Two Spartans - senior heavyweight Mike McClure and junior 184-pounder John Rizqallah - qualified for the NCAA Championships after placing in the Big Ten Tournament.

The Spartans finished in last place (12th) in the team standings with 21.5 points. Penn State won the tournament with 140.5 points. Iowa and Minnesota followed in second and third‚ scoring 134.0 and 114.5 points, respectively.

McClure, seeded sixth, placed fourth after losing a tough 3-2 decision against fourth-seeded Iowa junior Bobby Telford, but he was guaranteed a trip to nationals before the match.

Wrestlers who place first through ninth in the heavyweight category automatically advanced to nationals.

The MSU senior began the match with a takedown, but was eventually topped by Telford.

The top match for McClure was his win against eighth-seeded Penn State junior Jon Gingrich - whom he pinned in 4:53 in the semifinals. It was his ninth fall of the season.

Head coach Tom Minkel told msuspartans.com that McClure was disappointed about not winning the Big Ten championship, but said that he is very proud of McClure and he has a chance to win a national title.

Rizqallah automatically qualified this year by placing seventh after defeating Indiana sophomore Luke Sheridan in a 4-2 decision.

The top seven wrestlers in the 184-pound category qualify to go to the NCAA Championships.

Minkel told msuspartans.com that Rizqallah learned a lot from this tournament and fought through the tough parts of the competition.

Although only eight 165-pounders automatically go to nationals, senior Bobby Nash still has a chance to be nominated to go to the NCAA Tournament after placing ninth.

Nash fought and won against ninth-seeded Purdue junior Pat Robinson in a 7-3 decision.

Junior 197-pounder Nick McDiarmid also did not automatically qualify for nationals, but placed 10th.

The team will wait until Wednesday to find out the remaining 40 wrestlers that will fill the final spots in the NCAA Championships. Each weight class will consist of 33 wrestlers.