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GOLDANDBLACK EXPRESS • VOLUME 25, EXPRESS 24 • 28 on collegiate wrestling's biggest stage. Dustin Schultz, a reserve on the team, will travel with the team to the NCAA Cham- pionships as well. "It's a great feeling knowing where we came from," Atwood said. "We came in with a huge class and it's whittled down to us. We're the last ones standing. It's an amaz- ing feeling that we're all given another op- portunity to compete together one last time. There's not many people that get that opportu- nity with such a strong, close-knit class. It brings us together." Lawrence went a combined 35-16 his sophomore and junior years but was unable to earn a trip to nation- als. This year he broke through, finishing tied for a team-best in sixth place after he was seeded eighth. "Once I clinched that, it was really exciting to look up into the fans and see everybody celebrating," Lawrence said. "For the last month, I've been watching NCAA highlight films to keep me motivated before practice if I'm feeling a little sluggish. Watching all the best 33 guys in the nation wrestling hard in that environment is always something I've dreamed of wrestling in." His road to the NCAAs was far from easy, however. Lawrence won with sudden victories over Penn State's Kade Moss and Michigan George's Fish - er before a last-minute escape to defeat Wisconsin's Jesse Thielke. "I thought I did a good job of keeping my composure through- out my matches," Lawrence said. "We've been doing a lot of drills in practice that simulate those cir- cumstances that come down to winning and losing a close match like that. I felt really physically and mentally prepared and was able to keep my composure and get the wins I needed." This year marks the first NCAA Champi- onship appearance for Lawrence and three of Purdue's other four senior starters. Atwood, who will be making his fourth NCAA appearance, said his most important role as a tournament veteran is to ensure his teammates don't overthink on the big stage. "I just tell them it's a bigger venue but the same size mat," Atwood said. "The guy who is lining up across from you is going to make the same weight. He's not coming from a tougher conference tourna - ment. The rules are the same. You score points the same way. Just relax, have fun and wrestle." Ersland, who coached 86 NCAA qualifiers, 28 All-Amer- icans and four national cham- pions in his 17 years as a colle- giate assistant prior to Purdue, said the key to the national championship is finding a balance. "You have to understand that it's a busi- ness trip and you have to do what you need to do to be successful, but at the same time you can't make it so important that you're not freed up to perform the way you're ca- pable of," Ersland said. "It's something these guys have worked for for years." Atwood called the NCAA tournament appearance a perfect way for the senior class to end their collegiate careers. "We survived everything," Atwood said. "All the adversity that's been thrown at us through injuries and coaching changes. In the five years that we've been here, we've come that much closer to each other. We're around each other countless hours, count- less days. They're like brothers to me. It's sad to see our time together come to an end, but it's great to see it come at an end all together at NCAAs." j Purdue Doug Welch is one of five Boilermakers who will be making his first NCAA Championships appearance on March 19-21 in St. Louis. Eight of 10 Purdue starters will compete at the NCAA Championships from March 19-21 in St. Louis. Big Ten NCAA Weight Name finish appearances 133 Danny Sabatello 10 2 141 Nick Lawrence 6 1 149 Brandon Nelson 7 1 157 Doug Welch 6 1 165 Pat Robinson 8 1 174 Chad Welch 10 2 184 Patrick Kissel 9 1 197 Braden Atwood 7 4 Links PurdueSports.com: Women's golf takes sixth at Hurricane Invitiational PurdueSports.com: Black named Big Ten Freshman-of-the-Year in track and field PurdueSports.com: Seven swimmers to represent Purdue women at NCAAs PurdueSports.com: Boilermakers ride four-run first to 6-3 win at Oklahoma PurdueSports.com: Boilermakers finish second at the Desert Mountain Intercollegiate PurdueSports.com: Boilers bounce back with 3-2 win over Northern Iowa PurdueSports.com: No. 29 Purdue shuts out Georgia State in women's tennis