ASHEVILLE, NC -- The Southern Conference will once again team with the Atlantic Coast Conference as the two leagues crown their wrestling champions in the second annual Mat Jam Wrestling Championships in Raleigh, NC this weekend. The event is to be held this Saturday, March 9 at historic Reynolds Coliseum on the campus of North Carolina State University.    Appalachian State will look to defend its 2000-01 Southern Conference wrestling tournament title, while the Chattanooga Mocs will try to carry over their regular season championship and return to supremacy in the SoCon. UTC will be hunting its 19th conference championship and its fourth in the past five years.    The 125-lbs. weight class will feature two 20-match winners in Chattanooga's Matt Pitts and VMI's Juan Sanchez. Pitts went undefeated in the SoCon this season, earning three pins. In the 133-lbs. bracket Appalachian State's Travis Drake will look to defend his crown as the 2001 champion. Drake enters the tournament 31-4 overall with four pins and an unbeaten SoCon record. He'll be challenged by Sean Markey of The Citadel, who enters with a 24-13 record and 11 pins, the second most pins in the Southern Conference.    At 141-lbs., Chattanooga's Jared Sullivan will try to repeat as the weight class champion. However, he'll have Mark DiSalvo from VMI nipping close at his heels. The two both finished with identical 4-1 conference records, but Sullivan pinned DiSalvo in head-to-head competition. Sullivan boasts 10 pins on the season while DiSalvo recorded 27 wins on the year.    There will be a new champion crowned in the 149-lbs. weight class. Last year's champion, Adam Britt of VMI, moved up to the 157-lbs. bracket and immediately became a favorite to take the top prize. He'll challenge the 2001 champion, P. J. Boccia of ASU, and Quentin Bell from UTC in one of the most competitive brackets in the championship. Bell won six-straight duals heading into the season finale versus VMI where he was edged 5-4 by Britt.    Britt led the SoCon in wins with 35 and was a three-time SoCon Wrestler of the Week. Add Davidson's most consistent wrestler, Jeff Bender, and the winner of the 157-lbs. bracket is uncertain.    Mike Parsons of VMI was a perfect 5-0 on the season in the 149-lbs. weight class, but will be challenged by The Citadel's Wayne Watts, who was 4-1. Both Parsons and Watts boasted 20-plus win records and five or more pins.    The 165-lbs. weight bracket features a trio of 20-plus match winners. The 2001 174-lbs. champion, Mike Regner (26-13) of The Citadel, Chattanooga's Craig Johnson (28-7), and unbeaten Mark Fee of Appalachian State (23-8, 4-0) can all be considered favorites in the class. Fee leads the SoCon in pins with 12 while Regner shined in earning Wrestler of the Week honors by defeating the two Co-Wrestlers one week later.    Matt Erwin of VMI and ASU's Lee Roper headline the 174-lbs. weight bracket. Erwin posted an impressive 29-6 overall mark, but Roper went unbeaten in conference action with four pins. Chris Bird of UTC and Ron Williams of UNC Greensboro will also factor in on determining a champion.    Four grapplers have a legitimate shot at winning the 184-lbs. weight bracket. Led by Jason Cox of VMI with a 17-13 overall record, 5-0 in the SoCon, the top four all have double-digit wins. Sean McIntosh (12-11) of ASU, Quantal Langford (16-17) of UTC, and John Bohren (12-19) of The Citadel will all challenge for the title.    Chattanooga's Austin David, The Citadel's Jordan Everett, and Brian Toney of VMI will leave it all on the mat in the 197-lbs. weight class, while UNCG's Greg Forbes will put his unbeaten 5-0 record on the line against a slew of heavyweights. Billy Linane of The Citadel holds the most wins with 26 and most pins with six, but will also feel the heat from the 2001 heavyweight champion, Danny Meisenheimer of ASU and the 197-lbs. champ from a year ago, Geoff McIntosh, also of Appalachian State.    Doors open at 9:30 am with the first-round wrestling action commencing at 11:00 am. The semifinals are scheduled for approximately 1:00 pm. The consolation finals are set for 4:30 pm, with the finals starting at 7:00 pm.    Seedings for the championships will be set Friday night and posted along with all of the results on the Southern Conference's home in cyber space, www.SoConSports.com.    More on Mat Jam written by John Lawton on InterMat Wrestling!    Mat Jam 2002  Reynolds Coliseum, Raleigh, NC  Doors Open at 9:30 am  First Round Matches at 11:00 am  Semifinal Matches at 1:00 pm  Consolation Finals at 4:30 pm  Finals at 7:00 pm followed by Awards Ceremony