Mark Becks has his goal in sight. It is close enough that he can smell it, almost touch it.

With the cacophony that is Van Halen blaring from the David E. Joyner wrestling room, Becks leans against a wall, talking about the season and his upcoming matches at the Big Ten Tournament and nationals.

His voice is quiet, but confident, though hearing him through his teammates' yells and Eddie Van Halen's guitar riffs can be a struggle.

Inside the wrestling room hangs a banner with the names of all of Penn State's 143 All-Americans and 17 National Champions in wrestling.

Some of the names on that banner include Sanshiro Abe, John Fritz and Kerry McCoy. Becks expects to see his name added to that roster at the end of this season.

"My major priority right now is wrestling," Becks said. "And to win a national championship.

"I know I've got that ability, it's just a matter of making it happen," he said.

His coach agrees.

"I think he's capable of winning the whole thing," Troy Sunderland said. "He has shown, in the past and this season, he is capable of beating anyone in the country."

It's just 10 minutes before practice when the Nittany Lion senior reflects on the past season and discusses his hopes for a National Championship and other honors.

"It's been a long journey," the senior said. "I'm looking to make the best of it at nationals."

Becks redshirted his freshman season. He entered the 1999-2000 season as the 174-pound starter and posted a very respectable 21-14 mark. However, he struggled in dual-meet competition with a 7-10 record.

The following year, Becks led the team in dual-meet victories and finished with a 9-9 dual-meet record and an overall record of 22-15.

Becks moved up to 184 for the 2001-2002 season, which was a mixed blessing.

He started the season hot, but injured his leg and had to miss the final eight dual meets of the season. Becks returned to the mat for postseason action and pulled off a 2-4 record at the National Championships and Big Ten tournament. He finished the season with a 21-7 record.

This season, which he considers to be his most consistent as a Lion, Becks has become one of the elite wrestlers in the nation. He pulled off a 17-1 dual-meet record while posting a 7-1 record in Big Ten competition. He won his 100th career match Feb. 19 with an 18-6 major decision over Lock Haven's Mike Greenberg.

His lone dual-meet and conference loss was to Iowa senior Jessman Smith, a returning All-American who has done nothing but dominate this season. He will enter the Big Ten Tournament with a 30-1 record.

Smith has eaten up the competition in the Big Ten, running the table with an 8-0 record. Except for one match, he beat all of his opponents by eight points or a pin within five minutes. That lone match, a 6-4 sudden victory overtime match in which Smith had to sweat out a win, was here at Rec Hall.

It was against Mark Becks.

The first match drew a crowd of 5,100 fans and, according to a Penn State press release, 23,000 fans watched on WPSX and 41,400 homes were tuned into the match on Fox/Pittsburgh.

Barring an upset, it was a preview of the Big Ten finals.

"I think it's going to be another close bout," Sunderland said.

Smith should be seeded first for the tournament while Becks is a probable second seed.

Becks understands that to win the championship, he is probably going to have to go through Smith at Big Tens and nationals.

"I'm looking forward to it," Becks said. "Everything goes through him. To be a national champion, I'm going to have to beat the best."

Sunderland described Becks as a student of the game, and said his work ethic and desire to win are his biggest assets.

Becks credits some of his success to strong family support. His parents, Charles and Lynette, travel from Concord, Ohio, to watch their son wrestle.

"It's been a tremendous blessing," Becks said. "The support I've had in my wrestling career, I'm tremendously grateful for."

Becks is not the first member of his family to wrestle competitively. His brother, Brett Becks, wrestled and played football for Indiana, while Charles wrestled for Ohio State and won a national championship while wrestling in junior college.

Lynette Becks said the family support helped Becks because they were there no matter how he performed. She said she and her husband will drive to Madison, Wisc. for the Big Ten Championships, while Mark's brothers would fly to the tournament.

As another Van Halen song came to its triumphant end, Becks admitted that after a successful regular season, there is pressure for his career to end on the highest note.

"It's just the pressure you put on yourself to win a National Championship," he said.

Becks then walked away and into the wrestling room where practice awaited, his goal in sight.