AUBURN HILLS, Mich. - It was a dream come true for Trent Paulson, but not so much for his Iowa State Cyclones.

Paulson capped a stellar collegiate career Saturday by winning the 157-pound national championship at the 2007 NCAA Division National Wrestling Championships at The Palace of Auburn Hills.

Paulson registered two third-period takedowns, the final with 15 seconds left, to beat Wisconsin's Craig Henning, 6-5.

"I've been imagining this moment since I got to Iowa State, and to actually feel it is unbelievable," said Paulson.

Paulson's win pulled the Cyclones within striking distance of Minnesota as ISU sought its first team national championship since 1987.

But teammates Jake Varner and Kurt Backes needed to win, and Minnesota heavyweight Cole Konrad had to lose or win only by a decision.

None of those things materialized. Both Varner and Backes lost at 184 and 197, and Konrad scored a pin in the final bout to lift the Golden Gophers to their third national championship since 2000.

"We're happy," said Iowa State head coach Cael Sanderson, who was named national coach of the year. "The effort was there. Things didn't work out, but we gave it our best shot. I'm really proud of these guys."

The Cyclones held the team lead after Friday night's semifinals, but Minnesota rallied in the placing matches earlier Saturday to take a 7.5-point lead heading into the championship matches.

The Golden Gophers finished with 98 points compared to Iowa State's 88.5. The winning total was the first time a national champion hadn't scored 100 points since 1994.

In addition, Minnesota's five all-Americans were the fewest by a national championship team since 1975.

The Gophers were heavily favored to win, but stumbled prior to its Saturday morning rally.

"I don't know if it weighed on us," said Minnesota head coach J Robinson of his team being the early tournament favorite. "Like any national tournament things go wrong. You have to dig out of holes. We responded when we had to respond."

Varner, a freshman, lost to Northwestern's Jake Herbert 6-1 in the 184-pound title match. Backes, a senior, dropped a 6-4 overtime decision to American University's Josh Glenn at 197.

Iowa State had one other all-American, Trent's brother, Travis.

Looking at a third consecutive sixth-place finish, Travis scored a pair of takedowns in the final 45 seconds to beat Hofstra's Michael Patrovich 5-4 for fifth at 165.

"It's always better to finish with an odd number," said Paulson. "I didn't want to end my senior year with a loss, so I gave everything I had."

After tying the match at 3 with a takedown at the 45-second mark, Paulson let Patrovich up with 38 seconds remaining.

But he got a second double-leg takedown 23 seconds later and held on for the victory.

"I felt he was getting tired and he was good on the bottom," added Paulson. "I was confident on my feet so I cut him and went for it."

Iowa's Eric Luedke won a pair of matches Saturday morning, beating Michigan's Steve Luke 3-3 on criteria before beating Navy's Matthew Stolpinski 3-2 for third place at 174.

Strawberry Point native Charlie Falck finished eighth for the Hawkeyes at 125.

MCDONOUGH HONORED: Northern Iowa associate media relations director and wrestling contact, Colin McDonough, was named the National Wrestling SID/Publicist of the Year by the National Wrestling Media Association.

Contact Jim Nelson at (319) 291-1521 or jim.nelson@wcfcourier.com