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A glance at the National Junior College Athletic Association wrestling tournament, which begins Friday and concludes Saturday at Bismarck (N.D.) State College:

Defending team champion

Garden City (Kan.) Community College; Iowa Central CC, runner-up; North Idaho College, third. Garden City could be a runaway winner.

NIC’s qualifiers

Kirk Hartzell, sophomore, 118 pounds, 35-10 record; Matt Paulson, soph., 126, 37-7; Chad Edgar, freshman, 134, 27-12; Rick Moreno, soph., 150, 31-4, 7th last year; Ray Routh, soph., 158, 35-6, fourth last year; Scott Surplus, soph., 177, 41-7, fifth last year; Travis Hughes, soph., 190, 26-10.

NIC’s best shots to win

Paulson, Moreno, Routh, Surplus.

NIC’s best shots to place high

Hartzell, Hughes.

Team title favorite

Garden City.

Fast facts

Paulson led NIC with 162 takedowns; Moreno had best takedown percentage, 127 takedowns to 15 allowed; Moreno and Routh tied for most pins (11); Hughes was lone NIC wrestler undefeated in duals.

Coach’s comments

“I think it’s possible (to win the team title),” NIC coach John Owen said. “We can have up to four guys in the finals. We had a great regional tournament; I can’t think of a better performance over the years. I feel it’s the toughest region in the country. If we perform like we did (at regional) we’re going to be a threat for a national title.”