Evanston, Ill. - Illinois has taken the team lead at the 41st Midlands Championships heading into the final placing matches which will take place at 7:00 p.m. Central Time in Welsh-Ryan Arena.    The Fighting Illini have 102.5 team points with seven placewinners  including finalists Mark Jayne (133 lbs.) and Alex Tirapelle (157).    Iowa State is in second place with 93 team points. The Cyclones will have Zach Roberson (133), Nate Gallick (141) and Trent Paulson (149) competing in the finals.    Penn State (88), Hofstra (82.5) and Iowa (79.5) round out the top five teams.    Jayne defeated cinderella-story Donald Lockett of San Francisco State in the semifinals 8-5. Lockett led the match most of the way, until late in the third period when Jayne was able to score on an ankle pick to take a 6-4 lead. Jayne added another late takedown as Lockett attempted a comeback.    Jayne will meet Roberson in the finals. Roberson turned the tables on Penn State's Josh Moore in the semifinals, recording a third-period pin. Moore had won his previous three matches by fall.    Tirapelle, a 2003 NCAA runner-up, advanced to the semifinals after two-time All-American Jake Percival of Ohio forfeited due to a shoulder injury suffered last night. Tirapelle will face Chris Bono of the Sunkist Kids in the finals.    Bono had to score three late takedowns against Stanford's Matt Gentry of Stanford to come away with an 8-7 victory. Bono trailed 5-2 in the third period when he wore Gentry out, scoring takedowns at will, including the winning takedown with only 11 seconds remaining in the match.    Gallick posted a huge 3-1 win over 2002 NCAA runner-up Dylan Long of Northern Iowa in the semifinals. It was Gallick's first win over Long in three meetings this season. With the match tied at 1-1 late, Gallick finished a double-leg with 28 seconds remaining to win the match. Gallick will face All-American Jason Mester of Central Michigan in the finals.    Cornell's Dustin Manotti, a Midlands champion as a freshman last year, will look for his second title at 149 lbs. against Iowa State freshman Trent Paulson. Manotti raced out to an early lead over Ty Eustice of Iowa in the semifinals, but had to hold off a late charge against the Hawkeye in a 9-8 victory.    Eustice got deep on a shot with 10 seconds left, but was unable to finish for the score before time ran out.    Paulson's match also ended with excitement. The freshman and Jon Rodriguez (formerly Masa) traded takedowns and reversals. The match was tied at 6-6 late when an incredible scramble ensued. Paulson ended up on top at the edge of the mat, but it appeared that time had expired. Neither mat official on the mat could confirm whether there was time left and awarded Paulson with the winning takedown.    Joe Williams of the Hawkeye Wrestling Club won his 50th consecutive Midlands match with a 10-5 decision over Eric Hauan of Northern Iowa at 174 lbs. Williams, seeking his 10th Midlands crown, will wrestle Tyler Nixt of Iowa for the second straight year in the finals.    Tommy Rowlands will seek his second consecutive Midlands title at 285 lbs. as he will face Chad Lamer of the Hawkeye Wrestling Club in the finals. Rowlands defeated Matt Feast of Penn 5-3 in the semifinals to advance. If Rowlands wins, he will become a member of the elite Midlands "20 in 4" club (20 wins in first four Midlands tournaments).    Other finals matchups are Luke Eustice of Iowa against Tom Noto of Hofstra at 125 lbs., Ralph Everett of Hofstra versus David Bolyard of Central Michigan at 165 lbs., Greg Jones of West Virginia against Ben Heizer of Northern Illinois at 184 lbs. and Matt Monteiro of Cal State-Bakersfield versus Emmett Willson of Montana State-Northern at 197 lbs.    Midlands Finals Matchups  125 - Luke Eustice (Iowa) vs. Tom Noto (Hofstra)  133 - Mark Jayne (Illinois) vs. Zach Roberson (Iowa St.)  141 - Nate Gallick (Iowa St.) vs. Jason Mester (C. Michigan)  149 - Dustin Manotti (Cornell) vs. Trent Paulson (Iowa St.)  157 - Chris Bono (Sunkist Kids) vs. Alex Tirapelle (Illinois)  165 - Ralph Everett (Hofstra) vs. David Bolyard (C. Michigan)  174 - Joe Williams (Sunkist Kids) vs. Tyler Nixt (Iowa)  184 - Greg Jones (W. Virginia) vs. Ben Heizer (N. Illinois)  197 - Matt Monteiro (CS Bakersfield) vs. Emmett Willson (MS-Northern)  285 - Tommy Rowlands (Ohio St.) vs. Chad Lamer (Hawkeye WC)