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ST. LOUIS – Nobody understands what Mike Poeta was going through Saturday night better than Mark Johnson.

Poeta, the undefeated Illinois senior, lost his NCAA 157-pound title match 5-1 to Nebraska's Jordan Burroughs. For the second consecutive year, Poeta finished as the NCAA runner-up.

It's the same pattern Illinois coach Johnson followed during his wrestling days at Michigan. Two title matches. Two second-place finishes.

While he wanted to see Poeta win a title Saturday night, Johnson's own story shows that their can be brighter days ahead. Johnson continued wrestling and made the 1980 U.S. Olympic team.

"Those title matches, you think about them a lot," Johnson said. "But when I made the Olympic team, you kind of erase those memories."

Poeta plans to pursue a spot on the U.S. team for either the 2012 London Games or the possible 2016 Olympics in Chicago.

"He's got the ability to wrestle at the level," Johnson said. "I hope he takes advantage of that."

Of course, Johnson said, the disappointment of the second-place finish might last a while for Poeta.

"He's put a lot of time into it," Johnson said. "He just fell a little short.

"It's going to be hard. You look at this tournament and who is the best guy here who has never won an NCAA title? Most people would say Mike Poeta."

Saturday's match was scorless until Burroughs scored a takedown with one second left in the first period.

"Burroughs is good and he's on a hot streak," Johnson said. "Mike got a little startled when he got taken down at the end of the first period. You don't get a chance to get an escape. That took him out of his game plan a little bit. Burroughs did a great job with scoring that takedown."

Saturday's loss doesn't diminish Poeta's career in Johnson's eyes. Not for a moment.

"I told him, 'Mike, you're as great a young man as I've coached,' " Johnson said. "As a leader and as a person, he does everything right. He's one of our all-time greatest wrestlers."

Illinois finished eighth in the team standings with 55 points, just ahead of Wisconsin. Iowa won the team title with 96.5 points.

"I think it's a good tournament for us," Johnson said. "Any time you can come out of here with three place winners when you take nine guys that's a good performance. A top 10 finish in this tournament is good for us."

Poeta was one of the three Illini to earn All-American honors at this year's meet. Jimmy Kennedy took seven of his eight consolation bracket matches to finish fifth at 133 pounds. And heavyweight John Wise, who lost a disappointing match in the quarterfinals, came back to finish seventh.

Kennedy lost his consolation semifinal 8-2 against Minnesota's Jayson Ness. But the junior came back in the fifth-place match, scoring a technical fall against Maryland's Steve Bell.

No. 9 seed Wise won his seventh-place match against Pitt's Zach Sheaffer by medical forfeit. Wise knew Friday night he wouldn't be wrestling Saturday morning because of an injury suffered by Sheaffer. So, he went to the center of the mat and got his arm raised by the referee.

Wise is the first Illini heavyweight to earn All-American honors since John Lockhart finished third in 2002. Wise went 25-9 his senior season and finished with 88 career wins, good for 23rd on the Illinois all-time list.

10 for 10
Illinois recorded its 10th Top 10 NCAA finish under coach Mark Johnson. The rundown:

YEAR    ILLINI FINISH
1995    Ninth
1997    Ninth
1998    Seventh
2000    Sixth
2001    Fifth
2002    10th
2003    Ninth
2004    Seventh
2005    Sixth
2009    Eighth

The final standings from St. Louis:
TEAM    POINTS
1. Iowa    96.5 points
2. Ohio State    92
3. Iowa State    84.5
4. Nebraska    78.5
5. Cornell    73.5
6. Edinboro    72
7. Missouri    70
8. Illinois    55
9. Wisconsin    53
10. Maryland    47.5