After dropping its semifinal match to Arizona State on criteria, the wrestling team rebounded with victories over North Carolina and Michigan to place third Saturday at the National Wrestling Team Championship in Hampton, Va.

Although heavyweight Greg Haladay pinned Arizona State's Kelly Gonzoles at 3:57 to knot the match at 19-19, the No. 2 Sun Devils advanced to the finals by virtue of having the most bout victories (5-4-1).

Penn State got off to a fast start, winning the first three bouts to take an 11-0 lead. Arizona State, however, ran off a string of five straight victories to put the Sun Devils on top, 17-11.

John Ginther battled Andy Voit to a 1-1 draw at 190 to clinch the match for Arizona State.

The third-ranked Lions got major decisions from All-Americans Ken Chertow and Jim Martin to open the match. Chertow defeated Zeke Jones, 12-3, at 118 and Martin downed Marco Sanchez, 9-0, at 126. In the 134-pound contest, Jeff Dernlan decisioned Andy McNaughton, 6-2, giving Penn State its early advantage.

"Kenny wrestled one of his best matches ever against Zeke Jones," Coach Rich Lorenzo said. "He's looking very good, but his problem right now is keeping his weight down."

But the strong Arizona State middleweights soon took over. Transfer Junior Saunders, a Division II champion, started the run by posting an 11-2 major decision over Peter Horst at 142.

Thom Ortiz, who finished fourth in last year's NCAA tournament, defeated Mike Bevilacqua, 4-1, at 150, and Dan St. John, a third-place finisher in last year's NCAAs, beat Mark Verratti, 10-3, at 158 to pull Arizona State to within a point at 11-10.

G.T. Taylor put the Sun Devils ahead with a 7-2 win over Jason Suter in the 167-pound bout. At 177, Jim Gressley, who placed third in last year's tournament, increased the Sun Devils' lead to 17-11 decisioning Matt White, 15-4.

"I'm very pleased with the way the guys performed after the Arizona State loss and after some individual losses," Lorenzo said. "We stayed even with the No. 2 team and beat the No. 4 team."

The Lions had no problem defeating North Carolina, winning seven of the 10 matches en route to a 25-10 victory. Michigan dropped Lock Haven, 21-16, in the other consolation semifinal to set up the match for third place.

Chertow opened the contest against the Wolverines with a 17-6 major decision over Salem Yaffi at 118, and Jim Martin majored John Moore, 9-1, at 126 to give the Lions an early 8-0 lead.

Michigan closed the gap to 8-7 with two straight wins. At 134, John Fisher downed Jeff Dernlan, 16-5, and at 142 Larry Gotcher decisioned Peter Horst, 9-3.

In the 150-pound bout, Mike Bevilacqua wrestled Sam Amine to a 1-1 draw, but Joe Pantaleo, who finished second in the NCAA's last year, beat Mark Verratti, 4-0, at 158 to put Michigan ahead 12-10.

Penn State regained the lead in the next bout as Jason Suter beat NCAA runner-up Mike Amine, 8-4, with a takedown in the first period and two reversals in the third. Amine cost his team one point when he was penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct after the match.

"When I got my first two (on a takedown), I knew I could stay with this guy," Suter said. "It built up my confidence and kept me working hard."

The Lions won the next three matches to wrap up a 22-11 win. In the 177-pound contest, Matt White beat Jim Dye, 9-6. At 190, Andy Voit decisioned Fritz Lehrke, 6-3, and heavyweight Greg Haladay shaded Bob Potokar, 5-4.

In the championship match, No. 1 Oklahoma State defeated Arizona State, 22-13, behind four decisions, a major and a fall.

North Carolina finished fifth with a 25-18 victory over Lock Haven, and Bloomsburg downed North Carolina State, 18-14, to place seventh.