OKLAHOMA CITY – Soon after placing fourth in the national tournament, junior Trent Paulson took consolation in the experience – not in his finish.

“I’m disappointed in how I finished out, but there were some good things to take home,” he said, then referred to his junior teammates. “We have still got a lot of work to do.”

Besides NCAA champion Nate Gallick, the ISU NCAA qualifiers left the tournament last weekend without the hardware they were looking for.

Trent – the top-seeded 157-pound athlete in the field – lost to two opponents he had beaten in the past and finished fourth. Travis Paulson (165) finished in sixth place, and junior Kurt Backes (184) fell one match short of All-American status.

With two losses in the tournament, senior Jesse Sundell (133) finished his career.

As a team, Iowa State finished in 13th place.

“We had to wrestle a little smarter in some matches,” ISU coach Bobby Douglas said. “We got caught and gave up some points at the wrong time.

“There is nothing more to be said about that. We just didn’t get the job done.”

After two wins, Trent faced Iowa’s Joe Johnston in the quarterfinals. He was 3-0 in his career against the 2005 NCAA runner-up, but was halted, 6-3, and sent to the consolation bracket. Johnston scored a quick takedown early in the first period, which set the tone for the match.

Cornell senior Dustin Manotti, a four-time All-American, beat Paulson, 8-2, for third place.

Travis also won his first two matches. In the quarterfinals, he got caught by Michigan’s Ryan Churella – the eventual runner-up – and gave up a four-point move late in the third period, losing 6-4.

“It’s the National Tournament: You can’t make mistakes, and we made some mistakes,” Douglas said.

Travis worked his way back through the consolation bracket, beating his conference rival, Missouri’s Matt Pell, for the first time, 4-2. After a win over Iowa’s Eric Luedke, he lost to third-seeded Muzaffar Abdurakhmanov, 7-2. In a match for fifth place, he couldn’t come back against Oregon’s Joey Bracamonte, 4-3.

“Its good to be an All-American again, but I haven’t accomplished my goals,” Travis said soon after his final match. “Hopefully, I can get these things that I need to work on over the summer, and be ready next year.”

Backes, an All-American in 2004, lost to Arizona State’s 10th-seeded C.B. Dollaway in the second round. After winning two consolation matches, the junior lost to Penn State’s Eric Bradley, 7-6.

He took the Nittany Lion down with six seconds left, but was cited for a technical violation for locked hands.

“Kurt [Backes] really deserved to be an All-American this year,” Travis said. “He can beat anyone at that weight. It just sucks that he doesn’t get to be there. I feel for him. But I think next year it will just be more fuel for the fire.”

Sundell drew top-seeded Shawn Bunch in the first round, and couldn’t handle the quickness of the two-time NCAA runner-up, falling 17-5.

He ended his career on a sour note, losing to Cornell’s Michael Mormile, 12-9. Sundell fell behind early and couldn’t come back before the final whistle.

“I’m proud of Jesse [Sundell]. He gave us everything he had and then some,” Douglas said. “He worked hard all year long; he just wasn’t able to do it here at the National Tournament.

“We’ve wrestled well. We just haven’t had enough firepower to beat some of these people.”