ST. LOUIS – No.1 seeded David Zabriskie was trailing with 36 seconds left in his first-round match at the NCAA Tournament.

But the junior heavyweight escaped the upset, winning in overtime and preserving the mood of the third-ranked ISU wrestling team.

Nine of 10 ISU wrestlers won their first-round matches Thursday, and the Cyclones scored seven bonus points in the first round to accumulate 25 team points.

Iowa State scored a total of three bonus points during the 2008 NCAA Tournament.

After Thursday’s opening session, top-ranked Iowa trails by three points, but two of its nine wrestlers lost and were sent to the consolation bracket. 2008 NCAA runner-up Ohio State accumulated 17.5 points in the first round and is in third.

Leading 3-2, Zabriskie was taken down on the edge of the mat with 41 seconds remaining against unseeded Christopher Birchler of East Stroudsburg.

Five seconds elapsed after the action restarted, but Zabriskie was pushed off of the mat for no escape. Zabriskie’s riding time advantage dwindled down to 1:04.

He started down and escaped five seconds later, losing his riding time advantage. But in seemingly routine fashion Zabriskie scored a takedown on the edge of the mat in overtime. It was Zabriskie’s 10th overtime match of the season and an appropriate conclusion to a wild first round.

Iowa’s fourth-seeded Alex Tsirtsis (141) was one of the first elite wrestlers to be upset early.

Tsirtsis lost to Maryland’s Alex Krom, 5-4. No. 1 seeded Mack Lewnes (165) of Cornell, Penn State’s second-seeded Bubba Jenkins (149), Wisconsin’s fifth-seeded Dallas Herbst (197) and Missouri’s fifth-seeded Nick Marable (165) were among the other high-seeds to lose in the first round.

Iowa State’s unseeded Duke Burk (174) scored a takedown with just over a minute left to knock off 12th-seeded Alton Lucas, 7-6. He rode Lucas out for the final minute of the third period to hold onto a one point lead.

Lucas took down the Iowa State junior twice in the first period, but the burly Hofstra senior seemed to tire as the match wore on, which was Burk’s gameplan.

“Coach always says hustle makes up for mistake, and I think the hustle I put out made up for the mistakes I gave up on those two takedowns,” said Burk, who will wrestle fifth-seeded Raymond Jordan of Missouri tonight during the second session, which starts at 6:30 p.m. tonight.

Jordan beat Burk, 6-1, during the regular season.

Iowa State freshman Jerome Ward was the only Cyclone to lose in the opening round. Fourth-seeded Kirk Smith of Boise State scored a takedown with seven seconds left to win a 3-1 decision.

First round results

Team Standings

1. Iowa State 25

2. Iowa 22

3. Ohio State 17.5

125 pounds – No. 9 Tyler Clark (ISU) major dec. Prescott Garner (Navy), 19-5

Clark (25-6) built a 10-1 lead in the first period but fell one point short of a technical fall. Garner rode Clark for a minute in the third period.

Next Opponent: Penn’s No. 8 jr Rollie Peterkin (22-5), Penn, who beat Michigan State’s Eric Olanowski, 21-1, to advance.

133 pounds – No. 7 Nick Fanthorpe (ISU) tech fall T.J. Dillashaw (CSU-Fuller), 19-4

Fanthorpe (21-4) scored three near falls, but a takedown with 25 seconds left secured a tech fall, which adds 1.5 points to the team score.

Next opponent: Penn State’s No. 10 sr. Jake Strayer (17-8), who advanced with a 7-2 win over Edinboro’s Rick Duebal.

141 pounds – No. 6 Nick Gallick (ISU) vs. Keith Sulzer (Northwestern), 4-3

Sulzer escaped with less than 15 seconds left in the second and rode out Gallick (29-4) in the third period. A second period-, two-point near fall by Gallick was the difference.

Next opponent: Lehigh jr. Seth Ciasulli (26-8), who pinned No. 11 Cody Cleveland in a pigtail match then beat Central Michigan’s Anthony D’Alie, 7-5.

149 pounds – Unseeded Mitch Mueller (ISU) vs. Jason Chamberlain (Boise State), 5-2

Mueller (21-7) lost to Chamberlain at National Duals, but on Thursday he scored a first period-takedown to take control of the match. Mueller clinched the win with a takedown in the closing seconds.

Next opponent: Ohio State’s No. 4 jr. Lance Palmer (29-3), who beat Delaware State’s Matt Cathell, 4-3, to advance.

157 pounds – No. 9 Cyler Sanderson (ISU) pin Bryan Deutsch (Northern Illinois), 4:46

Sanderson (19-7) cradled and pinned Deutsch, who scored the first takedown of the match. Sanderson rallied to build an 11-4 lead before securing the fall.

Next opponent: Boise State’s No. 8 Adam Hall (33-4), who beat Michigan State’s Anthony Jones, 9-7. Hall also won a pigtail match over Penn’s Matt Dragon, 8-5.

165 pounds – No. 8 Jon Reader (ISU) maj. dec. Ethan Headlee (Pittsburgh), 10-2

Reader steadily pressured Headlee throughout the match, scoring a major decision and one bonus point for the team. The Cyclone sophomore scored a stalling point and a reversal in the third period.

Up next: Penn State’s Dan Vallimont (22-10), who won a 8-6 overtime match over No. 9 Brandon Mason of Oklahoma State.

NOTE: No. 1 Mack Lewnes, Cornell, lost to Hofstra’s Ryan Patrovich, 5-3, in the first round. Reader and Patrovich would meet in the quarterfinals with a second-round win. Fifth-seeded Nick Marable also was beaten in the first-round.

174 pounds – Duke Burk (ISU) dec. No. 12 Alton Lucas (Hofstra), 7-6

Burk (18-7) trailed, 6-5, going into the third period but scored a takedown with just over a minute left. He rode Lucas out for the remainder of the match for a 7-6 decision.

Up next: Missouri’s No. 5 Raymond Jordan (31-4), who beat Bucknell’s Shane Riccio, 11-3.

184 – No. 4 Kirk Smith (Boise State) dec. Jerome Ward (ISU), 3-1

Smith scored a takedown with seven seconds left in the match, countering a shot by Ward. The two stocky brawlers pushed and pulled for most of the match.

Up next: Missouri’s Dorian Henderson (20-14), who lost, 3-1, to Central Michigan’s Vincenzo DiDona.

197 – No. 2 Jake Varner (ISU) major dec. Daniel Bruce (Virginia Tech), 17-2

Varner (27-2) never trailed in the match, recording five takedowns and racking up almost five minutes of riding time. He fell just short of the technical fall, but the major decision still adds an extra team point.

Up next: Logan Brown (30-13) of Purdue, who beat Duke’s Dan Tulley, 5-2.

HWT – No. 1 David Zabriskie (ISU) dec. Christopher Birchler (East Stroudsburg), 6-4 (SV1)

Zabriskie (31-2) was taken down on the edge of the mat with 41 seconds left and then trailed, 4-3. The top-seeded junior had 1:09 in riding time, but needed 10 seconds to escape. Zabriskie scored a takedown 21 seconds into sudden victory to avoid the huge upset.

Up Next: West Virginia’s Dustin Rogers (20-5), who beat Cornell’s Zach Hammond, 12-2.