A storybook ending could be in the works for defending NCAA Champion Cole Konrad and his top-ranked Golden Gopher wrestling team. Minnesota leads the team race with 92.0 points, 7.5 over second-place Iowa State, 84.5. Barring bonus points, the Cyclones need wins by all three of their finalists and a Konrad loss or win by decision to overtake Minnesota. A win by decision in the finals is worth four points. A win by major is worth an additional point, while a pin is worth an extra two points.

Iowa State is favored by seed in one of its three finals as top-ranked Trent Paulson meets No. 7 Craig Henning of Wisconsin at 157 pounds. No. 9 Kurt Backes faces No. 2 seed Josh Glenn of American, but Backes pinned Glenn earlier this season. Freshman Jake Varner, an upset winner over No. 2 seed Roger Kish of Minnesota, will look to hand Northwestern's Jake Herbert his first loss of the season at 184 pounds. Two Cyclone losses would eliminate any title hopes for Iowa State.

Konrad enters his final against Penn State's Aaron Anspach as an overwhelming favorite. In addition to his NCAA Championship a year ago and his 75-match winning streak, Konrad is 2-0 against Anspach this season, including a pin in the finals at the Big Ten Championships. Konrad is also a two-time NCAA finalist and one of just five four-time All-Americans in school history. Anspach is a senior and a first-time NCAA qualifier for Penn State. He missed two seasons due to injury and is petitioning the NCAA for a sixth year of eligibility.

It was a roller-coaster ride to get to this point for Minnesota. The Golden Gophers dropped two of their first three consolation semifinals with only Dustin Schlatter advancing to the third-place match at 149. Momentum changed at 184 as Roger Kish claimed a last-second 7-5 decision over No. 3 Mike Pucillo of Ohio State. Pucillo tied the match late in the third with a takedown, but Kish got the reversal with seven seconds to go in the match. Kish earned another team point with his 3-2 decision over No. 7 Alex Clemsen of Edinboro in the third-place match. It was his second win over Clemsen in the tournament. An escape 15 seconds into the third period gave Kish the one-point cushion. An NCAA runner-up a year ago, Kish finished his junior season with a 37-3 record.

Redshirt freshman Jayson Ness erased the disappointment of a consolation loss with a pin in just one minute against No. 9 Obenson Blanc of Lock Haven to claim fifth place at 125 pounds. In addition to the one team point for the win, he was awarded two more team points for the fall. Blanc attempted a shot, but Lang countered with a body throw and in a flash, he picked up his third pin of the tournament. A native of Bloomington, Minn., Ness finished a remarkable freshman season with an All-American citation and a 40-5 record. His 40 wins and 15 pins on the year both rank seventh for a single-season in school history.

Schlatter followed with another close victory to claim third at 149. Schlatter's two minutes of riding time in the second period against No. 10 Lance Palmer of Ohio State proved to be the difference in a 1-0 win. Schlatter advanced to the third-place match with a 5-4 decision against No. 6 J.P. O'Connor of Harvard. Schlatter jumped out to a 5-1 lead with a near fall to start the second period. The 2006 NCAA Champion at 149 pounds, Schlatter rebounded from his semifinal loss to Gregor Gillespie of Edinboro which snapped his 65-match winning streak. Schlatter finished his sophomore season with a 37-1 record. He is now 79-2 in two All-American seasons for the Golden Gophers.

Junior C.P. Schlatter finished his third NCAA tournament with a sixth-place finish at 157 pounds. The first-time All-American wrestled a team-high eight matches, but dropped his final two bouts by one point apiece. Against No. 3 James Strouse of Hofstra, a third-period takedown for Strouse proved to be the difference. Schlatter was then defeated by No. 11 Matt Kocher of Pittsburgh in the sixth-place match by a 2-1 decision based on riding-time advantage. A two-time Big Ten Champion, Schlatter finishes the season with a 28-8 record.

Tonight's finals begin at 7 p.m. Central and can be seen live on ESPN.

Team Results - Following Session V

Team Standings
1. Minnesota, 92.0
2. Iowa State, 84.5
3. Missouri, 76.0
4. Oklahoma State, 69.0
5. Northwestern, 67.5
6. Michigan, 62.0
7. Hofstra, 60.5
8. Ohio State, 54.5
9. Penn State, 54.0
10. Iowa, 53.0

Individual Results
No. 4 Jayson Ness - 125 pounds
1st Round - Ness pinned Taylor Cummings (NCSU), 2:28
2nd Round - Ness pinned Tyler Shinn (OSU), 4:17
Quarterfinals - Ness dec. No. 5 Charlie Falck (Iowa), 3-0
Semifinals - No. 1 Sam Hazewinkel (OU) maj. dec. Ness, 10-0
Consolation - No. 7 Angel Escobedo (Indiana) dec. Ness, 7-3
5th Place - Ness pinned No. 9 Obenson Blanc (Lock Haven), 1:00
Fifth Place with a 4-2 record
All-American

No. 7 Mack Reiter - 133 pounds
1st Round - Reiter pinned Richard Donald (Bloomsburg), 4:36
2nd Round - Reiter dec. Joseph Baker (Navy), 12-5
Quarterfinals - No. 2 Matt Valenti (Penn) dec. Reiter, 4-0
Consolation - No. 8 Tyler McCormick (Missouri) dec. Reiter, 4-2
Eliminated with 2-2 record

No. 4 Manuel Rivera - 141 pounds
1st Round - Rivera maj. dec. Matthew Schumm (CSB), 14-4
2nd Round - Rivera dec. Matthew Kyler (Army), 5-2
Quarterfinals - Don Fisch (Rider) dec. Rivera, 10-4
Consolation - No. 7 Brandon Rader (WVU) dec. Rivera, 9-5
Eliminated with a 2-2 record

No. 1 Dustin Schlatter - 149 pounds
1st Round - Schlatter dec. Jordan Burroughs (Nebraska), 3-2
2nd ROund - Schlatter dec. Matt Moley (Bloomsburg), 5-1
Quarterfinals - Schlatter dec. Tyler Turner (Wisconsin), 6-3
Semifinals - No. 5 Gregor Gillespie (Edinboro) dec. Schlatter, 3-2
Consolation - Schlatter dec. No. 6 J.P. O'Connor (Harvard), 5-4
Consolation - Schlatter dec. No. 10 Lance Palmer (Ohio State), 1-0
Third Place with a 5-1 record
All-American

No. 4 C.P. Schlatter - 157 pounds
Pigtails - Schlatter maj. dec. Luke Salazar (UNC), 9-1
1st Round - Schlatter maj. dec. Cody Midlam (Duquesne), 10-2
2nd Round - Schlatter dec. John Jarred (Navy), 1-0
Quarterfinals - No. 5 Michael Poeta (Illinois) dec. Schlatter, 5-4
Consolation - Schlatter dec. No. 6 Brandon Becker (Indiana), 3-2
Consolation - Schlatter dec. Josh Zupancic (Stanford), 1-0
Consolation - No. 3 James Strouse (Hofstra) dec. Schlatter, 3-2
Fifth Place - No. 11 Matt Kocher (Pittsburgh) dec. Schlatter, 2-1
Sixth place with a 5-3 record
All-American

Tyler Safratowich - 165 pounds
1st Round - Safratowich dec. No. 8 Steve Anceravage (Cornell), 8-4
2nd Round - No. 9 Matt Pell (Missouri) maj. dec. Safratowich, 15-3
Consolation - Safratowich pinned Eric Decker (Virginia Tech), 4:30
Consolation - No. 11 Patrick Pitsch (ASU) dec, Safratowich, 7-4
Safratowich eliminated with 2-2 record

Gabriel Dretsch - 174 pounds
1st Round - Drestch dec. Nathan Lee (Boise State), 5-3
2nd Round - No. 1 Ben Askren (Missouri) pinned Dretsch, 4:51
Consolation - Dretsch dec. No. 12 Mike Letts (Maryland), 4-2
Consolation - No. 3 Steve Luke (Michigan) dec. Dretsch, 2-1 TB1
Dretsch eliminated with 2-2 record

No. 2 Roger Kish - 184 pounds
1st Round - Kish maj. dec. Jack Jensen (OSU), 12-3
2nd Round - Kish pinned Shawn Vincent (UNC), 1:44
Quarterfinals - Kish dec. No. 7 Alex Clemsen (Edinboro), 9-5
Semifinals - No. 6 Jake Varner (ISU) dec. Kish, 4-2 SV1
Consolation - Kish dec. No. 3 Mike Pucillo (Ohio State), 7-5
Third Place - Kish dec. No. 7 Alex Clemsen (Edinboro), 3-2
Third Place with a 5-1 record
All-American

No. 1 Cole Konrad - Heavyweight
1st Round - Konrad dec. Jared Rosholt (OSU), 8-2
2nd Round - Konrad maj. dec. Rashard Goff (CSU), 9-1
Quarterfinals - Konrad maj. dec. No. 9 Michael Spaid (Bloomsburg), 16-4
Semifinals - Konrad dec. No. 5 Ty Watterson (Oregon State), 2-1
Finals - Konrad vs. No. 2 Aaron Anspach (Penn State)