-Americans, is in his first season as an Oklahoma assistant coach.

"Sammie Henson has had a tremendous impact on our program," Spates said.

This will be the final Big 12 tournament for an Askren from Missouri. Senior Max Askren is seeking his third Big 12 title after winning league titles as a freshman and sophomore. Askren has moved down to 184 this year and is ranked third nationally.

Max's older brother, Ben, won two NCAA titles and two Hodge Trophy awards for Missouri before making the 2008 Olympic Team.

"The Askrens have had a great impact on our sport," Brian Smith said. "It hasn't been easy for Max because he's been in Ben's shadow, but Max has had a great career for us. He is a special kid and an amazing young man. He will be a four-time Academic All-American. He's meant a lot to our program."

Two of the Big 12's best wrestlers won't compete in the conference tournament because of injuries. NCAA champion Jordan Burroughs was knocked off for the season with a knee injury in December. Iowa State's Nick Gallick, third in the country last year, also suffered a season-ending injury.

The loss of Burroughs has led to a long season for Nebraska. In addition to Brester and Lane, NU's Stephen Dwyer is ranked third at 174. Dwyer is a past All-American at 165.

"We only have three guys back off the team that won a share of the Big 12 title," Nebraska coach Mark Manning said. "We struggled with our dual meet season and in some cases it's going to be a tough road for us in this tournament. The name of the game is to go out there and fight each match. We need to wrestle our heart out and wrestle up to our potential.

"Nobody is going to ask you how you did Jan. 20 in a dual meet. That's not relevant now. How you do at Big 12s and how you do in two weeks (at NCAAs) is what people are going to remember."

Nebraska will serve as the host school for the NCAA tournament in Omaha.

"We have two very strong leaders in Brester and Dwyer," Manning said. "Both guys have great opportunities to win Big 12 and national titles. They are hard-nosed, tough competitors and you have to give a great effort to beat them. They are not coming to finish second."

Manning said there is a "99 percent chance" Burroughs will be granted a medical redshirt by the NCAA.

Burroughs placed third at the 2008 NCAA tournament at 149 before winning it all last year at 157. He was ranked No. 1 when he was injured in December.