The Iowa State wrestling team may not be having the tournament they expected at the 2010 NCAA Championships, but a lot of tough losses were made a little easier to swallow with the Cyclones' performance in Friday night's semifinals.

The Cyclones were a perfect 3-0 in the semis, with wins from freshman 125-pounder Andrew Long and seniors Jake Varner at 197 and David Zabriskie at 285.

"Three to the finals. Opportunities to be NCAA champions. Jake being a four-time finalist, I don't think there's too many of them walking around. Andrew Long, we anticipated the opportunity of wrestling McDonough in this National Championships, Our hopes have come true," ISU head coach Kevin Jackson said. "And Zabriskie just does what he does...he wins matches. And he has not wrestled one overtime match in this tournament."

Long stunned 2008 NCAA champion and undefeated Angel Escobedo of Indiana, 7-4. The Cyclone gave up an early takedown, but dominated the action for the remainder of the match.

“It feels real good knowing that I can compete with all these guys and that my talent is equal, if not better than theirs," he said.

Long will meet in-state rival and fellow freshman Matt McDonough of Iowa in the finals. The Cyclone is 0-3 against the Hawkeye this season, but led in all three matches.

“It’s going to be a big match. We always have close matches that are always entertaining, so it’s going to be fun going out there knowing that we’ve wrestled before and I kind of know what to expect from that aspect,” Long said.

Jackson said he isn't surprised with Long's appearance in the finals his first season.

"Andrew's a stud. Andrew has bought into everything that we preach and everything that we talk about. Our system," he said. "He's a tough kid and comes from a strong family. Parents and his brother is a constant person that just enforces what we say to him.

"And he has his mind and his heart. The way he's competing is at a very high level. He's wrestling better know than he ever has in his life. He's a stud and we're happy for him."

Someone who has wrestled at a very high level all four seasons as a Cyclone is Varner. The senior will make his fourth finals appearance and go after a second title after a 6-0 win over Cam Simaz of Cornell.

Simaz did little to win the match, something that angered the athlete and coach.

“I don’t think he was necessarily wrestling. It kind of gets old when maybe their coaches have them go out there and do that," Varner said. "If you’re going to step out on the mat, step out there to win, not to keep it close with somebody. Try to be the guy who knocks off the top guy. I guess that’s my mindset every time I step out on the mat. I don’t care who I am wrestling, I’m going to go out there and wrestle, not change things up just to keep it close. Otherwise I shouldn’t be wrestling.”

Jackson said, "It's unbelievable to me. How can you make an attack on that person when they're backing up?"

Varner will meet Big 12 rival Craig Brester of Nebraska in the finals for the second year in a row. The Cyclone won the title bout last season and has two wins over Brester this season.

“It’s just another match. Obviously, it’s the national finals. We’ve wrestled a few times this year. It’s the same game plan. I’m going to go out there and wrestle my match, wrestle to win. Stick to my gameplan and have fun," Varner said. "Whatever happens happens, but I’m not going to go down without a fight and I’m going to battle to win my second title.”

Right after Varner's victory, Zabriskie avenged his semifinal loss from last season with a 6-5 win over Konrad Dudziak of Duke. The Blue Devil tied the match late with a takedown, but chose to release the Cyclone in the final 30 seconds and didn't come close to a winning takedown.

“It feels pretty good, after 2009 being that close and not achieving my goals was tough. I really came out hard in this match," Zabriskie said. "I felt my defense could have been better tonight. He had a lot of good shots, which concerned me.”

Zabriskie will also see a league rival in the finals, as he takes on Jared Rosholt of Oklahoma State. Zabriskie defeated the Cowboy for the Big 12 title two weeks ago.

“He's a tough competitor. I've faced him a few times and I know it's going to be a battle," Zabriskie said.

Jackson said having three very familiar opponents in the finals makes things a little easier to prepapre.

"There's no guessing at all. You know exactly what your tactical approach will be for that opponent. It makes it easier on coaches and athletes, because they've seen them and understand them and know the way we want them to wrestle them," he said.

The night wasn't all fun and games for the Cyclones, however, as seniors Nick Fanthorpe (133) and Mitch Mueller (149) and junior Jon Reader (165) all lost in the round of 12 to fall one win shy of All-American honors. Fanthorpe was going after a second honor, Reader a third and Mueller was an escape in overtime away from claiming his first All-American honor.

With those losses, the Cyclones' only All-Americans will be the three finalists.

"Just disappointing. That's kind of been our tournament. We lost some matches right at the end. We didn't win the positions when we had the positions. We missed some opportunities," Jackson said.