The Big Ten wrestling tournament is a little different than other tournaments that the conference holds. There is more at stake individually than as a team.

So in that sense, the Penn State wrestling team did what it set out to do by qualifying four-fifths of the starting lineup for the NCAA Championships this weekend.

The eight NCAA qualifiers are the most by Penn State since the 2003 season.

"The key was getting those guys qualified for nationals," Sunderland said. "We qualified eight, but we really wanted to qualify 10 guys, but unfortunately we were unable to do that."

The Lions had a few impressive individual performances during the two-day tournament in Assembly Hall at Indiana University on March 4-5.

But the brightest showing came from sophomore Phil Davis. The slick wrestler at 197 rattled off four dominating wins on his way to winning the Big Ten title. Davis shut out top-seeded Tyrone Byrd of Illinois 4-0 to capture the Lions' first-ever Big Ten individual title at 197.

"Phil wrestled really well [last weekend]," Sunderland said. "He was really confident going in to the match, and it's definitely a big step for him especially being a sophomore. It will give him a great shot at winning at nationals this weekend."

The Lions had a few other stellar performances that were overshadowed by Davis' victory. Freshman Jake Strayer at 133 once again showed why he will be one of the nation's best wrestlers, as he finished third in his first Big Ten Tournament.

"Jake did a good job coming back," Sunderland said, referring to Strayer losing his first match of the tournament. "He was able to keep his composure even after being in some hard-fought matches."

The Lions' only No. 1 seed in the tournament was Eric Bradley at 184. Bradley looked poised to capture his third straight title but was upset in the semifinals in sudden victory. He recovered and was able to give the Lions their second third-place finish.

But it was in the team portion of the weekend that the Lions rode a roller coaster of emotions. The Lions finished the tournament in fourth with 91 points, 3.5 points better than fifth-place Northwestern. Minnesota won the tournament with 136 points, which was 11 points better than the next closest squad.

Davis, senior Joel Edwards, senior James Woodall and junior Nathan Galloway all helped to pace the Lions early in day one.

Woodall began the day with a pin of Northwestern's Marty Gould in the first match of the day. Galloway followed with a 13-5 major decision victory against Gould's teammate, Greg Hagel.

Then the two big boys for Penn State stepped onto neighboring mats and put the Penn State roller coaster at its highest point.

First up was Davis, who rolled Ohio State's John Aston on his back to pick up the Lions' third win and second pin of the afternoon. Not to be outdone, Edwards pinned Mike Bucklin of Iowa just seconds after his teammate. The four consecutive victories -- all with bonus points -- gave the Lions 11 early points. But the Lions couldn't hold onto the early momentum and finished the first session of day one in third place, with an 8-6 record.

The Lions' stumble during the first half of day one parlayed into a fall, and they slipped to fifth by the end of the first day.

Davis' title at 197 had a lot to do with the Lions moving up in the standings, but it was the Lions' 9-3 record during the final session that allowed Penn State to propel past the Hawkeyes.

"I'm proud of the way we came back as a team [Sunday] after a tough round [Saturday]," Sunderland said.

The Lions battled back and secured their fourth-place finish by winning forfeit matches at 133, 174, 184, and heavyweight. These key bonus point wins down the stretch allowed Penn State to hold its lead against Iowa and Northwestern.

Penn State's fourth-place finish was its highest since placing third in 2003. But even with the Lions sending eight wrestlers to nationals, one thing still didn't feel good to Sunderland.

"It still stings that some of our freshmen didn't qualify but they did beat some of the guys who did [qualify]," he said. "But it doesn't mean that it should diminish what they did this season."