ST. CHARLES, Mo. -- Notre Dame successfully defended its title as East Region champions in Saturday's NAIA East Region Qualifying Tournament; now the Wrestling Falcons have their sights set on defending their NAIA national champs banner.  (Brackets | Team Standings)

The Blue & White garnered four individual titles and 10 top-three finishes in piling up 178 team points, 36 more than their nearest competitor. #Dante Rini# (125 pounds), #Brett Freeman# (141), #Ashtin Primus# (149) and #Kevin Hardy# (165) all won their respective weight divisions as Notre Dame prepped for the NAIA National Championships, which will be held in Cedar Falls, Iowa, March 3-5.

Rini, unranked (NAIA Coaches' Poll) at 125, went 4-0 on Saturday, defeating No. 4 Johnny Papesh (Campbellsville-Ky.) in the title bout. Freeman earned his championship with a second win this season over current No. 3 and ex-No. 1 Tommy Pretty, also of Campbellsville. Primus won the 149-pound weight class with a 3-2 decision over teammate #Jeffrey Pelton#, who was one of three Falcon runners-up on the day.

The event's host -- Lindenwood (Mo.) -- placed second in the tournament. They recorded two individual titles en route to scoring 142 points. McKendree (Ill.) placed third, at 132. Campbellsville finished in fourth place, at 120.5.

For the top-ranked Falcons, their performance at the regional tournament was a reprise of last year (2010) when five NDC grapplers walked away with titles. Notre Dame sent a maximum 12 wrestlers to the 11-team tournament; all 12 placed.