ST. LOUIS-- This is America's heartland where the earth is flat as far as the eye can see.

But for Penn State on the first day of the NCAA wrestling championships at the Savvis Center, there were more peaks and valleys than a drive through the Blue Ridge Mountains.

After two rounds of action, the Nittany Lions have five of their original six wrestlers in the tournament. Josh Moore at 133 and Pat Cummins at heavyweight are into this morning's quarterfinals while Matt Storniolo at 149, James Woodall at 157 and Eric Bradley at 184 are all alive in consolation action. Adam Smith was eliminated at 125 pounds after going 0-2.

As a team, the Lions are in eleventh place with 15.5 points. Oklahoma State leads the team race with 30 points.

For the day, the Lions were a combined 7-5, experiencing some strong highs and some depressing lows.

Moore and Cummins provided most of the highs. Moore won by fall over Don Fisch of Rider in his first bout and then came back in the evening session to gain revenge over Wisconsin's Ed Gutnik with a 1-0 win. After wrestling an open match against Gutnik at the Big Ten championships but losing 14-4, Moore stayed cautious this time around.

The match was scoreless after two periods because Gutnik chose the neutral position to start the second period, fearing Moore's punishing ride. In the third, Moore picked up an escape and played it close to the vest to win 1-0.

"I knew it would be a tough match going in," Moore said. "I just wanted to keep low and keep moving." Penn State coach Troy Sunderland was pleased.

"The match went exactly how we planned it," Sunderland said. "Josh kept his composure and didn't get frustrated. He wrestled smart."

This morning, Moore will have the unenviable task of meeting two-time national champion Johnny Thompson of Oklahoma State in the quarters.

"He's tough, but that doesn't matter at this point," Moore said. "I get him right after weigh-ins, so that might be to my advantage. "

The day held much less drama for Cummins, but it was no less satisfying. He won both of his matches by major decision, 12-4 over Sacred Heart's Payan Zarrinpour and 11-1 over Wisconsin's Jareck Horton in the second.

"I'm relieved to get these matches over," Cummins said. "You're always kind of nervous at the beginning."

Cummins will also face an Oklahoma State wrestler in this morning's quarterfinals, Will Gruenwald. Without a doubt, the day's biggest disappointment came in the second round at 184.

Bradley clearly outwrestled Purdue's Ben Wissel, repeatedly driving in on takedown attempts, but he couldn't convert. Wissel was exhausted and had to use injury time to catch his breath. The match ended up going to it's limit, two full overtime periods, and Bradley lost a decision because Wissel had more total riding time by 19 seconds.

The competition is cutthroat and the only consistent thing is the inconsistency. "It's definitely a roller coaster ride," Sunderland said.