Semis wrap    Minnesota holds a 16-point lead going into the semifinals over Oklahoma. The Gophers have six semifinalists; the next closest teams (Oklahoma and Oklahoma State) have just four. Iowa has the most wrestlers left in the event with eight, but three are in the semis and five are in the consolations.    This round is all about individuals. Win and you are in the finals; the dream remains alive. Lose and the disappointment is often unbearable. It does not matter that you have clinched a top-six finish. There will be no gold medal this year.    Minnesota put the tournament away with a strong performance again, winning three of their five semifinals matches. Iowa State made a strong bid to move up in the standings, placing all three semifinalists into the gold-medal match. Oklahoma, winner of two of their three semifinals, remained strong, as did Iowa, with two of their three athletes winning. Oklahoma State took the biggest hit, winning just one of four semifinal bouts.    At 125, No. 1 Stephen Abas of Fresno State cruised to a 14-5 major decision over No. 4 Chris Fleeger of Purdue. The match was close early, but Abas opened it up with a reversal and a takedown in the second period. In the third period, two Abas takedowns and a riding time advantage added to the lead. Abas will go for his third career NCAA title on Saturday.    Also at 125, No. 7 Luke Eustice of Iowa used a riding time point to beat No. 3 Skyler Holman of Oklahoma State. Holman scored a takedown, and Eustice had two escapes. The Hawkeye rode out Holman the entire second period to clinch the riding time point and the win.    At 133, No. 1 Ryan Lewis of Minnesota used a powerful pinning combination to pin No. 4 Kevin Black of Wisconsin in 4:51. Lewis was leading 5-1 when he cranked Black over and put him away in the second period.    Also at 133, No. 2 Johnny Thompson of Oklahoma State edged No. 3 Witt Durden of Oklahoma, 3-2. A Thompson single leg takedown with 19 seconds left broke a 1-1 tie and gave the match to the Cowboy. Just a sophomore, Thompson is already in his second NCAA finals.    At 141, in a big upset, No. 5 Aaron Holker of Iowa State shocked No. 1 Mark Conley of Navy, 4-3. Conley had taken a 3-2 lead on a takedown in the third period with just 33 seconds to go. However, the active Holker forced a scramble and scored a reversal with one second on the clock for the 4-3 victory. Holker transferred to Iowa State after BYU dropped its wrestling program, and he has now made the gold-medal finals.    Also at 141, No. 2 Eric Larkin of Arizona State controlled the action for a 10-4 win over unseeded Nate Parker of Oklahoma. Larkin scored a five-point move, a takedown and three backpoints, in the first period and never looked back. Larkin also rode Parker the entire second period and secured riding time.    At 149 No. 4 Jared Frayer of Oklahoma proved too much for No. 8 Jake Percival of Ohio in an 11-6 win. Frayer put the match away in the first period, with a takedown and two three-point exposures using the legs for an 8-0 lead. Pervical came back hard, but Frayer scored another two-point turn in the second period to put the bout away.    Also at 149, No. 2 Jared Lawrence was pushed to the overtime tiebreaker, where he scored an escape to defeat No. 3 JaMarr Billman, 5-4. The regulation was tied at 4-4 and no takedown was scored in the overtime. Billman rode from the top but with just two seconds in the tiebreaker, Lawrence got the escape.    In a tight battle of Big 12 opponents, No. 1 Bryan Snyder of Nebraska stopped No. 4 Shane Roller of Oklahoma State, 5-2 at 157 pounds. Snyder scored the first-period takedown and never trailed. Roller closed it to 3-2 with a third-period escape, but Snyder put it away with a takedown on the buzzer. Snyder looks to win his first title, after a second place last year.    Also at 157 pounds, No. 3 Luke Becker of Minnesota scored an escape in the tie-breaker for a 2-1 win over Yoshi Nakamura of Pennsylvania. The regulation was tied at 1-1, escapes for both athletes, and neither could score in overtime. Becker needed just three second in the tiebreaker for the winning escape.    At 165, No. 1 Joe Heskett of Iowa State proved too much for unseeded Mark Fee of Appalachian State, jumping to a big lead then pinning him in 5:24. Heskett was up 11-4 going into the third period, then slapped on a cradle for the pin. Heskett, a two-time runner-up, will try for his first NCAA title in his final NCAA meet.     Also at 165, No. 2 Matt Lackey of Illinois edged No. 3 Tyrone Lewis of Oklahoma State, 6-4 in overtime. A Lewis escape in the third period tied it at 4-4 in regulation. In overtime, Lackey scored a powerful takedown for the 6-4 win.    At  174, local favorite and No. 4 Greg Parker upset No. 1 Otto Olson of Michigan in a 12-8 shootout. Parker, who dominated from the top position, used his length and counter skills to win the match. Tied at 6-6 going into the third period, Parker scored a takedown, but Olson got a reversal. After letting Parker loose, Olson just missed scoring a winning takedown in the last 10 seconds. Parker's counter takedown with one second to go, and his riding time point, made it a four-point margin.    Also 174 pounds, No. 2 Greg Jones dominated the action in a 15-5 major decision over No. 6 Rick Springman of Penn. Jones led 4-2 after one period, but used a five-point move (a reversal to a three-point near fall) to blast the match open in the second period.    At 184, No. 8 Rob Rohn of Lehigh used a wild counter throw to pin No. 4 Jessman Smith of Iowa in 2:57. Trailing 2-1, Rohn locked up Smith's upperbody, flipped him over the top and scored the pin with just three seconds in the clock during the first period.    Also at 184, Oklahoma's funky No. 6 Josh Lambrecht stopped No. 2 Damion Hahn of Minnesota, 8-6. In the third period, Lambrecht scored an escape and a takedown, then added riding time to win the close battle.    At 197, No. 1 and still undefeated for his college career Cael Sanderson of Iowa State dusted No. 4 Nick Preston of Ohio State, 18-7. Sanderson scored eight takedowns in the match, including three in the first period, for a dominant win. He will now have his chance to become the first undefeated four-time champion in college wrestling history.    At 197, No. 2 Jon Trenge of Lehigh stomped No. 3 Owen Elzen of Minnesota, 15-6. Trenge led 6-4 after two periods, but scored three third-period takedowns for the major decision.    At 275, No. 1 Tommy Rowlands of Ohio State scored a come-from-behind win over No. 4 Garrett Lowney of Minnesota, 7-5. Lowney was ahead early, with a first period takedown. Rowlands tied the match at 3-3 with a third-period penalty point against Lowney, then scored two third-period takedowns for the win.     In the final semifinal at 275 pounds, No. 2 Steve Mocco of Iowa controlled the action in a 9-1 win over No. 6 Jake Vercelli of Purdue. Leading 3-0 after the first period, Mocco scored two more takedowns and earned riding time in the dominant win.    With Minnesota's dominance in the semifinals, the consolation rounds will prove what teams will battle for the other team trophies. The first round of consolations determined which athletes in the wrestle-backs would earn All-American honors. The second round determined which athletes would stay alive in the chase for third place, and which would be placed in the seventh place match.    Minnesota ended the night with 112 points, followed by Oklahoma with 95 points. Iowa State held on to third with 88 points, followed by Iowa with 83.5 and Oklahoma State with 66.5 points.