AMES - Six returning NCAA qualifiers, three seniors with starting experience and a handful of highly regarded freshmen give Iowa State wrestling coach Cael Sanderson every reason to believe his team can unseat Minnesota as the NCAA national champion this season.

"We're really looking forward to this season," said Sanderson at Tuesday's annual Cyclone wrestling media day. "We lost some big seniors that scored a lot of points for us last year at the national tournament. But we are returning six NCAA qualifiers and we have three seniors who have had starting experience throughout their careers and some freshmen, and they're ready to make an impact."

The six returnees are all from that nationally ranked recruiting class of three years ago. Four of the six are moving up a weight class as sophomores, meaning Nick Fanthrope will open the season at 133 pounds, Nick Gallick at 141, Mitch Mueller at 149 and Cyler Sanderson at 157.

"We expected them to go up, we just didn't know when that would be," Cael Sanderson said. "It's the best weight class for each of them. It's not about cutting weight or anything. It's about being at the weight that you can perform the best."

Jack Varner, the runner-up at 184 pounds at last spring's national championships, returns at his normal weight class, as does heavyweight David Zabriskie.

Seniors Ben Hanisch, Aron Scott and David Bertolino are among the contenders at 125, 174 and 197, respectively.

Hanisch, the starter at 125 two years ago, is competing with true freshman Tyler Clark and redshirt freshman Mark Kist. Scott, a 149-pounder most of his career, is at 174 with redshirt freshman Mitch Artist, true freshman Billy Lewis and sophomore Chris Pursel.

Bertolino, a 174-pounder throughout his career at Iowa State, is competing with Joe Curran at 197.

Curran, also a member of the aforementioned nationally ranked recruiting class, competed at heavyweight as a true freshman and redshirted last season.

Redshirt freshman Jon Reader is expected to be the starter at 165, replacing three-time all-American Travis Paulson. Trent Paulson, also a three-time all-American for ISU and the 157- pound national champ last spring, has also graduated along with 174-pounder Grant Turner and 197-pounder Kurt Backes.

"Jon Reader is exactly the type of student athlete we're looking for," Cael Sanderson said. "He works hard every single day, every second in practice, and he's got an extremely positive influence on the rest of the team. I expect him to make an immediate impact, and his goal is to win a national championship this year. He's ready to go, he's fun to watch. He's definitely going to be a crowd-pleaser."

Iowa State has traditionally redshirted its incoming freshmen, but that may be a thing of the past. Sanderson said he won't hesitate to use any wrestler who gives the Cyclones their best opportunity to win.

"We're telling them to go out there and give your best effort," he said. "Our approach is always going to be the same. We're not talking wins and losses, we're talking effort and hustle, representing Iowa State every time you step out on the mat."

Because all six of those sophomores qualified for nationals last spring, Sanderson expects to them to draw from that experience.

"Just being there and getting a feeling and understanding that it's just a tournament like any other tournament is priceless," Coach Sanderson said. "They know what to expect, they know that our plan is going to work. They're a lot better than they were.

"We're young, but we're not inexperienced. These guys have been there, they've been competing at the national level all their lives, and they have that winning attitude."

Sanderson said regardless of who is on the mat, consistency is the goal.

"We can be all right if we can do that," Sanderson said. "We have to attack our goals every time we step out on the mat."

The goal is, of course, winning a national championship. Iowa State is seeking its first since 1987. And Coach Sanderson believes his team can do it, even though Minnesota is the odds-on favorite to successfully defend the title it won last spring.

"Minnesota was a clear favorite last year, and they are a clear favorite this year," Cael Sanderson said. "If you take care of yourself and you go out there and attack every match, there's a good chance you can win. We just need to focus on ourselves and be the best that we can be, eliminate our weaknesses and build on our strengths with each individual and go out there and compete.

"It's real simple. We can't worry about anybody else. It's just a waste of time, and it doesn't do us any good."

Iowa State opens the season Nov. 8 when it hosts Northern Illinois.

Contact Dick Kelly at sportsdoor@wcfcourier.com