The NWCA All-Star Classic provided a lot of excitement for fans throughout the country. The lineup was as good as it has been in at least five years, and the matches proved it.    At 141 lbs., Scott Moore of Virginia downed defending NCAA champion Teyon Ware of Oklahoma 11-7 in overtime. Also winning in overtime were All-American Chris Pendleton of Oklahoma State at 174 and 2002 NCAA champion Tommy Rowlands of Ohio State, who defeated Pat Cummins of Penn State 3-1 at 285. Cummins defeated Rowlands just one week earlier in a dual meet.    There were two freshmen in the All-Star Classic, 125-pound Mark Moos of Michigan and 141-pound Andy Simmons of Michigan State. Both wrestlers lost to former NCAA finalists, proving that experience in big matches does matter.    Johnny on the Spot  Just when everyone started to doubt Johnny Thompson this year, he jumps back with a huge 8-3 win over Iowa State's Zach Roberson. So far this year, Thompson has lost five matches. He has never lost more than three matches in any of his previous three seasons.    Earlier in the year, Thompson struggled heavily with his weight, but last week he appeared to be in the best shape of his career. OSU coaches said that Thompson weighed in under 133 the day before weigh-ins.    If Thompson continues to wrestle like this, he may be the man to beat again this year. And always remember, "The Snake" always comes to wrestle in March.    Shoulda Been A Cowboy  Thompson's win over Roberson led the Cowboys to a 27-6 thrashing of Iowa State in Stillwater last weekend.    While the Cyclones are still banged up and recovering from some mid-season injuries, a lot of credit has to go to the Oklahoma State coaching staff. The Cowboys are peaking at the right time of the year. In November, this may have resulted in an Iowa State win, but it wasn't even close at the end of January.    Gentry Wrestling  Stanford 157-pounder Matt Gentry has been solid all year long. He has posted wins over Iowa's Joe Johnston, Oklahoma State's Johnny Hendricks and now two-time All-American Jake Percival of Ohio at the NWCA All-Star Classic.    Gentry is now 31-0 this season, and his only blemish this year was a last-minute collapse against Chris Bono, one of the top wrestlers in the world. The loss to Bono did not count on his season record since Bono is not a NCAA athlete.    Gentry is one of the most pleasant surprises of this college season. He is the epitome of what hard work can bring to a college wrestler over time. Only a junior, and at a struggling but improving program, Gentry has forced his way into the spotlight of college wrestling as being one of only 10 Division I wrestlers who are still undefeated.    Throw in the Pink Towel?  A new tradition has been started at Iowa. No, there are no more twins in the lineup and Gable is not back coaching... yet. This new tradition has to do with a pink towel that head coach Jim Zalesky carries around with him during workouts.    If Zalesky feels that a wrestler is not working hard enough in his room, they are handed a pink towel and told to go sit on the bleachers and watch.    While the idea may sound silly, it clearly has helped to light a fire under the Hawkeye squad. Iowa defeated Penn State (23-11) and Michigan State (31-6) last weekend. Those are the kinds of results that Iowa fans and coaches expected when this season began.    Speaking of Michigan State...  What has happened to the Spartans this year?    The team's best wrestler, All-American Nick Simmons, took an Olympic redshirt year, and former All-American Nik Fekete decided to leave after not getting accepted into Graduate School. But even with those losses, this is one of the biggest schools in the nation.    The Spartans are 1-8 this year and 0-4 in the Big Ten. The team's only win was a 22-15 victory over a struggling Kent State team. This once proud program will be scraping to get more than two or three wrestlers to the NCAA Tournament this year.    This may be a worse year to be off as the rest of the Big Ten as a whole is wrestling well, putting Michigan State in an even greater spotlight.    This Week  On Friday evening, Oklahoma State will host Nebraska in a battle of two the two top teams in the nation this year. The Cowboys are getting back on track, led by the resurgence of the two-time NCAA champion Johnny Thompson. The Huskers are still undefeated in Big XII dual action. The winner of this dual will most likely go on to win the regular season conference title.    Bedlam will return to Norman, Okla. as the Sooners host top-ranked Oklahoma State. Oklahoma is one of the youngest teams in the nation this year, with as many as five freshmen in the lineup. Oklahoma State will look to continue its domination over the Sooners. The Cowboys have won 10 straight duals between these two teams and have not lost to Oklahoma since 1996.