Nebraska wrestling's dream of a team national championship will probably have to wait for another season.

But 157-pounder Jordan Burroughs and 197-pounder Craig Brester don't have to postpone one iota of their personal goals, as both will wrestle for national crowns - on national television - Saturday night at the NCAA Championships in St. Louis. They'll try to become the first Huskers to win two national crowns in the same year since brothers Jim and Bill Scherr did it in 1984.

Burroughs, a junior from Sickerville, N.J., hammered his semifinal opponent, Edinboro's Gregor Gillespie, with a 12-4 major decision Friday. From the opening whistle, Burroughs was far quicker and more aggressive than Gillespie, who attempted to mirror the three-point stance of Missouri's Michael Chandler - the only wrestler to give Burroughs trouble in 2009 - in an effort to ward off Burroughs' shots. Gillispie just wasn't strong enough to withstand two literal bear hugs Burroughs put him in, both of which led two of Burroughs' takedowns.

Burroughs will now attempt to become NU's first undefeated national champion when he takes on Illinois' Mike Poeta, also undefeated, and runner-up at 157 pounds last year. Poeta beat Cornell's Jordan Leen, the 2008 national champ, in the other semifinal match.

“Poeta is tough,” Burroughs said. “He’s a senior. He was a runner-up last year. I know he’s looking forward to finishing his senior year out with a bang, but I’m a junior and I really want that national title. It’s going to be a good match out there.”

Brester was no less impressive in a 7-2 win over Michigan's Tyrel Todd, who ducked Brester when the Wolverines visited Lincoln in January. Todd scored the match's first two points on a takedown. But Brester, skilled as he is in wrestling at the edge of the mat, got an escape a minute later, just as he and Todd were falling out of bounds. Seconds after that, he scored his own takedown, and erased Todd's riding time advantage in the second period. Todd was forced to grant Brester an escape at the beginning of the third period, during which Brester added another takedown for good measure.

In the finals, Brester will face - guess who? - Iowa State Jake Varner for a fourth time this season. Varner holds the 2-1 edge this year over Brester, but Brester won the last match in the Big 12 Championships.

“It should be a battle," Brester said, "and that is why you get into this sport, for battles like this.”

Both will wrestle their title matches on ESPN Saturday night. The broadcast begins at 5:30 p.m.

Two other Nebraska wrestlers advanced to the semifinals - 174-pounder Brandon Browne and 184-pounder Vince Jones - but lost their matches.

Browne dropped a 7-3 decision to Central Michigan's Mike Miller, who scored his first takedown one minute into the match, and rode out Brown for the remainder of the period. That one-point riding time advantage proved to be costly for Browne, who later tied the match 3 with a takedown of his own, but was forced to let Miller escape.

Jones, meanwhile, lost 11-1 to Northwestern's Jake Herbert. The top-ranked Herbert had pinned Jones earlier this year, and got the senior in plenty of trouble early with a variety of moves, including a lethal-looking cradle that Jones somehow wiggled out of after 30 seconds. Herbert, who has not been seriously challenged this season, is expected to easily win his national title on Saturday.

Jones and Browne are both plunged into wrestlebacks, however, with an opportunity to win third place.

Earlier on Friday, Stephen Dwyer and Tucker Lane bowed out of the tournament with their second loss during wrestlebacks.

Dwyer dropped another heartbreaker to Missouri's Nick Marable, 7-5 on a reversal in overtime. Lane lost 4-3 to Chris Birchler of East Stroudsburg.

In the team race, Nebraska is fourth with 69.5 points, just trailing Iowa State, in third with 71. Ohio State is the surprising - albeit slight - leader with 84.5 points, while Iowa is second with 81. The favorites had what Hawkeye fans may come to refer to as "Black Friday," as a number of highly-ranked Iowa wrestlers - with the exception of 149-pounder Brent Metcalf - lost in the quarterfinals or semifinals.

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