It's a quest for individual triumph and a chance for team glory. It's a freshman's first chance to make a name for himself, while it's a few seniors' last chance to etch their names into the record books. It's one All-American's chance to reclaim his No. 1 spot, while another attempts to show the country that he is underrated.

The 2006 NCAA Wrestling Championships have more story lines than a choose-your-own-adventure book.

The Penn State wrestling team is hopeful that it is only a few page flips away from a happy ending involving some form of national domination for individuals or as a team.

The tournament's first two rounds will begin at 8 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. today at the Ford Center in Oklahoma City.

The Nittany Lions are returning five national qualifiers from last year, two of whom are All-Americans. Three Nittany Lions will get their first crack at the big dance.

Returning All-American Phil Davis stole the local headlines and the Big Ten wrestling championship two weeks ago, but even winning the gold in what is arguably the nation's toughest wrestling conference still has not elevated the sophomore's No. 6 ranking nationally.

"He warrants being seeded higher, but there are some tough kids in his weight class that have been ranked ahead of him all year," Penn State coach Troy Sunderland said. "That's something that'll probably motivate him, and that's something that we'll probably use to light the fire for him and keep him focused on what he needs to be doing."

Team captain and longtime No. 1, and current No. 7, Eric Bradley will try to reclaim his throne as the king of the 184-pound weight class. Bradley posted a perfect record in the Big Ten duals this year before falling to the fourth-place finisher after a 2-2 performance during the Big Ten Championships this year. Bradley will enter the tournament as the eight seed.

Redshirt freshman Jake Strayer has made a strong case for himself this year to be an underdog to compete for the national title with a No. 7 seed. Strayer has already defeated seven national qualifiers and had a record of 7-4 against ranked opponents this season.

James Yonushonis, the last Lion to earn a seeded rank at No. 9, started off the season almost unheard of, but didn't waste any time introducing himself to the national arena. The junior defeated three top 12 opponents in the first three weeks of competition and has an even record of 6-6 against other national qualifiers this year.

Seniors James Woodall and Joel Edwards and junior Nathan Galloway will return for a second shot at national glory. None of the three was granted a seed, which means the road to victory will be a lot more tumultuous.

Senior Dewitt Driscoll finishes out the list of Lions qualifiers. Driscoll was on the verge of going to nationals two years ago before tearing his right ACL during the battle for seventh place in the Big Ten Tournament. He will make his first appearance in the tournament.

Sunderland said that he hopes the team does well in the team competition, but the focus for the tournament will be slightly different than during duals.

"Really they have to be a little bit selfish and focus on what they need to do to get themselves in the best position possible," Sunderland said.

Sunderland said the team's chances to win the team competition were compromised when David Erwin and Brad Patacky lost automatic bids at Big Tens and were refused wild cards when nationals rolled around.

"It's disappointing because those other kids are good enough to be here," Sunderland said. "Guys that they've beaten throughout the year are here at the tournament. It's disappointing to us as a staff and even more to Brad and David."

ESPNU will cover Friday's quarterfinal and consolation bouts beginning at 11 a.m. and will team with ESPN-Plus to cover Friday evening's semifinal round. Saturday night, ESPN will showcase the NCAA finals round beginning at 7:30.