KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The 2012 NAIA Wrestling National Championships will get underway Thursday at 11 a.m. CST at the Jacobson Exhibition Center at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines, Iowa. 

The 55th annual event runs through Saturday and features six sessions of action, capped off with the championship finals. Brackets for each weight class will be posted on www.NAIA.org Wednesday by 10 p.m. CST. 

Des Moines welcomes 322 qualifiers representing 35 institutions from across the United States. Of those qualifiers, 95 are freshman, 78 are sophomores, 73 are juniors and 76 are seniors. Twenty-six of the qualifiers have previously earned All-America honors by placing in the top-six (prior to 2011) or top-eight of their respective weight class. Each class will have at least one returning All-American in action with 133, 141 and 149 pounds featuring three All-Americans. 

Four previous national champions will be on display, including two individuals who will attempt to defend their titles from a year ago. Great Falls' (Mont.) senior Anthony Varnell is the reigning champion at 141 pounds and enters the championships with a 24-3 record on the season, including a second-place finish at the West Qualifying Group Tournament on Feb. 18. 

In addition to Varnell, Evan Hinebauch of Montana-State Northern, the tournament’s only three-time All-American, will be in search of his second-straight championship at 184 pounds. Hinebauch, who is currently rated fourth at the 184-pound classification, is 31-9 on the season. 

Tommy Pretty of Campbellsville (Ky.) and Mitchell Lofstedt of Southern Oregon have each laid claim to top honors in their respective careers. Lofstedt earned the individual championship at 125 pounds in 2010, but missed last season. He currently owns a 34-2 record, including a title at the West Qualifying Group Tournament, and has held the No. 1 position in all eight Coaches’ Top 20 Polls (including preseason). Petty, currently ranked sixth in the 141-pound weight class, won the 133-pound title as a sophomore in 2010 before jumping up to 141 pounds as a junior. He owns a 24-7 record this season. 

Six grapplers enter the tournament with undefeated records: Tim Thurston of Campbellsville (Ky.) (11-0), Jamelle Jones of Campbellsville (11-0), Derek Nightser of Grand View (Iowa) (11-0), Eric Thompson of Grand View (28-0), Isaiah Williams of Missouri Baptist (4-0) and Joe Sievert of Morningside (Iowa) (26-0). 

In the 54-year history of the championships, 107 programs have had an individual finish on top of the podium. Formally a member of the NAIA, Simon Fraser (B.C.) has had the most wrestlers finish first in their respective weight class, with 40 national champions. Montana State-Northern is second with 30, including the previously mentioned Hinebauch. 

In the team competition, Grand View, Great Falls, Southern Oregon and Campbellsville have each shared the top spot in the NAIA Wrestling Coaches’ Top 20 Poll this season, with the Vikings clinging to the top spot from Jan. 11 to Feb. 22. Grand View has qualified 13 individuals, including one alternate, and is in search of its first NAIA championship in program history. 

Campbellsville, the current No. 2 team, enters the contest with an NAIA-best six Qualifying Group Tournament champions, while Southern Oregon, who is searching for its fifth team title and first since 2011, looks to improve on its ninth place finish a year ago. 

There have been 18 programs that have previously taken home the team title with former NAIA members Adams State (Colo.) and Central State (Okla.) holding the record with eight each. Montana State-Northern leads all current NAIA institutions with six national championships, while Southern Oregon is second with four and Missouri Valley third with three titles. 

In addition to holding a share of the record for total team championships, Central State holds the NAIA-standard for margin of victory, as the 1981 Broncho squad claimed six individual titles en route to an 85.75-point cushion over runner-up Adam State’s 69.5 points. In contrast, Lock Haven State (Pa.) edged Bloomsburg State (Pa.), 61-60, in 1963 for the closest team finish. In 1994, Southern Oregon and Western Montana tied for top-honors with 94.5 points each, marking the only time in championship history there have been co-champions. 

The 55th annual NAIA Wrestling National Championships is making its first visit to Des Moines, marking the 34th site to host the event. The NAIA Wrestling National Championships have traveled to 19 states in its history with Iowa and North Dakota hosting seven times each. 

TheMat.com will provide extensive coverage from the NAIA National Championships all weekend long.

For live match-by-match results, click here. 

NeuLion will stream live all 10 individual weight class championship bouts on March 3 and will be available to view starting at approximately 6:45 p.m. CST. A fee of $9.95 is set to view the finals. Click here for more information. 

For more information on the NAIA Wrestling National Championships, click here.