As for Penn State, in ninth before the second round of consolation bouts, four wrestlers made it to the quarterfinals beginning at 11 a.m. today in The Bryce Jordan Center.

Nittany Lions still going for first-place honors are 125-pounder Jeremy Hunter, co-captains Clint Musser at 157 pounds and Glenn Pritzlaff at 174 pounds, as well as 184-pounder Ross Thatcher. Thatcher surprised returning All-American and No. 6 seed Casey Strand of Arizona State in the second round en route to a quarterfinal bout.

With himself and three teammates advancing, Hunter said Penn State should be listed along with Oklahoma State, Minnesota and Iowa -- the Big Three -- as serious contenders.

"If everybody wrestles well," the junior said, "we can be right there with the other teams."

Despite where they are in the standings, the three top teams suffered major hits in yesterday's first two sessions of grappling action.

Oklahoma State, winner of the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Team Duals in January, may have taken the biggest hits of the three.

Undefeated Cowboys 174-pounder Mark Smith, 31-0 and ranked No. 1 in the country heading into NCAAs, was stunned, 3-2, in the second round by sophomore Kevin Boross of North Carolina State, eliminating the senior from championship contention.

Smith's brother and head coach, John Smith, was blunt regarding the day's second session, in which only three of nine NCAA-qualifying Cowboys remained alive for NCAA titles.

"This has been the worst two hours of my life," Smith said.

Upsets weren't limited to the Cowboys.

Iowa, which is hoping to continue its string of four straight NCAA team titles, also suffered.

Jim Zalesky's Hawkeyes placed five wrestlers into today's first session, but two seeded Hawkeyes no longer alive for individual titles.

Five Minnesota wrestlers moved into the next round, but coach J. Robinson's Gophers lost No. 4-seeded Troy Marr and No. 10 Leroy Vega to the consolation bracket.

According to Robinson, change can occur quickly at the NCAA Championships.