mes, Iowa--NU's Bryan Snyder became the fourth Husker freshman in school history to win a conference title Saturday evening at the 1999 Big 12 Championships, where seven Nebraska wrestlers qualified for the NCAA Championships despite a fourth-place showing.

The fourth-ranked Huskers finished fourth in the conference race with 57.5 points, as the fifth-ranked Oklahoma Sooners upset No. 1 Oklahoma State to claim their first conference title since 1986. OU finished with 82.5 points, followed by OSU in second (76) and Iowa State in third (64). Missouri finished fifth with six points to round out the field.

Snyder, the No. 1 seed at 157 pounds, earned Nebraska's lone conference title with a 3-1 overtime win over No. 2 seed David Maldonado of Iowa State. After sitting out of practices for most of the week because of torn cartilage in the rib area, Snyder's status was questionable entering the tournament.

"It knew I wouldn't be 100 percent, but I had to suck it up," Snyder said. "We talked about sitting this one out, but I knew that that wasn't an option. This is too much fun. It feels great to come in here and win."

"It's foolish to rally around a freshman, but we've been doing it all year," Neumann said. "I thought Bryan did a great job considering he was in pain. It's just awesome for a freshman to win it anyway -- let alone to win it at less than 100 percent and against a fifth-year senior wrestling in front of his home crowd."

With a record of 27-3, Snyder has the opportunity to become the sixth Husker in history to earn 30 wins in a freshman season with three victories at the national championships.

Nebraska also got runner-up finishes from senior Jose DeAnda at 141, sophomore Brad Vering at 184 and sophomore J.R. Plienis at heavyweight. DeAnda defeated Charles Walker of Oklahoma State, 5-4, before losing to No. 1 seed Michael Lightner of Oklahoma in the finals, 5-2. Vering, the No. 3 seed at 184 pounds, upset No. 2-seeded Mark Munoz of Oklahoma State, 5-4, to avenge two overtime losses suffered to Munoz earlier this season. In the finals, Vering lost to undefeated Cael Sanderson of Iowa State, 9-5. Plienis, the No. 1 heavyweight seed, advanced to the finals with a 4-2 overtime win over Iowa State's Mark Knauer, but lost to Oklahoma's John Henry Ward, 3-1, in the finals.

Paul Gomez and Scott Munson added third-place finishes at 125 pounds and 197 pounds, respectively. After losing to the meet's Outstanding Wrestler and eventual conference champion Shane Valdez of Oklahoma in the first round, Gomez beat Iowa State's Jesse West, 6-2 and Missouri's Jake Lapinski, 15-6. Munson was edged by Waymon May of Oklahoma, 2-1, and defeated Kevin Herron of Missouri, 13-4.

The top three placewinners and five wild-cards advance to the NCAA Championships, March 18-20, at State College, Pa. Joining automatic qualifiers Snyder, DeAnda, Vering, Pleinis, Gomez and Munson was Joe Henson, who was awarded a wild card bid after finishing with a 19-8 record for the season and a fourth-place conference finish at 149 pounds. Sophomore Todd Beckerman, who finished fourth at 133, was not awarded a wild-card bid. Zac Dominguez, the other Husker to compete at the Big 12 Championships, notched a fourth-place finish at 165 pounds, but will not compete at the national championships.

"It was disappointing to lose to some of the people we've already beaten," Nebraska Coach Tim Neumann said. "If we could have had back just a few seconds from the semifinals, we would have been in good shape. At least now we've seen some things we need to work on before nationals." Husker Finishes Weight-by-Weight
Weight/Finish/Seed/Wrestler/Season Record
125 - 3rd, No. 3 Paul Gomez (21-3) - automatic NCAA qualifier
133 - 4th, Todd Beckerman (19-15)
141 - 2nd, No. 2 Jose DeAnda (25-6) - automatic NCAA qualifier
149 - 4th, No. 2 Joe Henson (19-9) - NCAA qualifier by wild-card bid
157 - 1st, No. 1 Bryan Snyder (28-3) - automatic NCAA qualifier
165 - 4th, Zac Dominguez (13-6)
174 - 4th, Charles McTorry (13-19)
184 - 2nd, No. 2 Brad Vering (22-7) - automatic NCAA qualifier
197 - 3rd, No. 2 Scott Munson (26-10) - automatic NCAA qualifier
Hwt - 2nd, No. 1 J.R. Plienis (22-11) - automatic NCAA qualifier

Final Team Standings
1) Oklahoma (82.5)
2) Oklahoma State (76)
3) Iowa State (64)
4) Nebraska (57.5)
5) Missouri (6)

Outstanding Wrestle
Shane Valdez, Oklahoma, 125 pounds
125
First Round
#2 Shane Valdez (29-4) vs. #3 Paul Gomez (19-2), Nebraska
Period 1--:02 Valdez, OU, 2-0.
Period 2