Photo Gallery - Championship Semifinals

OMAHA, Neb. -- One more victory stands between Mercyhurst College wrestler Josh Shields and his second-straight national championship at 165 lbs.

"I was happy to be in the finals again," said Shields. "It was a relief to be back again because you have to be in the finals to win a national championship. I put more pressure on myself in the beginning because I needed to get in the finals. Now I know that I only have one more match and that's it. Seven more minutes."

Shields made history a year ago when he became Mercyhurst's first individual national champion in any sport with his 5-0 decision over Aaron Denson of Nebraska –Omaha .

Now, at the 2010 NCAA II Wrestling Championships in Omaha, Neb., Shields goes for gold again tonight at 8 p.m. after posting an 8-2 decision over Grand Canyon's Victor Carazo in the semifinals.

"He was a real quick, strong kid," said Shields about his opponent. "I knew that he gases in the third so the strategy was to keep banging on him. My strategy then was to get my offense going at that time."

The red-shirt junior will face Travis Eggers of Upper Iowa for the title. Eggers finished second a year ago in the 157 lb. bracket, narrowly defeating Mercyhurst's Andy Lamancusa in the semifinals with a 10-6 double overtime sudden victory decision.

Shields' semifinal win went down to the wire as the Burrell native scored a takedown with a minute remaining to break a 2-2 tie, then added three nearfall points in the final 25 seconds to mount a 7-2 edge before adding a point for riding time.

"Coach and I always talk about wrestling for the full seven minutes," said Shields. "There's still time on the clock so im going to continue wrestling."

The match featured two distinct styles, with Carazo showing an athletic and explosive style that had Shields constantly moving.

Shields has now won 21 consecutive matches and has yet to lose to a Division II opponent en route to a 37-3 overall mark. His win total moves him into a tie with Lamancusa, who won his first wrestleback match this morning to advance in the medal round, for the most single-season victories. Lamancusa set the record a year ago and both he and Shields have tied the mark this season as Lamancusa owns a 37-10 record heading into his second match this afternoon.

Shields also moves into sole possession of seventh-place on the Lakers all-time wins list with an 89-16 mark.

Lamancusa is the program's all-time leader with a record of 117-46
Fans can follow all the action via a free webstream provided by the NCAA at thislink.