For years, the power base of the Penn State wrestling lineup has been the lightweights.

Wrestlers such as John Fritz, Jim Martin, Jeff Prescott, Sanshiro Abe, and Jeremy Hunter have struck gold at the NCAA tournament and helped turn Penn State wrestling into a brand name.

This season, things are no different. The Nittany Lions' fortunes rely heavily on the first three weights — 125, 133, and 141.

"Our lightweights, especially 133 and 141 will need to score points for us if we want to be successful," head coach Troy Sunderland said.

While it is clear that those weights will be counted on, who will actually be representing the Lions at those weights is not.

The lightest, 125, is apparently set as senior Justin Kast defeated the only other contender at the weight, freshman Adam Smith, twice at wrestle-offs.

Sunderland knows he has a reliable man in his lineup's lowest weight.

"Kast has been around," Sunderland said. "He's a hard worker and he's experienced. He has worked out with tough wrestlers like Jeremy Hunter."

That work with Hunter, a three-time all-American and NCAA champion in 2000, may prove to be invaluable during the rugged Big Ten season.

"Working with Hunter was an extreme help for me," Kast said. "Getting beat up in the room everyday can only help you get better and make you tougher."

The other lightweights, 133 and 141, have the potential to be the Lions' two toughest weights. A quartet of strong wrestlers, three of which have NCAA tournament experience, will vie for two positions.

At 133, sophomores Josh Moore and Marat Tomaev will square off to decide the starting position. A Moore injury cancelled the highly anticipated match at wrestle-offs, so the elimination match will be wrestled in practice.

Moore wrestled at 125 pounds last season but was unable to certify at his old weight. Tomaev wrestled at 133 last season. Both won a pair of matches at the NCAA tournament last March and both have been ranked in the top 20 this preseason by at least one service.

At 141, sophomore Scott Moore, Josh's brother, defeated much-praised redshirt Jason Woodall twice at wrestle-offs to secure the starting position. However, Scott Moore is certified at 133 and has the option to drop down if he decides to. Moore, an NCAA qualifier as a freshman in 2000, was forced to sit out last season due to a shoulder injury.

"My weight is not a big deal. I can still make 133, but I feel good at 141. I feel like I have more energy," Moore said.

Scott Moore, who has been ranked as high as sixth in some preseason polls, needs to be in the lineup somewhere for the Lions.

"Scott is an intense competitor," Sunderland said. "He's dangerous from all positions and he's able to battle back in tough matches."

Working with the Moores, and all of the lightweights has been new assistant coach, Sammie Henson.

Henson has increased the level of intensity in practice, which Sunderland hopes will transfer over to live competition.

"We want intensity for the full seven minutes," Sunderland said. "Sometimes last season we left the door open and it hurt us. You have to break your opponent. We try to push these guys past their comfort level in practice and Henson has been a big help with that."

Whichever lightweights step out onto the mat for Penn State this season, they will be representing a tradition of winning.

"I wouldn't say there's a lot of pressure on Penn State lightweights," Kast said. "But when we go out there, we're expected to win."