CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - Appalachian State University wrestling is making final preparations for the 2012 Southern Conference Wrestling Championship, hosted by Chattanooga at McKenzie Arena on Saturday. This year's event marks the 75th edition of the tournament in SoCon history.

The Mountaineers are in search of their seventh SoCon Tournament title, having last won the event in 2003. Defending champion Chattanooga has won six of the last seven editions, while UNCG took the 2010 edition.

Action kicks off at McKenzie Arena at 10 a.m. with the finals set for 6:30 p.m.

For more information about Appalachian in the Southern Conference Tournament, check out this weekend's match notes.

Updates from Chattanooga will be posted regularly at GoASU.com, while live video is available for a nominal fee at GoMocs.com.

Note: Projected participants and their respective seeds are subject to change. Entries are finalized by coaches on Friday.

125 Pounds

Junior Tony Gravely will represent the Mountaineers as the No. 2 seed in the lightest class. The 2010 SoCon champion went 4-2 in SoCon duals and led the Apps with 11 pins on the season. Gravely's toughest bout could be a potential showdown with top-seed Manuel Ramirez of Chattanooga in the final. Ramirez won the wrestlers' previous meeting, 13-1, in dual-meet action.

133 Pounds

Brett Boston was 3-2 in SoCon duals this season, including 2-2 against likely tournament grapplers. The junior has been slotted fourth and is still in search of his first tournament win. In the first round, he is likely to face Davidson's Anthony Elias, whom Boston defeated 16-8 in the season's final dual. Boston's semifinal foe could be No. 16 Nick Soto (Chattanooga), the bracket's top-seed and league's Freshman of the Year.

141 Pounds

All-conference selection Mike Kessler is the top seed after posting a 30-11 overall record and 6-0 ledger in SoCon duals. After his runner-up finish in 2011, the senior has two wins over ranked opponents this season, defeating No. 15 Darrius Little of NC State in November and No. 15 Mike Nevinger of Cornell in January. Kessler enters the tournament slotted No. 26 in the NCAA coaches rankings and in possession of the No. 15 RPI score in his class.

149 Pounds

Savva Kostis' 4-1 SoCon record earned his first career all-conference honors. Last time the Mountaineer was seeded No. 1, he fell to UTC's Dean Pavlou in the championship final. Pavlou is back again as the No. 3 seed and could square off against Kostis in another title bout. Kostis has earned a No. 31 rank in the latest NCAA coaches poll and led the Apps with 10 major decisions this season.

157 Pounds

Senior Chip Powell is a two-time placewinner at the SoCon event, having taken third-place in 2009 and second in 2010. Powell enters this year's event as the third-seed after posting a 4-2 record in conference action. Though the Mountaineer fell to top-seed Dan Waddell of Chattanooga late in the season, Powell split the season with Waddell by virtue of a 5-0 decision over the Moc in November's Hokie Open.

165 Pounds

No. 15 Kyle Blevins, the 2012 SoCon Wrestler of the Year, picked up a team-high 33 wins against only 5 losses. He posted a 16-1 mark in duals, including a 6-0 performance against SoCon foes. Blevins looks to repeat his stellar tournament performance in 2011, during which he scored a thrilling 4-3 tiebreaker-win to capture the 165-pound title and received Most Outstanding Wrestler honors for his efforts. Blevins could face a first-time opponent in his semifinal match and may be fated to take on UTC's Brandon Wright in the final.

174 Pounds

A two-time tournament placewinner, Carter Downs has been slotted as No. 5 in the bracket after a 3-2 performance in SoCon duals. In a rematch of last year's third-place bout, Downs' tentative first-round opponent is VMI's Matt Brock; Downs won that bout by a narrow 2-0 decision. The senior looks to become the Mountaineers' first 174-pound champion since the class was established in 1999 but will have to get past The Citadel's Turtogtokh Luvsandorj, who is competing in his third weight class in as many seasons.

184 Pounds

No. 12 Austin Trotman will represent the Mountaineers at 184 pounds. The senior looks to become Appalachian's first three-time champion since Travis Drake and Mark Fee accomplished the feat in 2003. Trotman has not lost to a SoCon opponent in dual or tournament action since his freshman season in 2008. The all-conference grappler scored a team-high 71 dual points including 33 of a possible 36 against league foes. The top-seed has previously met only one other entry this season, having defeated The Citadel's Josh Tuck by 16-3 major decision.

197 Pounds

Freshman Paul Weiss will represent ASU at the tournament in his rookie season. He enters as the No. 2 seed backed by a 5-1 league record. The SoCon all-freshman selection will be slotted opposite top-seed Kelby Smith of The Citadel, who notched two wins against Weiss this year. Weiss racked up a 10-6 mark in duals overall, picking up the Mountaineers' fifth-most dual-meet wins.

285 Pounds

Heavyweight Joe Cummings joins Weiss as the Apps' two newcomers competing in the tournament. Cummings was 10-14 overall this season with a 5-8 dual record. Cummings will compete in a tough bracket that features all-conference selection No. 14 Odie Delaney of The Citadel and all-freshman honoree Kevin Malone of Chattanooga.