Iowa's title streak will be on line in Division I Wrestling Championships in Philly

The University of Iowa will attempt to win a fourth consecutive team title when the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships come to the Wells Fargo Center from March 17 to 19.

The Hawkeyes' top-seeded wrestler in brackets released yesterday is defending national champion Matt McDonough, the second seed at 125 pounds.

McDonough is among five former national champions coming to Philadelphia, including Nebraska's Jordan Burroughs, who won the national title at 157 in 2009 and is now the top seed at 165. The defending champion at 165, Wisconsin's Andrew Howe, is seeded second.

The past two champions at 149 are both returning, with 2010 winner Kyle Drake, from Cornell, seeded fourth and 2009 champion Darrion Caldwell, from North Carolina State, seeded first with a 14-0 record.

In all 330 wrestlers will compete in 10 weight classes, with the top eight wrestlers in each class earning All-America honors.

The NCAA announced 50 at-large selections yesterday to go with 280 automatic qualifiers.

Iowa enters the NCAAs ranked second in the National Wrestling Coaches Association/USA Today poll.

Cornell is ranked No. 1. The Big Red's best hope for a national title could be Cam Simaz, the top seed at 197, who is 31-1 on the season.

Penn State might have some of the home-state advantage. The Nittany Lions were ranked No. 1 late in the season and come off a one-point win over Iowa in the Big Ten Tournament. Five PSU wrestlers won conference championships: Andrew Long (133), Frank "The Tank" Molinaro (149), David Taylor (157), Ed Ruth (174) and Quentin Wright (184).

Action at the sold-out arena begins at 11 a.m. Thursday on eight mats and continues with a 6:30 p.m. session. On Friday, quarterfinals begin at 11 a.m. with semifinals on six mats at 7 p.m. On Saturday, the third- through eighth-place matches begin at 11 a.m. with the championship matches on one mat at 7 p.m.