Penn State extends its lead in chase for team championship

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 12:20 p.m. ET

foxsports

NEW YORK (AP) Penn State sent five wrestlers to the semifinals of the NCAA Wrestling Championship and extended its lead in the team standings at the tournament's halfway point Friday afternoon.

The No. 1 Nittany Lions went 5-1 in their championship matches during the third session inside Madison Square Garden and led No. 7 Ohio State 68.5-54 in the team race.

Ohio State and No. 4 Iowa have four wrestlers in the semifinals and No. 5 Oklahoma State has three. The Hawkeyes and Cowboys are third and fourth in the team standings with 47 and 45.5 points.

But Penn State, looking to win its fifth team championship in six years, continued to rack up bonus-point victories to pull closer to that goal and earn a comfortable cushion.