COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- One-eighteen pounder Jeff Prescott might be said to have a Jekyll and Hyde personality.

For the redshirt sophomore (21-4-1), the combination seems to be working as he rolled to a technical fall and a major decision in the first two rounds of his first NCAA tournament.

"Two down, three to go," he said.

Before each match, Prescott, the seventh seed in the tournament, listens to the driving power of Motley Crue's "Kick Start My Heart" on his headphones.

"I listen to it and I picture myself with headers and motor parts coming out of my heart," he said. "I picture myself getting started -- it's get me rolling.

"It may sound stupid, but I don't think it's stupid. The song makes me tingle all over."

Once he takes off the headphones, however, he listens to a different kind of power.

The last thing Prescott takes off his body before each match is a small wooden cross he made in junior high wood shop. Once the match is over, it's the first thing that goes back on.

"It brings good luck or whatever you want to call it," Prescott said. "It brings faith to me, gives me a little bit of protection."

But the times when he's not wearing the cross -- when he's on the mat -- it's usually the other man who needs protection. In his last five matches, Prescott has recorded one fall, two technical falls and a major decision.

"It's too tough to stay at his pace for seven minutes," Coach Rich Lorenzo said. "It really works to his advantage; we just love it that he wants to thrash his opponents."

In the calm after the match, with the cross back around his neck, Prescott's adrenaline slowly wears off. He's more reflective, looking at what he wants to accomplish.

"I want to win," he said. "I get the drive from wanting to win. I think about a lot of things before the match. I think about myself, my teammates, my family."

With his family watching, Prescott controlled Pitt's Bob Simpson (30-13) in the second round last night, earning a 18-9 major decision. Simpson had previously knocked off No. 10 seed Tony Purler of Oklahoma State.

Although Simpson scored first with a double-leg takedown, Prescott quickly rolled through for a reversal and followed it with a tilt to take the lead, 4-2.

Prescott got a little overpatient, however, and Simpson came within one when he escaped from Prescott's cradle. Prescott quickly guarded his lead with another takedown, ending the first period with a 6-3 lead.

"When the first period was over, it was close," Prescott said. "I knew if I kept working him I could break him."

Prescott started up in the second period, but put himself in danger when he went to tilt Simpson. Simpson reversed Prescott and scored two near-fall points. Prescott, however, regained his composure and reversed Simpson. He once again used a tilt to end the period with a 10-7 lead.

"He's a good defensive wrestler," Prescott said. "He waits for you to make a mistake. I had to just keep plugging."

Prescott escaped by rolling through early in the third period, but Simpson took him down and narrowed the score to 11-7. Prescott admitted he began to get tired in the third -- which he blamed on cutting weight and being nervous. He fought through the pain to escape and execute a five-point move and end the period ahead 17-9. Riding time gave him another point, making the final score 18-9.

"What makes him so effective is his aggressiveness," Simpson said. "He gets on you at the whistle and doesn't quit until its over. He just doesn't quit. It doesn't matter if he's down 13 or up 13. He's by far the most aggressive wrestler I've ever wrestled."

Although his aggressiveness often puts him in control, sometimes Prescott gets restless and finds himself in danger. Prescott realizes it comes with the territory and has a simple philosophy.

"I'll give up two to get three," he said.