For the middleweights to be successful at the NCAA Tournament, upsets will have to become the norm.

But that's exactly what happened at the Eastern Wrestling League tournament. The Lions entered that tournament with with two No. 6 seeds and two No. 3 seeds at these weights, but came away with two titles and two third places.

Third-seeded Mike Bevilacqua pulled some upsets for the gold at 142. Tim Wittman verified his third-seed with a bronze while sixth-seed Chad Dubin also wrestled back through the consolations for a third place at 134. Sixth-seeded John Yankanich (10-5) was the big surprise at 158, where he beat the top three seeds in succession to claim the title and the tournament's Outstanding Wrestler Award.

When Yankanich steps onto the mat, he has a simple philosophy.

"You're just wrestling another man," Yankanich said. "You can't give him any credit.

"I'm kind of tired," he added, "but when the time comes I'll be psyched up. I have to prove I'm tougher each time I wrestle."

To win, he'll have to be tougher, because four returning All-Americans will be at 158. Navy's Scott Schleicher (28-3-1) is ranked No. 1 by Amateur Wrestling News but finished second in the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association tournament to Army's Nick Mauldin (33-2-1), ranked No. 6.

Other returning All-Americans include Fresno State's Wade Zimmerman (33-8), who finished sixth, and Iowa State's Steve Hamilton (30-3-1), who took seventh. Hamilton is No. 2 in the latest AWN poll and placed second in the Big Eight tournament.

Oklahoma State freshman Pat Smith (25-6-1) beat Hamilton for the Big Eight title. Big 10 winner Jim Pearson (31-4-2) should also be among the top seeds.

"John wrestles as hard as he can," Coach Rich Lorenzo said. "One of his best things is he keeps his opponents on the defensive. He rides his opponent well, which wears him out physically and mentally cracks him."

Senior Mike Bevilacqua (28-5-3), ranked No. 12 by AWN, takes an impressive record and a stingy defense into the tournament. Bevilacqua admits he doesn't put that many points on the board, but he also doesn't give many away. Only one wrestler, last year's NCAA runner-up Townsend (Junior) Saunders, who will compete at 150, has scored more than five points against him this season.

"He has all the tools to be a national champion," Lorenzo said. "The key is for him to be mentally relaxed. Mike is very difficult to score on, he hard to take down. But he has to wrestle aggressively."

Oklahoma's Joe Reynolds (35-1) won the Big Eight title and enters the championships with AWN's No. 1 ranking.

Other tough competitors will be Thom Ortiz (28-1) of Arizona State, who won the Pacific 10 title and placed seventh at 150 last year. Notre Dame's Pat Boyd (28-3-1) is another returning All-American, taking fifth at 142 a year ago. Other favorites include Minnesota's Chuck Heise (37-3-1), the Big 10 winner, Oklahoma's Chuck Barbee (30-9) and Boston University's Pat Duthie (44-3-1).

At 134, Dubin (17-15) will make his first trip to nationals. According to AWN, the Big 10 sends the top two wrestlers in the nation. Iowa's Tom Brands (34-2) lost to Penn State's Jim Martin in the consolation finals last year at 126 but has moved up a class and has been ranked No. 1 there this season. Minnesota's Dave Zuniga (22-1), however, is right behind Brands and beat him in the Big 10 finals.

"Chad really is going to be a little like the Penn State team," Lorenzo said. "He's going to be a real underdog at this weight class. But I feel Chad Dubin is capable of winning matches just because he's aggressive and he's good on his feet."

Oklahoma's T.J. Sewell, last year's silver medallist at 134, returns with a 34-6-2 mark and a Big Eight championship. Other favorites include EWL champion Mike Lingenfelter (36-4-1) and runner-up Tony Reed (24-5-2) of Bloomsburg.

Wittman (10-11), making his second appearance in the national tournament, will be one of only two wrestlers taking a losing record into the 150 weight class.

On the other end of the spectrum stands AWN's No. 1 Brian Dolph of Indiana. Dolph (41-2) took the bronze at 150 last year and won the Big 10 tournament.

Arizona State's Saunders (31-3), the runner-up at 142 last year, is the Pacific 10 champ and No. 2 according to AWN. Other contenders include Rich Bailey (27-3) of Cal-State Bakersfield, a fourth-place finisher last year and Oklahoma State's Todd Chesbro (33-7), the Big Eight tournament winner, who placed fifth.