LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Sizing up potential qualifiers for the DII NCAA Wrestling Championships may continue to be a guessing game after this weekend in Indianapolis — but those guesses are going to be a whole lot more educated.

Bellarmine will be among the teams participating Saturday and Sunday in the 41st Annual Midwest Classic hosted by UIndy. Knights Coach Spencer Adams said that while the event has maintained a large scope, it also has a more concentrated field of competitors than in years past.

"The Midwest Classic is now a full DII tournament, meaning that this tournament is the best opportunity to get head-to-head matches in over opponents you may not see until nationals," Adams said. "In most tournaments, you see a regional makeup of teams, but this tournament has been able to draw in the best teams nationwide, which is why it's probably my favorite tournament of the year."

The Midwest Classic marks Bellarmine's fourth tournament of the season after the Knights competed in the University of the Cumberlands' Patriot Open, the Mount Union Invitational and the Findlay Open. It's been about a month since the latter — Bellarmine competed in duals against Urbana and Lindsey Wilson in the meantime — and Adams always considers the Midwest Classic among the Knights' vital measuring sticks each season.

"The level of competition is always top notch, and I would expect it to be just as good, if not better, than previous years," he said. "It will be a good test to see where we stand."

The Midwest Classic represents Bellarmine's only competitive action in December. The holiday break follows, so the tournament is ideal for each of the participating Knights as a midseason evaluation tool of their current state of performance on the mat.

"Over the break, the guys will have a chance to reset and come up with a game plan for the second half of the year," Adams said. "What better way to find out where you need to improve than by testing yourself against the best opponents. After all, these are the guys we will have to beat to make it nationals, become an All-American or become a national champ."

Senior Gage Branson (149) and sophomore Brandon Lucas (133) are pacing Bellarmine with 10 wins each, while freshmen Mitch Collica (157) and Sam Glassco (141) both have eight victories and freshman Devan Hendricks (165) has seven.

Certainly there's a lot of demands on the Knights in December. While striving to improve on the mat, they're preparing for and then taking final exams.

"This week is always a tough one to juggle, but most of the other teams have finals this week or next week, too," Adams said. "If you can't handle adversity then how can you expect to win the big matches when it counts? There are always obstacles. For the most part, I think we are prepared and ready to go for this weekend. I'm looking forward to it!"

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