With the 81st NCAA Wrestling Championship starting this morning at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, here is the rundown for the Quakers who are competing for a national championship.

Thursday will be a landmark day for Philadelphia wrestling.

For the second straight year at the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association Championships, the Quakers had two wrestlers make the finals. But as in 2010, neither could take home the title. As a team, Penn finished fifth at this weekend’s championships, hosted by Bucknell.

The Quakers only have three weeks before the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association Championships — and they have work to do.

The Penn wrestling team wrapped up the dual meet portion of its season on a low, losing to perennial powerhouse No. 10 Lehigh on Sunday.

The Quakers have yet to put together a string of strong matches where every wrestler pulls his own weight.

For the Penn wrestling program, junior co-captain Mark Rappo has become the epitome of fighting with all your heart.

Cornell (11-1, 3-0 Ivy) overpowered Penn (9-4, 4-2), winning four of the first five bouts, and left the Quakers gasping for air with little room to recover.

The boys from Ithaca have become the largest obstacle standing between the Red and Blue and league supremacy.

Senior Scott Giffin nearly quit the wrestling team amidst injuries, but he returned to the mat in dramatic fashion last weekend with two wins.

Senior wrestler Scott Griffin had a triumphant return from injury this past weekend, taking his first two bouts via major decision victories and picking up a forfeit win against Princeton.

Last Sunday at the Palestra, Penn wrestling coach Rob Eiter announced a lineup that included a list of familiar faces — NCAA tournament qualifiers and nationally ranked seniors.

Two days could not produce more different results for the wrestling team as they split their weekend matches, with a victory over Bucknell but loss to Hofstra.

The Quakers (5-3) traveled to Charlottesville, Va. for a dual meet and left with a 18-15 win over Virginia and a dominating 33-6 victory over VMI.

Penn wrestler Rollie Peterkin took the 133-pound title at the Dec. 29-30 Southern Scuffle in Greensboro, N.C., while the team finished eighth in the 34-team field and recorded two other medalists.

Half of the Red and Blue (3-3) recorded impressive victories against solid opponents; the other half struggled in the spotlight against Bloomsburg (11-2).

The Penn Wrestling team transitioned seamlessly from wrestling in tournaments to wrestling in duals, defeating Rider, 23-18, in their first dual meet of the season.