Iowa's Nathan Burak earns first trip to Big Ten Championships final

IOWA CITY — Nathan Burak has knocked on the door of the conference final only to have it slammed shut.

In fact, it happened each of his first three seasons as University of Iowa's 197-pounder. The senior returned to that threshold once again, but this time he powered his way to the other side.

Burak avenged a loss to Minnesota's Brett Pfarr, scoring a takedown 25 seconds into sudden victory for a 3-1 decision in the semifinals of the Big Ten Wrestling Championships Saturday night at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Burak was one of four Iowa finalists, as the Hawkeyes were a distant second with 106 points, trailing Penn State by 27.

Burak willed himself to win after losing by a total of four points in the last three appearances in the conference semifinals.

'I told myself I'm not losing,' Burak said. 'This time I'm making it to the championships, so that's what I did so praise the Lord.'

Burak lost by one to Pfarr in a regular-season dual, nearly scoring a takedown as time expired. Both had an opportunity in regulation after exchanging escapes, but neither scored in a late flurry. Burak was confident and hit a reshot, correcting his technique when he didn't finish previous shots.

'I smelled blood,' said Burak, who said he defended Pfarr's attacks better in the rematch. 'I knew I had to go. I went. I got to the leg. Stayed above the knee, finished and scored.'

Iowa Coach Tom Brands said that Burak has represented the team well in four years. The crowd showed their appreciation after the well-deserved feat.

'He's a senior and he's paid his dues,' Brands said. 'He does everything right. You couldn't ask for a better ambassador for your program.'

The tone for the semifinals was set in the 125-pound match between Penn State's third-seeded Nico Megaludis and Iowa's No. 2-seed Thomas Gilman.

The pendulum shifted when Megaludis scored a takedown in the first overtime tiebreaker to beat Gilman, 4-3. The score was tied and set for a possible second sudden victory period when Gilman tried an unorthodox move on the edge, giving Megaludis the decisive takedown. Brands said he doesn't know why Gilman tried the move and he wasn't sure if Gilman could explain the desperation move.

'It was not panic time,' Brands said of the situation. 'For some reason, we did a move there that was very low percentage. very high risk.'

The attention has to shift to the consolation for the other two semifinalists who lost — Edwin Cooper (157) and 174-pounder Alex Meyer. Iowa has just a six-point lead on third-place Ohio State. Iowa has nine in the top eight.

'He's got work to do,' Brands said of Gilman. 'We have to come back strong (Sunday). There's a lot on the line now.'

Megaludis' victory was the first of three head-to-heads in the semifinals between the two teams separated by just six points after the opening session. Penn State won two of them, placing six in the championships. Penn State's top-seeded freshman Jason Nolf beat Cooper in the semifinals. He said they weren't focused just on those possible swing matches against Iowa.

'We just come in the tournament, believing we're going to win every match,' Nolf said. 'It doesn't matter who we wrestle and that will put it on the team race.'

Burak is joined in the final by fellow first-time conference finalists Cory Clark (133) and Sammy Brooks (184) and returning Big Ten runner-up Brandon Sorensen.

Brooks handed the Nittany Lions their lone semifinal loss. He had takedowns in each of the last two periods and added a riding-time point for a 6-1 victory over Matt McCutcheon. Brooks said his key was being dialed in mentally, and when he does that he can be tough to beat.

'Staying focused,' Brooks said. 'Not letting up in positions where I could give up easy scores.'

Brooks will wrestle Nebraska's only finalist T.J. Dudley. They have split two previous matches with Brooks winning in overtime in 2014 and Dudley getting a first-period fall earlier this season.

'I owe him one,' Brooks said. 'We've wrestled a bunch of times, so it's good that they're usually exciting matches. Go out there and let it fly, and be smart while I'm doing it. Go get a title.'

Sorensen made the final two times in as many years, beating Nebraska's Jake Sueflohn, 5-2, at 149. Like Burak, Sorensen recalled the sting of coming up a win short of his goal of being listed with Iowa's other conference champions inside the Dan Gable Wrestling Complex.

'I want to win,' Sorensen said. 'I want to get my name on the board. I don't want that feeling again of getting beat. It's not a good feeling.

'Let's get over it. Let's do it right this year.'

Sorensen scored the matches only two takedowns, including one with two seconds left in the third that gave him a 4-2 cushion.

'That's big,' Sorensen said. 'That gets my momentum going forward. Ride him out and he doesn't get a point. It separates us.'

Second-seeded Sorensen faces Penn State's top-seeded Zain Retherford in a battle of unbeatens.

'It's another opponent that's in my way,' Sorensen said. 'I've got to do my things just like any other match.'

Clark got things rolling for the Hawkeyes, beating Wisconsin's Ryan Taylor in a match that went 0 to 60 miles per hour at the midway point. Clark's escape to start the first gave him a one-point lead, but the two scored 16 points the last period and a half. Clark scored a late takedown and scored a point with 1:04 of riding time for a 10-7 victory.

'I'm not satisfied," Clark said. "I'm not going to make a big deal about reaching the finals. That's not my goal. This tournament is not over.'

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