DES MOINES, Iowa -- The 2012 NAIA Wrestling National Championships gets underway Thursday at 11 a.m. CT 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 were released late Wednesday night and can be viewed here.

Lindsey Wilson College qualified the maximum 14 wrestlers in seven different weight classes, while 12 will compete and two are alternates.

Qualifying seniors include Keith Klink (133) and Charlie Pingleton (157), while juniors include Teddy Furnish (HWT), James Haywood (174), Ethan Miller (133) and DaMonte Riley (141).

Sophomore making the trip for the Blue Raiders are Harrison Courtney (157), Kary Goff (125), Ian Stephens (174) and Isaac Thomas (141), while the newcomers are Aaron Back (165), Jonathan Hupp (HWT), Derek Nickel (HWT) and Jacob McCombs (133).

Lindsey Wilson wrapped up the regular season ranked ninth in the NAIA Coaches' Top-20 Poll and brings five ranked individuals to nationals.

Stephens headlines the list at No. 2 at 174 pounds while Pingleton is ranked third at 157. Klink is sixth at 133, Riley is 11th at 141 and Haywood is 12th at 174.

The Blue Raiders finished 15th last season with 36 team points and had two grapplers named All-Americans in Jacob Bradford and Andrew Hairston with eighth-place finishes.  

Des Moines welcomes 322 qualifiers representing 35 institutions from across the United States. Twenty-six of the qualifiers have previously earned All-American 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 Fall's (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 Petty 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).

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.

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.

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. CT. A fee of $9.95 is set to view the finals.

Brackets

Live Results

Live Championship Video

Press Book

NAIA Championship Central