Padden Named No. 1 Seed at 197 Pounds

197-pound wrestler B.J. Padden was named the top seed at 197 pounds for the 2006 Big 12 Championships, which will be held Saturday at Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa. Padden, the defending Big 12 champion at 197 pounds, will face a tough field including defending national champion Jake Rosholt of Oklahoma State and Joel Flaggert of Oklahoma.

Padden was one of three Huskers to be installed as one of the top two seeds in his respective weight class. Jacob Klein and Vince Jones were named the No. 2 seeds at 174 and 184 pounds, respectively. Klein, a 2004 All-American at 165 pounds, will look to qualify for his fourth career trip to the NCAA Championships. Meanwhile, Jones, a true freshmen, will aim for his first trip to nationals at 184 pounds.

Four Nebraska wrestlers were named the No. 3 seeds in their weight classes. 125-pound wrestler Paul Donahoe, 141-pounder Dominick Moyer, 157-pound wrestler Chris Oliver and heavyweight Jon May all are seeded third in their respective weight classes.

133-pound wrestler Patrick Aleksanyan and 165-pound wrestler Marc Harwood were seeded fourth, while Robert Sanders is the No. 5 seed at 149 pounds.

The Big 12 Championship begins with first-round action on Saturday at Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa at 11 a.m., with the tournament running all day. The top three finishers in each weight class along with six wild-card selections will advance to the 2006 NCAA Championships in Oklahoma City, Okla., which begin on March 16.