ST. LOUIS – Seconds can define a season.

The score was tied, 3-3, when the final whistle blew, but sophomore Jake Varner had lost.

A six-second advantage in riding time after the overtime tie-breakers gave Ohio State’s Mike Pucillo the 184-pound NCAA title at the Scottrade Center on Saturday.

Varner was the ISU wrestling team’s last shot at glory in the NCAA Division I Wrestling Tournament, but he ended up being the final Cyclone to leave the mat with unfulfilled goals and unrealized expectations.

Iowa State placed fifth, as numerous close losses and a 1-for-7 performance in the quarterfinal round Friday morning dashed hopes for a team title.

The Cyclones rallied in the consolation bracket Friday evening with seven straight wins in the round that would crown All-Americans. Iowa State’s seven placewinners tied national champion Iowa for the most in the tournament.

“These guys, they pulled together as a team when they needed to,” said head coach Cael Sanderson. “We just needed to win a couple more close matches to really be able to get up there.”

Varner’s loss spoiled a previously undefeated season and also meant Ohio State clinched second place in the tournament. If Varner had won, the Cyclones would have moved past Ohio State, Penn State and Nebraska to take second place themselves.

After trading escapes in regulation, Pucillo (30-0) and Varner (29-1) wrestled two one-minute sudden-victory periods and two tie-breaker sets. Neither wrestler scored a takedown, but each scored escapes, with Pucillo escaping five seconds quicker in the first tie-breaker.

If the score is tied at the end of the final 30-second tiebreakers, the wrestler with more accumulated riding time in overtime is the winner.

Pucillo had his turn to escape first in the second tiebreaker set, getting out in 15 seconds.

Varner then needed to escape within the first 11 seconds. With Pucillo hanging on his back, he tried to stand to his feet – but then rolled, trying to break the Buckeye sophomore’s control. Pucillo rolled and stood up with Varner, locking in control over the Cyclone’s head and arm before a referee called a stalemate, resetting the action in the middle of the mat.

Nine seconds had run off the clock, so Varner needed to escape in two seconds to avoid giving Pucillo the advantage. He escaped eight seconds later and was unable to score a takedown before his time was up.

Varner finished second as a freshman in 2007 and was the No. 1 ranked 184-pounder in the nation for the entire season. He declined to speak to the media after the match.

“It’s tough,” Sanderson said. “It’s tough, but those things happen. You’ve just got to keep things in perspective. This isn’t life and death – this is a game, you know. Jake works extremely hard. He’s going to do some amazing things, and he already has been a two-time finalist as a sophomore. He has got a lot to be proud of.”

Top-ranked Iowa ran away with the tournament, scoring 117 team points – 38 more points than the Buckeyes.

Six Cyclones earned their first All-American honors. Sophomore Nick Gallick (141 pounds) placed fifth, while sophomore David Zabriskie (heavyweight) finished sixth. Sophomores Nick Fanthorpe (133 pounds), Cyler Sanderson (157 pounds) and freshman Jon Reader (165 pounds) all placed seventh, and unseeded senior David Bertolino (197 pounds) took eighth.

“Its tough – we all hate to lose,” Zabriskie said. “Even with my matches, I felt like I was wrestling well. And finishing my day with two losses – I guess that’s the way it goes sometimes. I felt like I was wrestling great, just hitting great shots. I just wasn’t able to come up with anything clean. I guess that’s just the way it goes.”

Varner and Fanthorpe were the only Cyclones seeded in the top five. Reader, a redshirt freshman, said he wasn’t disappointed with his performance.

“I wrestled my hardest, so I’m happy,” Reader said. “You know, that’s all I ask for. My best effort. Every time. Just wrestle and let the chips fall where they fall – that’s all we ask for.”

Iowa State had just four All-Americans last season when the team finished in second place. The seven All-Americans this season is the most Iowa State has had since 1993.