Zach Roberson’s bid for a national championship at 133 pounds in last weekend’s NCAA wrestling championships was short lived, but he and Aaron Holker both earned All-American status.

Roberson had aspirations of making the finals, but they were dashed quickly as he was pinned by West Virginia’s Brandon Lauer in his first match.

“It was really hard to wrestle my second match, coming off of just getting pinned,” Roberson said. “But it was a good test of my endurance and will.”

The ISU wrestling team placed 19th overall with 30 points at the championships, which were held in Kansas City, Mo.

Roberson, a junior, came back to take fourth place at 133 pounds and Holker placed seventh at 141 pounds.

To gain All-American honors, a wrestler must place in the top eight in his weight.

“Roberson wrestled very well especially since he was pinned in his first match,” ISU head coach Bobby Douglas said. “He was tough and battled back to take fourth place.”

Roberson beat second-seeded Cliff Moore of Iowa to advance to the third-place match, but then fell to seventh-seeded Josh Moore of Penn State.

Although Roberson didn’t get the national championship he desired, he still remains confident about the future.

“It’s not what I had hoped for, but I wrestled well,” Roberson said. “I got some good wins and it was a good test of my endurance and will.”

Holker had also desired a second consecutive national championship, but fell short.

Holker pinned Indiana’s Coyte Cooper to advance to the wrestleback fifth round, but was then pinned himself by Phillip Simpson of Army.

Douglas said that injuries played a big role in Holker’s failure to repeat as champion.

“He was hurt all year long and basically just never had enough time to heal from his injuries,” Douglas said.

Holker, who was seeded fifth in the tournament, finished his ISU career with a 27-9 record this season.

Roberson finished at 29-6.

The rest of the team — sophomores Nick Passolano (165) and Scott Coleman (HWT), freshman Grant Nakamura (125) and senior Austen Palmer (184) — all won at least one match but failed to place in the top eight.

Oklahoma State placed first with Oklahoma close behind in third place.

The two remaining Big 12 Schools, Nebraska and Missouri, placed 13th and 16th, respectively.

Although his team didn’t meet a lot of their goals at the tournament, Douglas looked at the bright side.

“I think we can walk away with our heads up,” Douglas said. “We’ve been hampered by injuries all year long, but we’re a much improved squad since the beginning of the season.”

With only two seniors departing from this year’s team, Douglas will use trials and tribulations of this tournament to build for the future.

“Inexperience was a factor, but our young guys gained a lot of experience for the future at these championships,” Douglas said. “Right now, the name of the game is recruiting for next year.”