Four-year letter award winner and team captain of MSU Wrestling, senior John Rizqallah qualified for the 2015 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, making this his third straight year qualifying and competing at the championships.
Last Saturday, he captured the spot automatically, receiving a bid to nationals after finishing No. 10 in his weight class at the Big Ten Championship.
Rizqallah's 17-12 record this season in his 184-pound class has made him among the best for the Spartans.
He is the only MSU wrestler who qualified for the NCAA Championships this year.Junior Nick Trimble and senior Nick McDiarmid did not qualify despite coming close. Both were only one spot out of their weight classes' qualifying rank to go to nationals.RF
Trimble placed 8th in 149 weight class and McDiarmid finished 10th in 197 weight class at the Big Ten Championships, both just short to qualify for nationals bid at the NCCA Championships.
This is Rizqallah's third championship, his experience throughout his career in the NCAA Championships could assist his advance in the tournament.
Rizqallah will face #3 seed, 31-1 Arizona State junior Blake Stauffer in the first round, who fell short last year for the NCAA title run.
Stauffer is also attending the championships for the third time in his career.
The Spartans finished 13th with 12.5 points at the Big Ten Championships displaying the competitiveness of this year's division.
Michigan native Rizqallah holds a career record of 74-43 and he leads the Spartans in duels with 10-8, but his record in duels drops within the Big Ten at 3-6.
Rizqallah comes into the championships without a high rank in the seeds, but he is a potential threat and will single-handedly represent the Spartans this weekend.
The 2015 NCAA Wrestling Championships began Thursday and will be held until Saturday at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis.
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