The 2003-2004 NJCAA wrestling season is upon us and should prove to be an electrifying year of competition. The NJCAA National Wrestling Tournament will take place on February 27-28, 2004 at Rochester Community and Technical College in Rochester, Minn. Last years national championships marked the first year that the tournament took place on the campus in the new facility of Rochester Community College. Three teams enjoyed the new setting as their teams subjugated the competition. The Division I (scholarship) title was claimed by North Idaho with 140 points and was contested by the always-tough Colby Trojans with 135.5 points. Iowa Central, the 2002 National Champs, placed a distant third behind Coach Lampe's Trojans with 79 points. In Division III (non-scholarship), Garden City, N.Y. was jumping for joy as their Nassau Lions ran away with the title with 107.5 points. Harper (Illinois) was left in the Lions dust in second place with 66 points. With the showing that Coach Schmidt's Lions put forth Nassau could have placed third in the Division I standings. Therefore, the question is, "Who will be this year's team to beat?" Well, there are many talented teams in the mix this season and of course, the national title hopes will depend on teams staying healthy and eligible. Northwest College head coach, Jim Zeigler, will have something to say about who brings home that highly sought after national championship trophy, as his Trappers sit atop the Division I pre-season rankings. Northwest College finished fourth at the 2003 nationals and only loss two All-Americans from that squad. Coach Zeigler's Trappers have placed in the top ten at the national tournament for the past eight seasons, but have never won the coveted national crown. Northwest is led by one national champion and a host of four All-Americans. Leading the Trappers is heavyweight national champion, Tyler Rhodes. Rhodes heads up the power-packed line-up that Northwest will put on the mat. Rhodes dominated the junior college heavyweight competition in 2003. Coming out of Mountain View, WY Rhodes possesses skills that are not commonly seen in most heavies. Rhodes is the pre-season number one ranked wrestler at 285 lbs. and will be the odds on favorite to defend his title. Along with Rhodes, four All-Americans lace this potent roster. Eric Sabot (141), Luke Salazar (149), Pete Julander (174), and Robert Roszkiewicz (197) are all returning for the Trappers. Sabot, from Bismark, N.D. placed fifth in last year's championships at 141. Sabot returns to his weight class as the pre-season number one. Sabot lost to eventual champion, Chris Nedens of North Idaho in the semi-finals, 14-10. Sabot came back through to place fifth. Following Sabot in the line-up is returning All-American, Luke Salazar (149). Salazar is coming into the 2003-04 season with a fourth-place medal under his belt in 2003 and is the number two ranked wrestler at 149 in the pre-season. Finishing out this "Fab Five", are Pete Julander (174) and Robert Roszkiewicz (197). Julander placed 7th at the 2000 National Championships and has been on a LDS mission the past couple of years. Julander makes his return to Powell as the pre-season No. 4 wrestler. Roszkiewicz, an international wrestler out of Warsaw, Poland placed 7th at the 2002 Championships. Roszkiewicz red-shirted in 2003 and will enter this season ranked No. 4 at 197 lbs. Robert will also be joined by his twin brother Hubert, who will lead the Trappers at 184. Topping off Jim Zeigler's line-up is a pair of returning national qualifiers that could prove to have an impact on the Trappers national title hunt. Cort Peterson (157) and Jake Wright (165) will try to improve upon their national tournament qualifications and turn them into medals. Peterson is a 2003 qualifier that will be ranked No. 5 in the pre-season and Wright will end out the 165 lbs rankings at No. 6. Others to watch at Northwest are Seth Wright (125), and Pat Sharp (133). Both are two-time Utah state champions. Sitting in the second position in the rankings and a traditional powerhouse in the NJCAA, are the 2002 National Champion Tritons of Iowa Central Community College. Led by first year head coach, Troy Bennett, Iowa Central has always been a force to reckon with amongst the junior college ranks. Bennett, before taking over the helm, was the assistant coach for seven years under Mark Ostrander who resigned in early September. The Tritons placed third at the 2003 national championships. Leading Iowa Central is the returning national champion, Willie Parks (197). Parks claimed the top prize in 2002 at 184. Parks red-shirted in 2003 with full intentions of attending and wrestling for the University of Iowa. Parks decided to stay at Iowa Central and defend his junior college crown. Backing up Parks, is a duo of returning All-Americans in Hector Mendez (133) and Curt Zinell (165). Mendez is a transfer from Neosho County Community College where he captured a fourth-place medal for the Panthers at 125 lbs. Mendez will sit in the No. 4 spot in the pre-season rankings. Curt Zinell tagged a sixth-place finish at the 2003 Nationals and will begin the 2003-04 season also ranked No. 4 in the country. Coach Bennett's Tritons will receive elite support from the rest of their stacked line-up. The Tritons claimed the No. 1 recruiting class in the country among all other junior colleges. The remaining line-up consist of three high school All-Americans and two Division I transfers. Transferring into Ft. Dodge, are former Division I wrestlers Jeremy Lawley (133) and Jason Barnett (149). Lawley comes to Iowa from his home state of Oklahoma where he had a stellar prep career at Tulsa East Central High School in which he won three state titles and a third place showing at high school nationals. Lawley spent his first year competing for Coach Jack Spates at the University of Oklahoma. Lawley will compete for a spot at 133. Barnett makes the change to junior college from The Ohio State University. Barnett was 29-7 at Ohio State in 2003. Barnett was a two-time Ohio state champion and is ranked No. 4 at the very tough 149 lb. weight class. Rounding out the star laden Triton line-up will be Adam Buzek (125), Colby Heppler (141), Joe Pflug (157), and Vin Salek (174). Heppler comes from Perry, OK and possesses high-level technique, which has earned him the No. 5 ranking for the pre-season. Pflug was a four-time Ohio state finalist, two-time state champion, and placed second at high school nationals. The highly talented Pflug will earn many points as the No. 2 ranked wrestler for Coach Bennett. Salek comes into Ft. Dodge from the Garden State of New Jersey where he was a high school state champion and high school national runner-up. Salek will round out the top six wrestlers at 174 lbs. as No. 6. Buzek is a returnee for the Tritons and was behind NJCAA National Champion, Brett Allgood in 2003. Buzek is extremely talented and will kick off the season ranked No. 2. Filling the third spot in the pre-season rankings is Ellsworth (IA). The 2003 Panthers finished fifth and return a trio of All-Americans. Coach Jack Denholm will be led by Adam Benton (165), Ken Prophette (184), and Steve Pickar (174). Benton was last years third place finisher at 165. Prophette finished the 2003 season with a fourth place showing for the Panthers and Pickar finished in eighth place. Another key returnee for the Panthers will be Mario Galanakis (133). Galanakis was 27-9 last year, but did not compete at the national tournament. Galanakis will be a strong impact at 133 and is the No. 3 ranked wrestler in the pre-season. Coach Denholm also received a transfer from Iowa State University of Joe Brewer at heavyweight. The 2003 defending national champions, North Idaho, come into the new season at No. 4. Coach Pat Whitcomb's Cardinals had an awesome performance in 2003 winning the national title, defeating Colby, who held the No. 1 ranking for all of 2003. Coach Whitcomb returns a host of All-Americans that could pu