No. 10 Cyclones Travel to Columbia for Big 12 Championships

NOTES  BOAZ BEARD INTERVIEW  FINAL SEEDINGS  BRACKETS

AMES, Iowa - Six Iowa State wrestlers competing at the 2012 Big 12 Championships Saturday in Columbia, Mo., are ranked in the top 20 nationally of their respective weight classes, including three in the top 10. Action starts at 11 a.m. CST in the Hearnes Center.

The No. 10 Cyclones lineup includes senior Jerome Ward and redshirt junior Chris Spangler. The duo is back in the Iowa State fold after returning to action in the NWCA National Duals Midwest Regionals Feb. 12 in Hilton Coliseum. Prior to the duals, Ward had not competed in the 2011-12 season and Spangler had suffered a concussion at the Midlands Championships that sidelined him for nearly two months.

All-Session reserved tickets in the lower level of the Hearnes Center can be purchased for $15, while upper level general admission seats are on sale for $10. Doors open to the public at 10 a.m. (CST). Single-session tickets may be purchased Saturday for $10 if available. Visit mutigers.com or call the Missouri ticket office at 1-800-CAT-PAWS.

Both Ward and Spangler had strong returns to competition with Ward posting an 11-7 decision over Taylor Meeks of Oregon State and Spangler scoring an 8-0 major decision against Frank Cousins of Wisconsin.

The Big 12 has 34 wrestlers currently ranked in their respective weight classes including 12 in the top 10 and eight in the top five. Both Spangler and Cyclone 165-pounder Andrew Sorenson are ranked fourth in the nation.

Seedings for the 2012 Big 12 Championships will be finalized Friday evening.

Who: No. 10 Iowa State (4-13, 0-6 Big 12) at Big 12 Championships
Where: Columbia, Mo., - Hearnes Center
When: Saturday, March 3, 11 a.m. (CST) Semi-Finals, 1 p.m. (CST) Third-Place matches, 6:30 p.m. (CST) Championship matches
TV: FSN (Live, 6:30 p.m. CST)
Live stats: Live stats will be available at www.trackwrestling.com
Webcast: Available at Big12sports.com
Live blog: Join in on a virtual press row with an interactive live blog put on by members of the Iowa State athletics communications department. Fans are encouraged to participate by asking questions on the blog which will begin at 10:45 a.m. (CST).
Twitter: Be sure to follow "@CycloneWR" on Twitter for final results after each Cyclone match.