NCAA Wrestling Championships 2017: Results, Updated Team Standings After Friday

Penn State continued its dominance Friday at the 2017 NCAA Wrestling Championships in St. Louis as five Nittany Lions advanced to the finals of their respective weight classes.

As seen in the following look at the current standings, PSU holds a sizable lead in the team competition entering the final day of competition Saturday:

Position	School	Points
1	Penn State	121.0
2	Ohio State	89.5
3	Oklahoma State	86.0
4	Missouri	81.5
5	Iowa	74.0

NCAA Wrestling also tweeted a look at the final matchups set in all 10 weight classes based on Friday's results:

Penn State has won five of the past six NCAA team titles, including last year, and it is in line for a repeat barring a collapse Saturday.

The Nittany Lions went on a remarkable run starting in the 149-pound division, as it sent a wrestler to the finals in five consecutive weight classes with Zain Retherford, Jason Nolf, Vincenzo Joseph, Mark Hall and Bo Nickal all picking up victories.

Prior to Penn State's stretch, the semifinal round began with a significant upset as Lehigh's Darian Cruz defeated top-seeded Thomas Gilman at 125 pounds.

As seen in this GIF courtesy of NCAA Wrestling, Cruz pulled off the feat by securing a takedown:

After the win, Cruz suggested that the atmosphere played a role in his ability to oust the top wrestler in the division:

The 133-pound weight class also produced a great story as second-seeded Seth Gross defeated Oklahoma State's Kaid Brock to give South Dakota State its first finalist ever at the NCAA Wrestling Championships, per USA Wrestling.

At 157 pounds, Nolf will enter Saturday's final as the favorite due to his No. 1 ranking, but he'll face a stiff challenge in Missouri's Joey Lavalle.

The No. 3 157-pounder out of Mizzou beat Cornell's Dylan Palacio in come-from-behind fashion to earn the right to wrestle for an individual championship.

As evidenced by the following GIF, he sealed the deal with a late takedown:

Lavalle credited his father after the emotional win for being the one who helped make him passionate about the sport of wrestling:

Penn State's biggest boost Friday may have been the performance of Hall as the freshman upset top-seeded Zahid Valencia of Arizona State to reach the finals.

Hall earned the victory, but simply being part of the marquee event in college wrestling meant a lot to him regardless of the result:

Although Hall wasn't necessarily expected to reach the finals, the same can't be said for his teammate at 184 pounds in Nickal.

The No. 2 seed demolished third-seeded Sammy Brooks of Iowa with a pinfall win to set up what may be the marquee match on Saturday's slate:

In the 184-pound final, Nickal will meet top-seeded Gabe Dean of Cornell, who is a two-time defending NCAA champion.

Heavyweight Kyle Snyder is perhaps the most decorated wrestler in the entire tournament as he is the reigning NCAA Wrestling Championship's Most Outstanding Wrestler as well as a gold medalist at the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Snyder scored a decisive win over Duke's Jacob Kasper at 285 pounds, and he represents Ohio State's best chance to make a comeback against Penn State in the team competition.

Catching the Nittany Lions will be a tall order, but the Buckeyes are sending two wrestlers to finals, while fourth-place Missouri has three finalists to attempt to close the gap.