ITHACA, N.Y. -- The fourth-ranked wrestling team (14-2) hosts the Empire Collegiate Wrestling Conference (ECWC) Championships this weekend. The nine-team tournament is the league's qualifier for the NCAA Championships (March 11-12 at Wisconsin-La Crosse). A total of 15 wrestlers -- 10 champions and five wild-card selections -- will earn bids to the the NCAA tournament. Ticket prices for the tournament are $6 (adults) and $3 (children, students with ID and senior citizens). Fans can follow the action, which begins at 11 a.m. Saturday, online through Ithaca's live webcast.

The tournament, which also includes Brockport, Cortland, Lycoming, Messiah, Morrisville, Oneonta, Oswego and Rochester Institute of Technology, should feature five former champions. The only two returning titlists from last year's event are Bombers: seniors Jeremy Stierly (Owen J. Roberts/Pottstown, Pa.) and Blaine Woszczak (Wall/Manasquan, N.J.).

Stierly won the 141-pound title last winter on his way to a second-place finish at the NCAA Championships. Ranked second nationally this year, he's 16-1 on the season with four major decisions, two pins and a technical fall. He earned all-state honors with a third-place finish at the NYS Championships. Stierly's career record stands at 73-16.

Woszczak, the defending champion at 149 pounds, is also ranked second nationally. A two-time all-American (he's placed fourth the past two years), he's 29-2 this season and has won a school-record 131 bouts in his career. Woszczak has won eight times by pin, four times by technical fall and three times by major decision. He was named Most Outstanding Wrestler at both the Cliff Keen National Duals and the New York State Championships (where he won Ithaca's first state title in five years. He's a three-time ECWC Wrestler of the Week this season and won the 149-pound title at York's New Standard Corporation Invitational.

Four other Bombers are nationally ranked, with the list headed by sophomore Derek Brenon (Immaculate Heart Central/Watertown), Division III's top-ranked wrestler at 157 pounds. Brenon is 20-1 this year with five pins, three major decisions and a technical fall. He's already won tournament titles at the Ithaca and York Invitationals. His career mark stands at 39-7.

Junior Seth Ecker (Pottstown/Pottstown, Pa.) is ranked third at 133 pounds. The 2009 ECWC champion at 125 pounds, he's compiled a 25-3 record this year (the losses came to wrestlers ranked either first or second nationally). A 2009 all-American, he was named Most Outstanding Wrestler at York's invitational and earned all-state honors with a third-place finish at the NYS meet. Ecker has six pins, five major decisions and five technical falls on the season and is 71-15 in his career.

Junior heavyweight Matt Mahon (Brighton/Rochester) is ranked fifth nationally. He's 18-7, winning 14 of his matches by fall. He earned all-state honors with a fourth-place effort at the state championships and placed first at the York Invitational. Mahon is 63-22 in his career with 43 pins.

Junior David Priest (Wyomissing/Douglassville, Pa.) is ranked ninth at 174 pounds. He's won 20 of his 23 bouts this season and is four wins away from becoming the 17th Bomber with 100 career victories. Priest, who won the 174-pound crown at the Ithaca Invitational, has a team-best seven major decisions and has pinned five opponents.

Among the five other Bombers who've reached double digits in wins are junior Max Cohen (Williamsville East/East Amherst) and senior Nick Sanko (Hamburg Area/Lenhartsville, Pa.). Cohen is 15-7 at 125 pounds with three major decisions. He placed first at the Ithaca Invitational and placed eighth at the NYS Championships to earn all-state recognition. Sanko is 14-5 this season with three major decisions, wrestling at 157 and 165 pounds.

Tournament website