COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- After advancing eight of 10 wrestlers through the first round, just three Lions kept their national title hopes alive through round two of the NCAA Wrestling Championships yesterday.

In a big upset at 150, Tim Wittman beat Oklahoma State's Todd Chesbro 4-4, 1-0 in overtime. Wittman rode Chesbro, the No. 4 seed and an All-American, for a full minute in the second period of overtime.

"Coach (Rich) Lorenzo keeps asking me 'How hard do you work?' Damn hard, harder than anyone else," Wittman said. "I worked hard all year and it's paying off here."

"He's had a rough season," graduate assistant Dan Mayo said. "But this is where it counts and he's responding.

"This match could be a turning point for him."

Jeff Prescott handled Pitt's Bob Simpson, 18-7, to reach the round of eight at 118. In the opening round, he beat Purdue's Gabe Zirkelbach by a technical fall, 21-4.

Heavyweight Greg Halladay advanced to the quarters with a 1-1, 1-0 OT, victory over No. 11-seed Brett Bourne of Navy. Neither wrestler could budge the other while standing but Halladay's strength, riding with legs, made the difference.

In overtime, Halladay, seeded sixth, controlled Bourne for the full minute. The Lion senior then escaped in the third period of overtime and held off Bourne for the last 44 seconds to earn a spot in the quarterfinals.

"I thought I could beat him on the mat," Bourne said. "I lost so I guess I should have done something different."

"He was looking for me to ride too high so he could flip through for a reversal," Halladay explained. "I got my hips under his a couple times but I was able to hold on."

Halladay will meet Nebraska's Joe Malacek, the No. 3-seed, in the quarters, which start today at noon.

"I know I'm ready -- both mentally and physically," Halladay said. "I lost in the second round last year and I thought about that today."

If Halladay had lost, he would have had to wrestle a consolation match last night.

"Now I can go back and get ready to come back and wrestle (today)," he said.

But the Lions' championship hopes at 134 and 142 ended about one minute apart. Chad Dubin battled No. 4-seed Chris Owens of Oklahoma State to an 8-8 draw in regulation. Owens, however, rolled through on a Dubin shot for a last second takedown and the win.

Meanwhile on an adjacent mat, Mike Bevilacqua lost to Iowa's Troy Steiner, 4-2. Steiner scored a pair of takedowns while Bevilacqua could manage just two escapes.

In his first wrestleback, Dubin dropped a 10-8 decision to Gary Bendel of Boston University. But Bevilacqua stayed alive with a 5-2 win over Missouri's Chip Bunner in his 150-pound consolation.

The Lions ran into three high seeds at 158, 167 and 177 in the second round and dropped all three matches. John Yankanich lost to No. 3 Scott Schleicher of Navy, 5-3. No. 1-seed Dan St. John of Arizona State decisioned Jason Suter 9-4 and No. 4 Rob Larmore of William & Mary beat Adam Mariano 8-1.

But the Lion middleweights came back in the consolations, winning two of three. Yankanich advanced with a 3-2 victory over Northern Iowa's Jamie Byrne. Yankanich took the lead for good with a second period double-leg takedown.

Suter moved on in the wrestlebacks when he stuck Lycoming's Troy Gardner with a headlock in 3:36. Ohio State's Dan Ritchie ended the string of wins with an 11-3 decision over Mariano, eliminating the Lion freshman.

At 126, Bob Truby won his pig-tail bout but lost 4-3 to Wyoming's Craig Walters. But Michigan State's Brian Smith beat Walters in round two, eliminating Truby.

Jeff Ellis suffered the same fate at 190. He too won his pig-tail, but Hamilton Munnell of Miami of Ohio edged Ellis in overtime 6-6, 4-2 OT. No. 1-seed Matt Ruppel of Lehigh then beat Munnell in the second round, knocking Ellis out of the championships.

The Lions' strong opening round lifted them into second place behind Oklahoma State after the first session. Penn State's problems in round two, however, dropped them to fifth while OSU and Iowa took control of the team race.