Ruiz Finishes Fifth at World Championships

Moscow, Russia - Former Husker standout Justin Ruiz nearly claimed his second World Wrestling Championship medal, but fell one match short of reaching the podium as he finished fifth in the Greco-Roman 96-kilogram division in Moscow, Russia.

The Salt Lake City native opened with a win (1-0, 1-0) over Richard Karelson of Estonia before falling to Timofej Dzeinichenka of Belarus (0-1, 2-0, 4-0) in the second round. Ruiz came back in the repechage to earn wins over Sabhui Humbatov of Azerbaijan and Yunior Estrada Cuba before battling Sweden's Jimmy Lidberg for the bronze medal. Making his fifth World appearance, Ruiz' bid at another medal was stopped by Lidberg in a 1-0, 1-0 loss.

Ruiz qualified for the 2010 World Championships after he won the Greco-Roman 96-kilogram (211.5 pounds) title at the U.S. World Team Trials in June. Ruiz had previously retired from the sport of wrestling but made a remarkable comeback to return to the international competition for the first time since 2007. Ruiz was a two-time All-American for the Huskers in 2002 and 2003. He was named the team's Redshirt of the Year in 1999 and also earned Most Improved Wrestler and Most Dedicated Wrestler awards during his career. He finished with a 43-16 record, including a 16-5 mark in 2002-03.

2010 World Wrestling Championships
96 kg/211.5 lbs
Gold - A Aliakbari (Iran)
Silver - Dzeinichienka (Belarus)
Bronze - Aslanbek Khushtov (Russia)
Bronze - Jimmy Lidberg (Sweden)
5th - David Saldadze (Uzbekistan)
5th - Justin Ruiz (USA)
7th - Yunior Estrada (Cuba)
8th - Daigoro Timoncini (Italy)
9th - Robert Papp (Romania)
10th - Kaloyan Dinchev (Bulgaria)