EVANSTON, Ill. - With the 40th Midlands Championships less than a month away, the wrestlers expected to fare well in late December are becoming clearer. Here's an early look at the weight-by-weight breakdown of this year's tournament:     125 Pounds-- Luke Eustice (Iowa) leads the 125-pound class. Eustice finished fifth in the 2001 Midlands and second at the NCAA Championships. He is currently ranked No. 1 in the nation. There are ten other competitors in the field ranked in the top 20, including Chris Rodrigues (North Carolina), A.J. Grant (Michigan), Kyle Ott (Illinois) and Mason Lenhard (Pennsylvania).     133 Pounds-- Cliff Moore (Iowa), the 2001 champion, returns to defend his title. He also finished sixth at the 2002 NCAA Championships. Twelve of the top-20 wrestlers have entered, creating a strong field. Some of the other contenders include Zach Roberson (Iowa State), Matt Azevedo (Sunkist Kids), Foley Dowd (Michigan), Jordan Webster (Central Michigan) and Josh Moore (Penn State).     141 Pounds-- Aaron Holker (Iowa State), the defending NCAA champion, is the favorite. He is currently the top-ranked wrestler in the country. Holker notched a fifth-place finish in last year's Midlands. Others expected to make a run are Shane Cunanan (West Virginia), Dylan Long (Northern Iowa), Jason Mester (Central Michigan) and Clark Forward (Michigan).     149 Pounds-- Jesse Jantzen (Harvard), who is currently ranked second, leads the 149-pound class. He finished sixth in the 2001 Midlands and third at the NCAA Championships. Some other contenders include Michael Kulczycki (Michigan), Billy Smith (West Virginia), Ryan Berger (Illinois), Ty Morgan (Central Michigan) and Karl Nadolsky (Michigan State).     157 Pounds-- Chris Bono (Sunkist Kids), a three-time Midlands champion, returns as the favorite. He is currently the top-ranked freestyle wrestler in the nation. Yoshi Nakamura, a graduate of Pennsylvania, is the defending champion. Others expected to compete for the title are Scott Owen (Northern Illinois), Ryan Bertin (Michigan), Gray Maynard (Michigan State), Matt Anderson (Iowa), Keaton Anderson (Ohio State) and Max Odom (Harvard).     165 Pounds-- Matt Lackey (Illinois) and Joe Heskett (Sunkist Kids) know each other all too well and could meet again this year. Heskitt knocked off Lackey in the 2001 Midlands and 2002 NCAA finals. Heskett is undefeated in Midlands competition. Some others to watch are Troy Letters (Lehigh), Johnny Clark (Ohio State), Noel Thompson (Hofstra), Chris Vecchio (Penn State) and Tom McMath (West Virginia).     174 Pounds-- Joe Williams (Sunkist Kids) has owned this weight class for the last five years and he is the favorite again. Williams is shooting for a record ninth straight Midlands title. Greg Jones (West Virginia) won the NCAA title as a freshman and is expected to challenge for the title. Some other wrestlers in the hunt include Jeff Rusak (Old Dominion), Tyler Nixt (Iowa), Ryan Lange (Purdue), Matt Erwin (VMI) and Eric Hauan (Northern Iowa).     184 Pounds-- One of the favorites is Tyson Thivierge (Montana Northern), who reached the 2001 final as an unseeded competitor. Others are Jessman Smith (Iowa), Greg Parker (Princeton), Clint Wattenberg (Cornell), Jason Potter (Illinois), Mark Becks (Penn State) and Ben Heizer (Northern Illinois).     197 Pounds-- Without Cael Sanderson, this is a more open weight class. Some of the top competitors include Jon Trenge (Lehigh), Kyle Smith (Michigan), Chris Skretkowicz (Hofstra) and Nik Fekete (Michigan State).     285 Pounds-- Five wrestlers who placed in 2001 are expected to return, including defending champion Steve Mocco (Iowa). Mocco, who is ranked No. 1 in the nation, lost the NCAA title match to Tommy Rowlands (Ohio State), who is ranked No. 2. Some other heavyweights to note are Steve Kovach (Navy), Kevin Hoy (Air Force), Raphael Davis (Schultz Wrestling Club), Pat Cummins (Penn State) and Andy Bowlby (Oregon State).