Five Spartans earn berths to NCAA Wrestling Championships

In addition to three automatic bids, Rex Kendle and Ian Hinton garner at-large berths

EAST LANSING, Mich., 03/11/09 - With the 52 at-large selections being announced on Wednesday (March 11), the field for the 2009 NCAA Wrestling Championships is set.  Two spots in the NCAA Championships went to Michigan State wrestlers - senior Rex Kendle in the 165-pound weight class and redshirt freshman Ian Hinton at 174 lbs.

"We're very pleased to see them get in," said MSU head coach Tom Minkel.  "Both Rex and Ian had quality wins against tough opponents, so they were indeed deserving. It's good to see the new NCAA qualifying system working."

Kendle and Hinton will join Big Ten champion Franklin Gomez (133 lbs.), redshirt freshman Eric Olanowski (125 lbs.) and sophomore Anthony Jones Jr. (157 lbs.), who all received automatic berths to the NCAA Championships after placing at the Big Ten Championships last weekend.

Gomez is coming off of a third-place finish at the 2008 NCAA Championships, earning him All-American status.  The then-sophomore was the Spartans' only competitor.

"To go from one qualifier to five is a good reflection of where our program is headed," said Minkel.

Kendle, Olanowski, Jones and Hinton will all be making their first appearances at the NCAA Championships.

The 2009 NCAA Championships will take place March 19-21 (Thursday-Saturday) in St. Louis, Mo.