Penn State freshman David Taylor celebrates his semifinal win. Tony Rotundo photo.

PHILADELPHIA – There have been some big moments in second-ranked Penn State’s magical wrestling season.

But a 30-minute span late in Friday night’s semifinal round may have provided one of the signature moments in their season.

Penn State’s Quentin Wright delivered a dramatic semifinal pin at 184 pounds while top-ranked Cornell dropped three straight bouts at 174, 184 and 197 at the NCAA Championships before 17,340 fans at the Wells Fargo Center.

The Nittany Lions, who won their only national team title in 1953, took a giant leap toward winning their second title after finishing Friday night’s session with a tournament-leading 92.5 points. Penn State has three finalists in Wright, Frank Molinaro (149) and David Taylor (157). Penn State’s Andrew Long (133) and Ed Ruth (174) can come back and finish as high as third Saturday.

“Frank wrestled well, David was David, Quentin had a spectacular match and we kept rolling,” Penn State coach Cael Sanderson said. “That was huge the way Ed Ruth came back with a pin. That was really big for us. We are a team and we want to win as a team, but each individual has to stay focused on what they are doing for us to win.”

Cornell is second with 75 points and a finalist in Kyle Dake (149). Cornell is seeking its first national title. The Big Red finished second in this event last year. Cornell has four other wrestlers alive.

Third-ranked Iowa, winners of the last three NCAA titles, is in third place with 74 points and a finalist in defending champion Matt McDonough (125). The Hawkeyes have four other wrestlers still alive in the event.

The consolation semifinals are set for 11 a.m. Saturday at the Wells Fargo Center. The finals are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. and will be televised live on ESPN.

The ninth-seeded Wright pinned No. 12 seed Grant Gambrall of Iowa in the second period after building a quick 5-0 lead.

One of the most intriguing finals matchups will come at 125 when the second-seeded McDonough of Iowa will face No. 1 seed and unbeaten Anthony Robles of Arizona State.

Robles, a senior who was born without a right leg, is a three-time All-American. He will face McDonough, a sophomore, for the first time in the finals.

McDonough edged rival Brandon Precin of Northwestern 3-1 after shooting in on a single leg for a first-period takedown.

“It’s going to be a hard fight against Robles,” McDonough said. “He’s not going to give me anything and I’m not going to give him anything. It’s going to go the full seven minutes. You have to make your own breaks because that’s not a guy that is going to give them to you.”

Robles held off unseeded Ben Kjar of Utah Valley 4-2 in the semis.

“I don’t know what McDonough is going to bring to the table yet,” Robles said. “I’ve watched him and he’s an intense wrestler. He’s going to come at me, but I’m ready for it. I’m excited and I’m ready. I have a lot of respect for him, but he’s standing in my way of reaching my trophy.”

The 133 finals will match No. 1 seed Jordan Oliver of Oklahoma State and No. 2 Andrew Hochstrasser of Boise State. Oliver beat Hochstrasser during the season.

“This is really exciting,” said Oliver, from nearby Easton, Pa. “It motivates me every match to go out there and put a show on for the crowd. Being able to come home and compete for my first national title, it is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I’m enjoying every moment of it.”

Michigan’s top-seeded Kellen Russell pulled out a win over No. 5 Montell Marion of Iowa in the 141 semifinals. The match went through both cycles of overtime tied 3-3, but Russell won by virtue of more riding time.

“We had some great scrambles and we know each other pretty well,” Russell said. “He’s a tough wrestler. I’m excited to be able to make it to the biggest stage in my sport. It is something I’ve wanted to do since I was a little kid.”

Russell will face No. 3 seed Boris Novachkov of Cal Poly in the finals. Novachkov’s only loss this season came to Russell in the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational.

“I wasn’t as offensive as I should have been in that match,” Novachkov said. “I’m just going to go out there and attack the whole match and try to put some points on the board.”

Dake, a sophomore, will return to the finals stage for the second straight year after reaching the title match at 149. He downed American’s Ganbayar Sanjaa 4-0 in the semifinals. Dake will battle No. 2 Frank Molinaro of Penn State in the finals. Dake won the title at 141 in 2010.

Dake beat Molinaro earlier this season.

“I have some experience in this type of situation now,” Dake said. “I’m back to my old self again and having fun. Molinaro is a tough wrestler. I just have to wrestle my style and not let him push me around.”

The matchup many people hoped to see will materialize at 157 when Taylor battles Arizona State senior Bubba Jenkins in the finals. Jenkins was an NCAA runner-up for Penn State in 2008 at 149. They will meet for the first time. Taylor, a freshman, is undefeated this season.

Taylor beat American’s Steve Fittery 6-1 in the semis and Jenkins used two late takedowns to outlast Northwestern’s Jason Welch 8-5.

2009 NCAA champion and No. 1 seed Jordan Burroughs of Nebraska steamrolled into the 165 finals with a 14-6 major decision over No. 5 seed Colt Sponseller of Ohio State. Burroughs is seeking to become Nebraska’s first two-time national champion.

Burroughs will face Oklahoma’s third-seeded Tyler Caldwell in the finals. Caldwell beat returning champion and No. 2 seed Andrew Howe of Wisconsin in a match that went through three cycles of overtime. Caldwell won on riding time. Burroughs beat Caldwell 2-1 in the Big 12 finals and 7-3 in a dual meet this season.

“I will wrestle anyone who puts their foot out there on the line,” Burroughs said. “I’m ready to dominate whoever steps out there against me. If a family member had a singlet on I would probably battle them. Caldwell is a tough wrestler. It’s tough to beat a guy three times in the same season. I know he is gunning for me and it will be a great match.”

Iowa State’s top-seeded Jon Reader reached the finals by earning a 4-3 win over No. 5 Chris Henrich of Virginia in the 174 semis. He will face Stanford’s No. 7 Nick Amuchastegui, who downed returning runner-up Mack Lewnes of Cornell 5-2 in the semifinals.

Kent State’s fourth-seeded Dustin Kilgore outlasted Cornell’s No. 1 Cam Simaz 10-9 in the 197 semifinals. Kilgore will battle Oklahoma State’s Clayton Foster in the finals.

Lehigh’s top-seeded Zach Rey will face American’s third-seeded Ryan Flores in the heavyweight finals. Rey is 2-1 against Flores this season, but lost the last meeting 4-2 in the tiebreaker two weeks ago in the EIWA finals.

TOP 10 TEAMS
Penn State 92.5, Cornell 75, Iowa 74, Oklahoma State 65.5, American 56, Lehigh 53.5, Arizona State 52.5, Boise State 52, Minnesota 49.5, Wisconsin 44.5.

SEMIFINAL RESULTS

125 POUNDS
No. 1 Anthony Robles (Arizona State) dec. Ben Kjar (Utah Valley), 4-2
No. 2 Matt McDonough (Iowa) dec. No. 3 Brandon Precin (Northwestern), 3-1

133 POUNDS
No. 1 Jordan Oliver (Oklahoma State) dec. No. 4 Tyler Graff (Wisconsin), 5-2
No. 2 Andrew Hochstrasser (Boise State) dec. No. 3 Andrew Long (Penn State), 7-4

141 POUNDS
No. 1 Kellen Russell (Michigan) dec. No. 5 Montell Marion (Illinois), 3-3 TB2
No. 3 Boris Novachkov (Cal Poly) dec. No. 2 Mike Thorn (Minnesota), 9-3

149 POUNDS
No. 4 Kyle Dake (Cornell) dec. No. 8 Ganbayar Sanjaa (American), 4-0
No. 2 Frank Molinaro (Penn State) dec. No. 6 Jason Chamberlain (Boise State), 4-1

157 POUNDS
No. 4 Bubba Jenkins (Arizona State) dec. No. 8 Jason Welch (Northwestern), 8-5
No. 3 David Taylor (Penn State) dec. No. 2 Steve Fittery (American), 7-1

165 POUNDS
No. 1 Jordan Burroughs (Nebraska) dec. No. 5 Colt Sponseller (Ohio State), 14-6
No. 3 Tyler Caldwell (Oklahoma) dec. No. 2 Andrew Howe (Wisconsin), 2-2 SV3

174 POUNDS
No. 1 Jon Reader (Iowa State) dec. No. 5 Chris Henrich (Virginia), 4-3
No. 7 Nick Amuchastegui (Stanford) dec. No. 3 Mack Lewnes (Cornell), 5-2

184 POUNDS
No. 9 Quentin Wright (Penn State) pinned No. 12 Grant Gambrall (Iowa), 3:53
No. 2 Robert Hamlin (Lehigh) dec. No. 3 Steve Bosak (Cornell), 4-2 SV

197 POUNDS
No. 4 Dustin Kilgore (Kent State) dec. No. 1 Cam Simaz (Cornell), 10-9
No. 2 Clayton Foster (Oklahoma State) dec. No. 3 Trevor Brandvold (Wisconsin), 4-3

285 POUNDS
No. 1 Zach Rey (Lehigh) dec. No. 5 Dom Bradley (Missouri), 2-1
No. 3 Ryan Flores (American) dec. No. 2 Jarod Trice (Central Michigan), 4-