Michigan State University
Northern Iowa Open
Gasca, Rizqallah Win Titles at Northern Iowa Open
12/13/2014 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa - Michigan State red-shirt freshman Javier Gasca won the 133-pound title at the Northern Iowa Open on Saturday at the UNI Dome, while senior John Rizqallah took first place at 184 pounds. Six Spartans placed overall for MSU.
Ranked 12th in the latest InterMat rankings, Gasca improved his record to 12-2 after winning all four of his matches at the UNI Open. Gasca pinned his first two opponents (John Erneste of Missouri; Gareth Ballard of Luther College), recorded a 13-2 major decision over Wisconsin's Jens Lantz in the semifinals, and beat Northern Iowa's Josh Alber in the championship match, 10-3.
Rizqallah topped Tyler Hoffman of Iowa Central Community College in the first round by major decision, 14-1, then shut out Matthew Chlebek of Luther College, 7-0. In the semifinals, Rizqallah outlasted Jayden DeVilbiss, also out of Luther College, 13-10. Northern Iowa's Cody Caldwell medical forfeited in the first-place match, handing Rizqallah the title.
Red-shirt freshman Mitch Rogaliner placed runner-up at 125 pounds. Rogaliner won his first three matches before dropping a 10-5 decision to Minnesota State Mankato's Da`Wayne Robertson in the final.
Junior Roger Wildmo also took home runner-up honors in the 157-pound bracket. Wildmo rattled off three straight wins to get to the first-place match against Iowa State's Luke Goettl, but fell in a 5-2 decision to take second.
At 174 pounds, senior Nick Proctor reached the semifinals after posting two wins, but lost to Iowa State's Logan Molina in sudden victory, 5-3. Proctor bounced back in the consolation bracket to pin Northern Iowa's Kyle Lux in 5:56 before losing to Wisconsin's Ben Cox in the third-place bout, 4-2.
In the heavyweight division, sophomore Dimitrius Renfroe won his first two matches and advanced to the semifinals before eventually finishing in fifth place.
Complete results are available at TrackWrestling.com.
The UNI Open is MSU's last competition of the calendar year; the Spartans will return to dual action Jan. 4 at home in East Lansing against Bucknell.
Players Mentioned
