For two years Chris Bono has felt himself in the shadow of Iowa’s Lincoln McIlravy.

But Bono has sensed a shift of the winds lately. When he thought about the Nationals, “I knew I could win,” he said. “The last couple months of my training I pictured myself up there No.1 not No. 2.”

Bono has been No. 2 to McIlravy all season. But throughout last weekend’s tournament, both he and the Hawkeye systematically dismantled their opponents, wrestling side by side and advancing through the brackets — on a collision course toward each other.

It was their ninth meeting over the years, with McIlravy up 8-0. But this time, Bono, the defending champ, took McIlravy farther than he ever had. By the end of regulation time, neither had given an extra inch: They were tied up at three points apiece, sending the match into sudden-death overtime.

But for Bono, it was not to be.

A few seconds into overtime, McIlravy took a shot and came up with the takedown and the championship.

“That’s my move,” McIlravy said after his win. “That’s my best move, really. I wasn’t there the whole match, wasn’t really there then either, but I said hey, I gotta get it anyway.”

Bono, however, was there for the whole match, save for the moment it took his opponent to eek out two points and the win.

“I needed a takedown,” Bono said after the loss, his right eye already darkening under a deep bruise.

“He was getting tired, and I was on him. He outslicked me. That was the bottom line. I wasn’t ready for it, for one split second. I was starting to put the pressure on. I was simply looking for my attack and boom — he slicked me.”

Saturday’s battle was the culmination of years of work.

It was the first such meeting with the title on the line. Both men are no strangers to winning. McIlravy has won the 142-pound title and the one at 150.

He came in second two years ago and then took the next year off to train for the Olympics.

During his absence, Bono stepped up and seized the limelight, winning the 1996 championship for himself. This year, though, second place has left him cold.

“I’d like to have it all over,” Bono said. “I’d like to start as a freshman all over again. Four more years I’d like to have. I’d like to go through five more years and have a shot at what I had tonight. I let it get away from me. The opportunity of a lifetime, and I let it slip away.”

The lone bright spot in Bono’s loss may still be the same it’s been throughout his rivalry with McIlravy.

The Hawk gives Bono something to shoot for.

“I wrestled the best match of my life,” Bono said. “It hurts when you wrestle the best match of your life and you lose. But he’s gonna keep me going. It’s his face I’m gonna see when I start training for the Olympics.

“He’s made me a better wrestler. No doubt about it.”