Updated Brackets (Day Two) | Coach Heffernan Interview

ST. LOUIS, Mo. - One more match sits between Illinois wrestling's Isaiah Martinez and a national championship. Martinez beat James Green (Nebraska), 3-2, in the 157-pound semifinals, advancing to Saturday evening's championship bout.

Martinez beat Green in a nail biter, 2-0, back on Jan. 23, and Friday's meeting was equally as nerve-racking. After a scoreless first period, Martinez rode Green for most of the second period, but Green got a late reversal to take a 2-0 lead. Martinez was able to get an escape before the end of the period to cut the deficit, his first of the year, to one going into the final period.

Martinez used a quick escape to tie the match 2-2, keeping the advantage in riding time. He then held off a late charge from Green to punch his ticket into tomorrow's championship bout.

Martinez will face Brian Realbuto (Cornell) for the 157-pound title. Realbuto is 26-2 on the year and advanced to the finals after Dylan Ness (Minnesota) was force to default due to injury in the other 157-pound semifinal. Realbuto and Martinez have never faced each other on the collegiate level, but they do have some prior history against one another.

"About two years ago, he [Realbuto] beat me in the junior field Freestyle Semifinals," said Martinez. "It was a really good match, but I was a completely different guy at the time."

Martinez and Realbuto will compete as part of the final session of the NCAA Championships. All final bouts will air live on ESPN starting at 7 p.m. CT.

Martinez wasn't the only Illini to have a successful Friday evening. Jackson Morse pinned Mike England in 4:16 to secure the first All-America honor of his career. He followed that up with a 6-2 win over Jim Wilson (Stanford), guaranteeing at least a sixth-place finish. Morse will wrestle Ethan Ramos (North Carolina) during tomorrow's fifth session with an eye on getting into the third-place match. Tomorrow morning's session begins at 10 a.m. CT.

After a 2-0 opening session on Friday, Zac Brunson put himself in position to also earn All-America honors. Unfortunately, Brunson faced top-seeded Robert Kokesh (Nebraska) and dropped the match 8-0.

After two days of competition, the Illini have 42.5 points, putting them 11th place.