World Wrestling Championship

Trials2004.com Tribune - March one dream. one weekend. one shot.

Ticket Packages - Hotel Info - Media Info - Athlete Info - Ancillary Events

USA Wrestling - RCA Dome - Guide to Indy

Get a Free Olympic Trials T-shirt with U.S. Olympic Team Trials Ticket Purchase
The special offer to get a free T-shirt with your purchase of tickets for the U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Wrestling in Indianapolis, May 21-23, has been extended to April 15. The "In Training for the Olympics" T-shirt is free with the purchase of U.S. Olympic Team Trials All-Session tickets...<http://lists.n-email.net/t/296373/15751976/51060/0/>more.

Autograph Sessions Set for Gold Medal Club Lounge For Olympic Trials
An impressive list of wrestling superstars, athletes, and coaches headline the first group of wrestling greats to be included in the autograph session lineup in the Gold Medal Club Lounge during the U.S. Olympic Team Trials held May 21-23 in Indianapolis...<http://lists.n-email.net/t/296373/15751976/51060/0/>more.

Hotel-Ticket Packages Now Available for the U.S. Olympic Team Trials
Special Gold Medal Club and Silver Level weekend packages, featuring tickets and hotel accomodations remain available. See the nation's most important and meaningful wrestling event, while enjoying the convenience and fun of downtown hotel stays...<http://lists.n-email.net/t/296373/15751976/51059/0/>more.

Reserve Hotel Rooms for Trials Now
Indiana Sports Corporation has aggressively negotiated great event rates in downtown hotels for all of our wrestling friends. These properties are conveniently located within walking distance from this year's competition venue, RCA Dome, and they are going fast...<http://lists.n-email.net/t/296373/15751976/51052/0/>more.

USA Wrestling Update (courtesy of TheMat.com)
Army wins Armed Forces Championships in both styles; Seven qualify for Olympic Trials
The U.S. Army swept all of its dual meets during the weekend, and won the Armed Forces Championships in both freestyle and Greco-Roman in New Orleans, La., March 6-7. It was also the first qualifying event in the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team Trials process. The winners in each weight class in Greco-Roman qualified for the U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Wrestling in Indianapolis May 21-23...<http://lists.n-email.net/t/296373/15751976/91397/0/>more.

Cowboys dominate the 2004 NCAA Tournament; Jantzen named Most Outstanding Wrestler
With the NCAA team title already in the hands of Oklahoma State for the 32nd time, all focus at the Savvis Center on Saturday evening was on the 2004 NCAA finals. The Cowboys, with three finalists, came away with one champion, 174-pound Chris Pendleton...<http://lists.n-email.net/t/296373/15751976/91399/0/>more.

Upcoming Wrestling Schedule
Mar. 25-27 - Regional Olympic Team Trial Men's Qualifier - Laramie, Wyo.
Mar. 27-28 - Regional Olympic Team Trial Men's and Women's Qualifier - Battleground, Wash.
Apr. 9-10 - USA Wrestling Senior National Championships - Las Vegas, Nev.
Apr. 16-18 - Regional Olympic Team Trial Men's and Women's Qualifier - Brockport, N.Y.
Apr. 22-24 - Regional Olympic Team Trial Men's and Women's Qualifier - New Orleans, La.
May 21-23 - U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Wrestling - Indianapolis, Ind.
June 19-20 - Titan Games II - Atlanta, Ga.
Aug. 22-23 - 2004 Olympic Games - Women's Freestyle - Athens, Greece
Aug. 24-26 - 2004 Olympic Games - Greco-Roman - Athens, Greece
Aug. 27-29 - 2004 Olympic Games - Men's Freestyle - Athens, Greece

Trials2004.com Tribune is an official electronic publication of Indiana Sports Corporation and the Local Organizing Committee for the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Wrestling.

Iran's wrestling team leaves New York

New York, Sep 17, IRNA - National freestyle wrestling team of Iran left JFK airport, New York, Tuesday for Tehran. Iran
finished third at the world freestyle wrestling championships ended in Madison square garden, New York, Sunday.

With one silver, one bronze, and two fourth titles, Iran bagged bronze. Georgia celebrated the title and the host United States stood runner-up. Alireza Heidari snatched Iran`s silver in 96 kg, his teammate Alireza Rezaei took the bronze medal in 120 kg, and Mohammad Aslani and Hadi Habibi ranked fourth.

Sunday`s results from the world event below:
1. Georgia, 33 points.
2. United States, 31.
3. Iran, 31.
4. Russia, 30.
5. Uzbekistan, 23.
6. Ukraine, 23.
7. Belarus, 21.
8. Cuba, 21.
9. Kazakhstan, 21.
10. Bulgaria, 17.

ASICS Wrestlers win silver medals for the United States at the 2003 World Championships

Irvine, CA (September 19, 2003) ASICS-endorsed wrestlers Cael Sanderson and Kerry McCoy each won silver medals for the United States at the 2003 World Championships of Freestyle Wrestling, held at the world famous Madison Square Garden in New York City last weekend.

Cael Sanderson, the four-time NCAA Champion and reigning US Champion at 84 kg
(184 lbs.), was defeated by Russian Sajid Sajidov, 4-3, after giving a tie-breaking takedown with 20 seconds remaining in the final period. It's the first world medal for the Ames, Iowa resident. "I needed to get in the match from the start and wrestle with no mistakes and that didn't happen," Sanderson said in a post-match interview. Although disappointed, Cael is going to get back to fine-tuning his technique for future competition.

Long Island native Kerry McCoy had hoped to win a gold medal in front of the hometown crowd, but fell short, losing a 4-1 overtime decision to Uzbekistan's Arthur Taimazov. McCoy was trailing 1-0 late in the final period when he scored a takedown to tie the score and force overtime. Early in overtime, Taimazov scored a three-point feet-to-back toss from the clinch, sealing the victory. In his post-match interview, McCoy explained, "I was in between ideas and kind of lost my footing. I'm real excited. I proved I can win at the international level and get the so-called monkey off my back, definitely a positive."

The World Championships of Freestyle Wrestling will air October 22nd at 5pm ET, 2pm PT on ESPN2 and on October 23rd at noon ET, 9am PT on ESPN2. The telecast will be presented by ASICS. As part of the sponsorship agreement, ASICS will have four 30-second commercials featuring Sanderson and McCoy aired during the coverage, as well as the "ASICS Minute", highlighting ASICS continued support of amateur wrestling in the US and around the world.

ASICS has been a sponsor of USA Wrestling and the U.S. National Teams in wrestling since 1980. USA Wrestling is the national governing body of wrestling. This organization holds competitions over 1600 sanctioned events for cadets to seniors across the US including the ASICS/Vaughan Junior & Cadet Nationals held each year which is the largest single event in wrestling in the world. USAW has over 150,000 members. USAW has fielded national teams, which have won 103 Olympic medals, which is the highest of any country plus more than any sport in US history except for T&F and swimming.

McCoy AND Sanderson Win Silver Medals

The Lehigh Valley's Kerry McCoy took a giant step in his stellar wrestling career by winning four straight bouts before losing in overtime of the World Championships against Artur Taymazov of Ukbekistan, the silver medalist in both the 2000 Olympic Games and the 2001 World Championships. Taymazoz got the jump early with a takedown after just 33 seconds to lead 1-0, then went passive to earn two 'par terre' bottom positions, but couldn't be turned.

With overtime already assured due to the low score, McCoy struck for an impressive takedown with nine seconds left in regulation. In the mandatory clinch position-normally an advantage for the bigger, taller wrestler--Taymasov capitalized with a forceful tilt on a McCoy slip and picked up the 3-point takedown-to-the-back for his 4-1 win. Most remarkably, the 243 lb McCoy had entered the gold medal finals with an 0-2 career mark against the tall and huge Uzbek, the last one by a 10-0 tech fall in one period.

For Kerry, it was his top career finish at the international level and his first medal in Olympic or World competition. In his first four bouts, he scored two falls, a tech fall and a dominating 5-0 shutout, facing wrestlers from four different Russian republics and pinning Iranian bronze medalist Ali Reza Rezaei with an awesome tightwaist tilt.

Despite a balanced overall effort (an outstanding tournament team record of 18-7 in bouts wrestled), the American men's team was unable to capitalize on the vaunted home advantage in Madison Square Garden, failing to win its first freestyle gold at the World Championships since Stephen Neal at Hwt. in 1999 (Les Gutches won in '97 and Sammie Henson in '98). Former undefeated collegian Cael Sanderson wrestled an outstanding tournament before losing 4-3 on a takedown with 20 seconds left vs. Russian Sajid Sajidov. Those were the two medals earned by the USA.

Former Soviet republic Georgia won the men's team title, edging the U.S. and Iran by a point. The U.S. beat Iran for second place, via the tiebreaker for second. The U.S. earned the most silver medals (obviously, given Russia's 4th place finish, the point scoring system awards team balance, more than gold medals. Each USA wrestler scored at least one win, as did the Iranians).

The American women finished in a tie with Japan, but the Japanese won the tiebreaker with more gold medals (four), as the USA women performed brilliantly Friday and Saturday before losing four of five gold medal bouts.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TEAM PLACES (3 Medals & 4th place)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Team---------G----S----B----4th
1-Georgia----1-----0----1----0
2-USA-------0-----2----0----0
3-Iran--------0-----1----1----2

Others:
Russia---------3----0----0----0
Uzbekistan----2----0----0----0
Bulgaria-------0----1----1----0
Belarus--------0----1----0----1
Cuba----------0----1----0----1
Ukraine--------0----0----1----1
Moldova-------0----1----0----0
Japan----------0----0----1----0
Korea---------0----0----1----0
Mongolia------0----0----0----1
India-----------0----0----0----1

USA BOUTS AT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
------------------------------------------------------------------
121 lbs-Stephan Abas (Fresno St '02; age 25; native, CA) ,Ä¶ 2-1 record (final rank: 5th place)
------------------------------------------------------------------
Pool Match Results
--1st Rd: dec. Mavlet Batirov, RUS, 4-2 OT
--2nd Rd: dec. Namiq Abdullaev Yadulla, AZE, 3-1 OT
Quarter Finals: Ghenadie Tulbea, MDA dec. Abas, 10-8 (TULBEA = Silver Medalist)

132 lbs-Eric Guerrero (Okla St '99; age 26; CA) ,Ä¶...,Ä¶... 2-1 record (rank: 10th place)
--------------------------------------------------------------
Pool Bouts
--1st Rd: dec. Mohammad Talaei, IRI, 3-1 OT (TALAEI = '02 bronze) ,Ä¶ Guerrero 2pt and caution against Talaei for clinch position, 1-3
--2nd Rd: dec. Michele Liuzzi, ITA, 4-3 ,Ä¶.. trailing 3-0, rebounded at 4:07 with TD then 2pt tilt then TD with 0:47 left
--Preliminary (third) Rd.
Damir Zakhartdinov, UZB dec. Guerrero, 5-3 ,Ä¶. At 5:44 Zakhartdinov 2pt turn in scramble, 5-3

145.5 lbs-Jamill Kelly (Okla St; age 25, OK) ,Ä¶,Ä¶,Ä¶..,Ä¶ 1-1 record + bye; rank: 28th
------------------------------------------------------
Pool Bouts
--1st Rd: bye
--2nd Rd: dec. Ramesh Kumar, IND, 6-1
--3rd Prelim. Rd: Serguei Rondon Pedrosa, CUB tech fall Kelly, 10-0 at 4:08 (Pedroso=4th place)

163 lbs---Joe Williams (Iowa '98; age 28; IL) ,Ä¶,Ä¶,Ä¶,Ä¶.. 2-1 record (rank: 13th place)
-------------------------------------------------------
Pool Match Results
--1st Rd: dec. Ivan Diaconu, MDA, 6-0
--2nd Rd: Hadi Habibi,IRI dec. Williams, 3-1 OT (Habibi = 4th place)
--3rd Rd: WBF Jhonny Cedeno, VEN, at 4:51

185 lbs---Cael Sanderson (Iowa St '02; age 24; UT) ,Ä¶. 4-1 record (silver medal)
-----------------------------------------------------
Pool Match Results
--1st Rd: dec. Tero Perkkio, FIN, 4-0
--2nd Rd: dec. Majid Khodaei, IRI, 8-2
Quarterfinals: dec. Mamed Agaev, ARM, 3-0
Semifinals: dec Revaz Mindorashvili, GEO, 4-2 (Mindorashvili = 3rd place)
Finals--Sajid Sajidov RUS dec. Sanderson, 4-3

211 lbs---Dan Cormier (Okla St '01; age 24; LA) ,Ä¶,Ä¶... 3-1 record + bye (rank: 5th place)
------------------------------------------------------
Pool Matches
--1st Rd; dec. Hakan Koc, TUR, 9-3
--2nd Rd: bye
--3rd Rd: tech fall Ricard Pauliukonis, LTU, 10-0 at 2:59
--4th (Prelim) Rd: WBF Antoine Jaoude, BRA, at :30
Quarter Finals: Ali Heidari, IRI dec. Daniel Cormier, USA, 6-3 (HEIDARI = Silver Medalist)

264 lbs---Kerry McCoy (Penn St '97; age 29; NY) ,Ä¶,Ä¶. 4-1 record + bye (silver medal)
------------------------------------------------------
Pool Matches
--1st Rd: bye
--2nd Rnd - tech fall Duane Van, RSA, 11-1 at 1:54
--3rd Rd: WBFall Mahammadov Davud Abdulla, AZE, at 2:32
Quarters dec. Mario Mutalimov, KAZ, 5-0
Semis - WBF Ali Reza Rezaei, IRI 1:41 (REZAEI = Bronze medalist)
Finals - Artur Taymazov UZB dec. Kerry Mccoy, USA, 4-3 OT

********************************************
Best Bout of the Tournament: Quarterfinals at 121 lbs:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ghenadie Tulbea, MDA dec. Stephen Abas, USA, 10-8
First Period
At :55 Abas 1pt. takedown, 1pt. leg lace, 2-0
At 1:46 Abas 2+1 turn,Tulbea reversal 2+1, for 5-3 Abas lead
At 2:49 Tulbea takedown, 1pt gut, 5-5

Second Period
At 3:25 Abas takedown, 6-5
At 4:52 Tulbea takedown, 6-6
At 5:14 Tulbea 2pt. turn, 6-8
At 5:28 scramble, 2pt Abas, 2pt Tulbea, 8-10

*********************************************

PLACEWINNERS at WORLDS (Top Four Places)
55 kg/121 lb.
1st place: Dilshod Mansurov, UZB, dec Ghenadie Tulbea, MDA, 7-4
3rd place: Oleksandr Zakharuk, UKR, dec Mohammad Aslani, IRI, 5 -2 in 622
----------------
60 kg/132 lb.
1st place: Abdullaev Arif Yadulla, AZE dec. Yandro M. Quintana Ribalta, CUB, 4-3
3rd place: Jae Myung Song, KOR, dec Sushil Kumar, IND, 3 -1
----------------
66 kg/145.5 lb.
1st place: Irbek Farniev, RUS, dec. Serafim Ivanov Barzakov, BUL, 3-1, o.t.
3rd place: Ikematsu Kazuhiko, JPN, dec Serguei Rondon Pedroso, CUB, 6 -5
----------------
74 kg/163 lb.
1st place: Bouvaisa Saytiev, RUS, dec. Murad Caidarov, BLR, 2-2 judge's decis.
3rd place: Gennadiv Laliyev, KAZ, dec Hadi Habibi, IRI, 5-1
---------------
84 kg/185 lb.
1st place: Sajid Sajidov, RUS, dec. Cael Sanderson, USA, 4-3
3rd place: Revaz Mindorashvili, GEO, dec Siarhei Borchanka, BLR, 6 -2
----------------
96 kg/211 lb.
1st place: Eldar Kurtanidze, GEO, dec. Ali Reza Heidari, IRI, 4-0
3rd place: Krassimir Simeonov Kotchev, BUL, dec Tuvshintur Enkhtuya, MGL, 5-1
-----------------
120 kg/264 lb.
1st place: Artur Taymazov, UZB, dec. Kerry Mccoy, USA, 4-1 o.t.
3rd place: Ali Reza Rezaei, IRI, dec Serhii Priadun, UKR, 3-0
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THEMAT.COM SITE REMINDER
If you're insatiable and require more detail, please see the official site at: http://themat.com/specialevents/2003/fsworlds/default.asp
(Of course, if you're that hungry, you've already been there).
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
GARDEN COMMENTARY:
While numerous press reports in recent years celebrate the fact that the rest of the world has caught up with "Russia," this seems more like a political or economic debate than a wrestling one. This year's Worlds brought a big red omen by Sunday, as Russia and/or the "former Soviet republics" responded by winning 100% of the men's freestyle medals for the first time in the history of Olympic or World Championship competition. This year's World results were reminiscient of the fabled Tbilisi Tournament, in which more than one Soviet wrestler was annually eligible to compete at each weight, unlike the Worlds & Olympics. "Russia & The Republics" added two silvers and two bronzes in NYC, for 11 of the 21 medals awarded.

In terms of individual country gold medals, in the tally for the last five years (Olympics & Worlds) it's now: Russia-16; Iran-5; USA, Cuba, Canada, Bulgaria & Turkey-3 each; Azerbeijan, Georgia, Ukraine & Uzbekistan-2 each; and Armenia, Belarus & Korea-1 each.

The World Championships drew a record total attendance for a non-Olympic international wrestling event, drawing a total of 53,665. The finals drew 12,757. By visual inspection, it's presumed that ticket sales for spectators, present or not for each session, were included in total attendance as is common practice. The first round was particularly lightly attended and it seemed perplexing that advance publicity listed the first four rounds, of six, as "preliminary," when numerous bouts on Saturday involved quarterfinal and even semifinal bouts.

The American women's contingent went 1-4 in gold medal finals. Kristie Marano beat Poland's Ewelina Pruszko 7-1 to win her second world championship, this one at 67kg--and it most impressively, it was her seventh medal in her seventh world championship appearance. In addition to her 2000 World win, she joins 4x World titlist, Trisha Saunders ('92; '96; '98 & '99), as a multiple American champion--they own all six USA female world championships.

The women finished in a tie with Japan, but the Japanese won the tiebreaker with more gold medals. They swept all five of their finals, beating the U.S. in three of those bouts.

There are some ironies in female wrestling; in Japan, where the women were taught to walk a distinct distance behind their men in public, they've outrun their former male World champions by a mile. In the last two decades, Japanese men's wrestlers have won no gold medals in Worlds, winning a total of three golds in the '84 and '88 Olympics. In the prior 20 year period, the men won 17 World and nine Olympic golds.

In Iran - which has caught up to the Russians in enthusiasm and moving closer in success (it's THE national sport in both countries) - the women are encouraged to be equal in their careers, but they still cannot compete at all in wrestling. They can compete in judo, though--because the required clothing to hide female bodies in the Islamic tradition doesn't rule out judo.

No one attending in NYC failed to note the enormous and relentless fever displayed by the Iranians, which appeared to number at least 300 strong. Ironically, a loyal bunch of Lehigh wrestling fans (which included former wrestlers Mike Caruso, Billy Stuart, John Illengwarth, Joey Caprio and Dick Warnke, with Coach Gerry Leeman and Trustee Bill Crouse) found ourselves wrapped inside an Islamic sandwich. We were directly in front of the infamous 'boug,' a horn inventive, custom-made trumpet of sorts, but welded to transmit in five directions simultaneously.

The Americans & Iranian fans exchanged many thoughts about crowd psyche, with the help of Iranian Californians Mostafa Salamantian, in construction (attending with his college son, Tallis, a freshman at UC-Santa Cruz) and Masoud Tabatabai, software engineer. Among repeated chants from the folks from "Ee-RAHN" were those meaning "We are grateful," "God bless you" and "We love you." The multi-capped freshman Tallis earned one of the fan coups by getting his picture taken while visiting with Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld in the stands, who attended several sessions. A tip of the cap for their love of the sport and entertaining conversations.

A superb dinner event was organized Sat. evening for visiting dignitaries, with Coach Leeman remarking, "This was one of the most impressive events I've attended in my lifetime of involvement with the sport of wrestling. USA Wrestling did a great thing by inviting former wrestlers with distinguished careers to offer comments on how wrestling affected their lives."

Among the familiar speaker names for Lehigh and EIWA fans were Rumsfeld, who placed 4th, 2nd & 4th for Princeton at 157 lbs in '52-54; U.S. Chief Economic Adviser George Bush, Cornell's Stephen Friedman, EIWA 2nd and 1st at 157 in '58 59 and and author John Irving, who wrestled for Pitt and sent a wrestling son to Brown. Both men paid tribute to Lehigh's renowned fan tradition in Grace Hall, citing how tough it was to wrestle with our steel stands. Irving was Lehigh's Commencement speaker in 1986.

Rumsfeld was 1-1 vs. Lehigh rivals and awarded Leeman a huge greeting in the NYAC elevator, since his days at Princeton overlapped Gerry's early years on campus. Friedman--a true Leeman nemesis--earned a remarkable wrestling resume against him, with a 5-0 mark vs. the Brown & White, defeating EIWA champ John Driscoll; 2-time EIWA champ & NCAA runner-up Thad Turner; 2-time EIWA champion, Ed Hamer (an NCAA titlist) and finally an EIWA 3rd and future 2x NCAA champ and World and Olympic medalist, Greg Ruth !

Women's Matches Finals Sunday, September 14, 2003

Irini Merleni, UKR, dec Patricia Miranda, USA, 5-4

Chiharu Icho, JPN, dec Natalia Karamchakova, RUS, 3-0

Saori Yoshida, JPN, dec Tina George, USA, 5-2

Seiko Yamamoto, JPN, dec Natalia Ivashko, RUS, 4-0

Kaori Icho, JPN, dec Sara Mcmann, USA, 4-3 in 8:20

Kristie Marano, USA, dec Ewelina Pruszko, POL, 7-1

Kyoko Hamaguchi, JPN, dec Toccara Montgomery, USA, 4-1

Photo's of World Championships
http://www.amateurwrestlingphotos.com/spotlight/worlds03-sess1mini/index.htm
http://www.amateurwrestlingphotos.com/women/worlds03-womenfinals/index.htm
http://www.amateurwrestlingphotos.com/menfreestyle/worlds03-finals-84-120kg/index.htm

She's on top of the Worlds
Wrestler Marano eyes Olympics next

By <mailto:twilkin@timesunion.com>TIM WILKIN, Staff writer
First published: Tuesday, September 16, 2003

At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, women's wrestling will be contested for the first time ever.

Colonie's Kristie Marano hopes she will be one of the athletes representing the United States.

Marano, already one of the top female wrestlers in the country, added to her resume when she won a gold medal at the World Freestyle Championships at Madison Square Garden this past weekend.

Marano was the only U.S. wrestler to strike gold at the Worlds, which featured 60 countries.

http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=170284&category=SPORTS&BCCode=&newsdate=9/16/2003

Fairytale run for Indian sports continues
IANS [ TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2003 12:34:08 PM ]

NEW DELHI: It's a fairytale run for Indian sports that has little to do with the willow in this cricket-crazy nation.

Indian tennis and squash players, athletes, spikers, footballers, shooters, hockey players, weightlifters, wrestlers and golfers - you name it - have scored epoch making victories this year.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/html/uncomp/articleshow?msid=184359

U.S. wrestlers win nine straight matches

By Associated Press, 9/13/2003 18:35

NEW YORK (AP) United States wrestlers rebounded from a difficult start to win nine straight matches in the third session of the World Freestyle Championships on Saturday.

Jamill Kelley lost a 10-0 technical superiority to Cuba's Serguei Rondon Pedrosa early in the second day of the competition, but the United States rallied and dominated the rest of the session.

Daniel Cormier and Kristie Marano helped lift the Americans by overwhelming their opponents simultaneously on side-by-side mats. Marano pinned Japan's Nori Saito in 2:13, and Cormier completed his 10-0 technical fall over Ricard Pauliukonis of Lithuania in just 2:58.

<http://www.boston.com/dailynews/256/sports/U_S_wrestlers_wine_nine_straig:.shtml>http://www.boston.com/dailynews/256/sports/U_S_wrestlers_wine_nine_straig:.shtml

U.S. Women Finally Get a Bite of the Spotlight

By BILL FINLEY

ny doubts regarding the fierceness of women's freestyle wrestling could have been immediately silenced yesterday with one look at Tina George's right wrist, which had just served as a snack for Elvira Rasulova-Mursalova of Kyrgyzstan. But George, a five-time United States champion, was dealing nicely with the indignity of being bitten.

Apparently, there's no crying in women's wrestling. "At first, I thought it was an accident," George said. "Sometimes that happens. But when I realized she was trying to chew my arm off, I got mad."

The best revenge was not retaliation, but a clear-cut victory. George, already well ahead in the match at the time Rasulova-Mursalova pretended to be Mike Tyson, finished off her carnivorous opponent to earn a 10-2 decision in Round 3 of the world championships of freestyle wrestling at Madison Square Garden.

<http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/14/sports/othersports/14wrestling.html?ex=1064116800&en=e95a324191866b1a&ei=5062&partner=GOOGLE>http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/14/sports/othersports/14wrestling.html?ex=1064116800&en=e95a324191866b1a&ei=5062&partner=GOOGLE

Americans feed off one another's success

Associated Press

NEW YORK -- United States wrestlers rebounded from a difficult start to win nine straight matches in the third session of the World Freestyle Championships on Saturday.

Jamill Kelley lost a 10-0 technical superiority to Cuba's Serguei Rondon Pedrosa early in the second day of the competition, but the United States rallied and dominated the rest of the session.

<http://espn.go.com/oly/news/2003/0913/1615391.html>http://espn.go.com/oly/news/2003/0913/1615391.html

MacDonald qualifies for Olympics at world freestyle wrestling championships
Saturday, September 13, 2003

NEW YORK (CP) - Evan MacDonald may have been eliminated from the world freestyle wrestling championships, but he's going to the Olympic Games in Athens.

The native of Ottawa lost a 5-1 decision to defending World Champion, Serafim Barzakov of Bulgaria in the 66-kilogram quarter-final Saturday, but he placed eighth in his weight class and qualified for the Olympics. MacDonald defeated Gergo Szabo from Hungary 9-5 earlier Saturday to reach the quarter-final.

<http://canada.com/sports/story.html?id=B98EDF89-F145-45B5-88E8-96C81CE12F66>http://canada.com/sports/story.html?id=B98EDF89-F145-45B5-88E8-96C81CE12F66

Bumps for U.S. men, perfection for women at wrestling Worlds

By Gary Mihoces, USA TODAY
NEW YORK ÷ The U.S. men took some hard hits, and two threw tantrums after tough defeats. But the U.S. women stayed on a perfect roll Saturday night through two days of competion at the World Championships of Freestyle Wrestling. All seven U.S. women advanced to semifinal matches Sunday at Madison Square Garden. Their collective record for the tournament: 22-0. (Related item: <http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/summer/2003-09-13-wrestling-worlds_x.htm#matchups>Sunday's semifinal matchups for U.S. wrestlers)

U.S. wrestler Eric Guerrero can't keep his emotions in check after losing his quarterfinal match Saturday. By Frank Franklin II, AP

And cheers from U.S. fans grew louder with each victory by the U.S. women.

<http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/summer/2003-09-13-wrestling-worlds_x.htm>http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/summer/2003-09-13-wrestling-worlds_x.htm

World wrestling: Women grapple to get attention

Sunday, September 14, 2003

BY STEVE POLITI Star-Ledger Staff

NEW YORK -- Tina George removed the ice bag from her forearm, revealing the latest evidence of how serious her sport has become. It was a nasty bite mark, one deep enough that she could point out the incisors and bicuspids of her opponent.

"I've been bitten before, but not like this," said George, letting out a big laugh. "It was like my whole wrist was in her mouth, and she was just going to town. I tried to pull it away but she wouldn't let go!"

<http://www.nj.com/sports/ledger/index.ssf?/base/sports-3/106351536573450.xml>http://www.nj.com/sports/ledger/index.ssf?/base/sports-3/106351536573450.xml

Cormier reaches world quarterfinal
September 14, 2003

NEW YORK ÷ Former Northside High standout Daniel Cormier won his first three matches, but lost in Saturdayâs quarterfinal at the World Freestyle Wrestling Championships at Madison Square Garden.

Cormier, who won the Pan American Games gold medal in early August in the 96 kg (211 1/2-pound) class, took a 10-0 technical fall win over Ricard Paulikonis of Lithuania Saturday morning. He had earlier taken a 9-3 win over Hakan Koc of Turkey on Friday in his first pool match.

Cormier, the reigning U.S. champion, finished without a loss in pool competition and advanced to the elimination around. He defeated Antoine Jaoude of Brazil with a pin in 30 seconds.

However, Cormier then lost to current world champion Ali Hedari of Iran in the quarterfinals, 6-3.

<http://www.theadvertiser.com/sports/html/A1C60987-FF56-482A-8C69-7094B56A21FB.shtml>http://www.theadvertiser.com/sports/html/A1C60987-FF56-482A-8C69-7094B56A21FB.shtml

Cormier went to his back and never came close to taking Hedari to his back. Then, at the end of the match, Hedari sauntered out of bounds, knowing the match was over, and Cormier ran up behind him [off the mat] and nailed Hedari from behind, then refused to shake hands, and was forced to go back out by the coaching staff. The officiating at the worlds is sub-standard, the whistle always looks scared to make a call, but the ref's were not the issue in this one. The Iranian IS the World Champion. Not much better than Cormier, but he only needs to be 1 point better to be THE World Champion.

Iranians get Garden welcome mat

Things were getting a little crazy around Mat 5 yesterday morning at the Garden, where Iranian wrestler Mohammad Aslani was grappling back furiously from a five-point deficit against his Armenian opponent.

Hundreds of Iranian-Americans made a beeline for the Eighth Avenue end of the arena to watch this spectacle, waving flags and chanting. Women, their hair modestly covered by scarves, cheered loudest of all. The four other mats at the Garden went largely unwatched, except by officials and reporters. It felt as if the whole place would tip over into the post office across the street.

"If Iranians leave, nobody is here," said Hassan Khoshroo, a rug dealer from Texas who had come to New York to watch these World Championships of Freestyle Wrestling. "We taught the world how to wrestle, 2,500 years ago. Iranians are most technical wrestlers in the world. We know 290 moves, the others only know 180."

<http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/story/117321p-105784c.html>http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/story/117321p-105784c.html

Two area women reach wrestling semifinals

09/14/03 From wire reports
New York-Nine United States wrestlers, including two Cleveland-area natives, qualified yesterday for the semifinals of the World Freestyle Championships.

The U.S. women won their first 22 matches of the three-day event and all seven U.S. women qualified for the semifinals

<http://www.cleveland.com/sports/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/sports/106353182637130.xml>http://www.cleveland.com/sports/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/sports/106353182637130.xml

Wrestling: Indian grappler wins Olympic berth

Sunday, September 14, 2003 (New York):

Putting up a superb performance, India's Sushil Kumar earned an Olympic berth and also kept himself in contention for a medal in the 37th World Wrestling Championship at the Madison Square Garden by reaching the semifinals.

Another Indian grappler Sujeet Maan also made it to the Athens Olympics 2004 although he lost in the quarterfinal in 70kg category to Hadi Habibi of Iran in 3 minutes and 41 seconds.
<http://www.ndtv.com/sports/showsports.asp?slug=Indian+grappler+wins+Olympic+berth&id=13546>http://www.ndtv.com/sports/showsports.asp?slug=Indian+grappler+wins+Olympic+berth&id=13546

U.S. Women Wrestlers Assured of Medals

The Associated Press

The United States women's wrestling team assured itself a medal in every weight class by winning two third-place matches Sunday at the World Championships of Freestyle Wrestling.

Both United States men's semifinalists advanced to the finals, which are scheduled for Sunday night. With wins Saturday, the American men qualified for five of seven Olympic divisions.

Jenny Wong and Sally Roberts each won bronze medals after losing their semifinal matches earlier in the day. Women's wrestling will be an Olympic event for the first time at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, and the Americans have four wrestlers in the finals of the four weight classes that will be featured: Patricia Miranda at 105 pounds, Tina George at 121, Sara McMann at 139 and Tocarra Montgomery at 159. Kristie Marano will also compete for the World title at 148.
<http://www.timesdaily.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20030914/APS/309140763>http://www.timesdaily.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20030914/APS/309140763

Saskatoon's Yanik earns bronze at wrestling worlds
WebPosted Sun Sep 14 15:32:10 2003

CBC SPORTS ONLINE - Viola Yanik of Saskatoon captured bronze in the women's 63-kilogram class at the world freestyle wrestling championships in New York City on Sunday.

Yanik built a 6-0 lead against Lydumila Golovchenko of Ukraine then pinned her at the 2:44 mark to seal the match. Yanik executed two ankle picks and a fireman's throw en route to her victory.

<http://www.cbc.ca/pcgi-bin/templates/sportsView.cgi?/news/2003/09/14/Sports/wrestling030914>http://www.cbc.ca/pcgi-bin/templates/sportsView.cgi?/news/2003/09/14/Sports/wrestling030914

U.S. women can finish in top three in all weight classes

Associated Press

NEW YORK -- The United States women's wrestling team assured itself a medal in every weight class by winning two third-place matches Sunday at the World Championships of Freestyle Wrestling.

Both United States men's semifinalists advanced to the finals, which are scheduled for Sunday night. With wins Saturday, the American men qualified for five of seven Olympic divisions.

<http://espn.go.com/oly/news/2003/0914/1615888.html>http://espn.go.com/oly/news/2003/0914/1615888.html

Stanford's Miranda Earns Spot In World Wrestling Finals

POSTED: 3:31 p.m. PDT September 14, 2003

NEW YORK -- Former Stanford star Patricia Miranda advanced to Sunday's 105-pound finals in the women's competition at the World Wrestling Championships with a berth to the 2004 Summer Olympics on the line.

Miranda won a technical fall over France's Angelique Michele Berthenet by an 11-1 score on Saturday night.
<http://www.ktvu.com/sports/2483499/detail.html>http://www.ktvu.com/sports/2483499/detail.html

World Championships Preview
By Denny Diehl - DennyDiehl@aol.com

Men

121 pounds: Stephen Abas, 25, Fresno, Calif. - three-time NCAA champ at Fresno State
132: Eric Guerrero, 26, Stillwater, Okla. - three-time NCAA champ at Oklahoma State
145 1/2: Jamill Kelly, 25, Stillwater, Okla. - former Oklahoma State wrestler, surprise winner at U.S. trials
163: Joe Williams, 28, Coralville, Iowa - three-time NCAA champ at Iowa, third in world in 2001
185: Cael Sanderson, 24, Ames, Iowa - four-time NCAA champ at Iowa State
211 1/4: Daniel Cormier, 24, Stillwater, Okla. - NCAA runner-up at Oklahoma State
264 1/2: Kerry McCoy, 29, Bethlehem, Pa. - two-time NCAA champ at Penn State, fourth in worlds in 1998, 2001

Women

105 1/2 pounds: Patricia Miranda, 24, Colorado Springs - two-time U.S. champ, second in world in 2000
112 1/4: Jenny Wong, 22, Colorado Springs - U.S. champ in 2002
121: Tina George, 24, Colorado Springs - U.S. champ in 2001, second in world in 2002
130: Sally Roberts, 22, Colorado Springs - U.S. champ in 2003
138 3/4: Sara McMann, 22, Colorado Springs - four-time U.S. champ
147 1/2: Kristie Marano, 24, Albany, N.Y. - five-time U.S. champ, six-time world medalist, world champ in 2000
158 1/2: Toccara Montgomery, 20, Cleveland - three-time U.S. champ, second in world in 2001

World Championships Event Schedule
(Freestyle & Greco-Roman Wrestling)
Madison Square Garden, New York City
--------------------------------------------------------
Friday, Sept. 12
Session 1: Preliminary Rounds (Both Styles) - 9 am
Session 2: Preliminary Rounds (Both styles) - 5 pm

Saturday, Sept. 13
Session 3: Preliminary Rounds (Both Styles) - 9 am
Session 4: Preliminary Rounds (Both styles) - 5 pm

Sunday, Sept. 14
Session 5: Bronze Medal Round - 10 am
Session 6: Gold Medal Round - 4 pm
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
All-Session Passes
(six sessions)
No Ticketmaster surcharge
CALL: 1-877-NYC-2003
General Admission - $80
Club Level Reserved (100's and 200's) - $120
Lower Level Reserved (Loge) - $185

Single Session Passes
CALL: Ticketmaster 212-307-7171 Or visit <http://www.ticketmaster.com/artist/849959>Ticketmaster.com
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
General Admission Friday and Saturday - $10*
General Admission Sunday Only - $25*
Club Level Reserved (100's and 200's) - $30*
Lower Level Reserved (Loge) - $40*

* plus TicketMaster surcharge
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
For complete website info:
http://www.themat.com/specialevents/2003/fsworlds/
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
COACH GERRY LEEMAN VISITS FROM FLORIDA
Former LU Coaching great, Gerry Leeman, one of two LU coaches in the United States Wrestling Hall of Fame, along with Billy Sheridan, will be introduced along with other former Olympic medal winners from the USA. Leeman earned a silver medal at 125.5 lbs in 1948--two years after winning the Outstanding Wrestler Award for Northern Iowa at the NCAA Tournament at Oklahoma State.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Top Votes - Champions Predicted by 15 Sportswriters Worldwide
(American Team)
120 kg/264.5 lbs. - Kerry McCoy -- 11
74 kg/163 lbs. - Joe Williams - 11
84 kg/185 lbs. - Cael Sanderson - 9
55 kg/121 lbs. - Stephen Abas - 9
60 kg/132 lbs. - Eric Guerrero - 2
96 kg/211.25 lbs. - Daniel Cormier - 2
66 kg/145.5 lbs. ,Äì Jamill Kelly - 1
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
9/7/2003 Preview of Worlds, by Gary Abbott/USA Wrestling

In men's freestyle wrestling, there is truly a "Big Three" nations, at least over the last decade or more. Russia continues the dominance established by the former Soviet Union, but can no longer win on an annual basis. The United States, led by a group of veteran stars, were the world's best freestyle team in the mid 1990's and continues to be a title threat every year. Iran has won two World Team titles when hosting the event in their nation, and can be expected to challenge among the top few teams every season.

The reduction of weight classes (from 10 to 8 to 7) makes winning a World team title a bigger challenge, as the "Big Three" was always able to outlast the other nations with their tremendous depth. These days, any nation can have their team title hopes dashed early in a tournament, if their athletes are defeated in the pool competition. A couple of early upsets can quickly bring a team down to the rest of the field when there are only seven chances to go for medals.

------------------------------------------------
ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN
55 kg/121 lbs. - Mohammed Aslani
60 kg/132 lbs. - Mohammed Talaei - former World Champion
66 kg/145.5 lbs. - Ali Reza Dabir - former World Champion
74 kg/163 lbs. - Hadi Habibi
84 kg/185 lbs. - Majid Khodaie
96 kg/211.25 lbs. - Ali Reza Heidari - former World Champion
120 kg/264.5 lbs. - Ali Reza Rezaei

Iran enters the competition as the defending World Team champions, taking the team honors last year on its home mats in Tehran, edging Russia by just one point. Ironically, Iran did not have a very good gold-medal finals round last year, with just one of their three finalists, Mehdi Hajizadeh Joybari winning the gold at 74 kg. Hajizadeh is not even on the Iran roster this year, losing to Hadi Habibi back in Iran.

The two silver medalists from last year are past champions and expected to be right in the hunt again: Ali Reza Dabir at 66 kg and Ali Reza Heidari at 96 kg. Dabir is always in the medal rounds, a true big-event wrestler who has his best stuff when it counts. Heidari is less consistent, and did not medal at the Sydney Games. Iran has another past World Champion on the team, Mohammed Talaei at 60 kg. The ability of Iran to defend may land on the athletes in the other weight class, like exciting 55 kg Mohammed Aslani and unheralded 84 kg Majid Khodaie. The heavyweight class has been a challenge, with Ali Reza Rezsei still looking to break into the elite of his division. On paper, Iran looks strong, and add the large crowd of Iranian fans and you can expect a strong performance.

----------------------------------
RUSSIA
55 kg/121 lbs. - Mavlet Batirov, Alexandre Kontoev or Jargal Dondoupov
60 kg/132 lbs. - Kamal Ustarkhanov or Ramil Islamov
66 kg/145.5 lbs. - Irbek Farniev, Zaour Botaev or Dmitry Kirillov
74 kg/163 lbs. - Buvaysa Saitiev, Rouslan Kokaev or Magomed Isagadzhiev
84 kg/185 lbs. - Sazhid Sazhidov, Khadjimourat Gatsalov or Adam Saitiev
96 kg/211.25 lbs. - Taimouraz Tiguiev or Zaynudin Ibragimov
120 kg/264.5 lbs. - Kuramagomed Kuramagomedov (1987 World Champion)
or David Moussoulbes (winner of the last 3 gold medals (2000 Olympic, 2001, '02 World).

Russia is motivated to reclaim the team title after Iran barely beat them last year. The problem with predicting the Russian performance is that they rarely ever tell you who they are entering. At almost every international event, they list multiple choices and actually bring the extra athletes with them. The tremendous depth in the Russian system means they are always strong, regardless of who is the final choice. Russia was the dominant team at the 2000 Olympic Games, with four gold medals and five medalists. They also won World team titles in 1997, 1999 and 2001.

One of the joys of the internet is the sharing of information, and with TheMat.com bulletin boards active, we are able to get a glimpse of what actually is going on within Russian wrestling. The first question always asked is if both or either of the Saitiev brothers will be competing this year. Buvaisa, a 1996 Olympic champion and multiple World champion, is a star at 74 kg, while Adam, a 2000 Olympic champion and multiple World champion, competes at 84 kg. Both have active, flowing styles of wrestling, and are exciting to watch. Last year, it was Adam who competed and won the World title, while Buvaisa stayed home and his replacement, Magomed Isagadzhiev, won a silver medal. This year, it looks as if Buvaisa will compete, and Adam may stay home. Reportedly, Adam lost to Sajid Sajidov in Russia this year, and it will be Sajidov who will seek to keep the 84 kg title in Russia.

The other superstar for Russia is David Mussulbes at 120 kg, winner of the last three gold medals (2000 Olympic, 2001-02 World). All information points to the possibility that 1987 World champion Kuramagomed Kuramagomedov will be at this weight at the Worlds in New York. We saw Kuramagomedov at the World Cup this year, and he has the ability to win the World gold. Russia has been a bit down at the lighter divisions in recent years, especially at the lightest weight class, 55 kg. For Russia to dominate, it will need athletes like Mavlet Batirov at 55 kg, Kamal Ustarkhanov at 60 kg and Irbek Farniev at 66 kg to bring home some medals. Another newcomer is expected at 96 kg, with the promising Taimoraz Tiguiev expected to compete. Russia will be Russia, tremendously talented and motivated to win.

--------------------------------------------------
UNITED STATES
55 kg/121 lbs. - Stephen Abas
60 kg/132 lbs. - Eric Guerrero
66 kg/145.5 lbs. - Jamill Kelly
74 kg/163 lbs. - Joe Williams
84 kg/185 lbs. - Cael Sanderson
96 kg/211.25 lbs. - Daniel Cormier
120 kg/264.5 lbs. - Kerry McCoy

The United States has not had much of a chance to show its dominance, having missed the 2002 World Championships in Iran after a threat of violence was made on the team. In 2001, with a new, young group of athletes, the USA was not in the top three. Just a year from the Olympics, the American team is more seasoned, but still does not have the long list of achievements that earlier U.S. teams have boasted.

There is only one past World medalist on the U.S. team, 2001 bronze medalist Joe Williams at 74 kg. Williams has done everything it takes to be the champion, but must put it all together this year. His loss in the 2001 World meet was to Saitiev of Russia, and this marquee matchup could be featured again in New York. There is only one former Olympian on the U.S. team, Kerry McCoy at 120 kg, who placed 5th at the 2000 Olympics and finished 4th at Worlds in 1998 and 2001.

Expected to be right there with anybody in the world are Stephen Abas at 55 kg and Cael Sanderson at 84 kg. Abas has one World meet under his belt, with an early tight loss to the eventual champion in the pools. Sanderson has been unable to compete at the Worlds due to circumstance not under his control (he has two close losses to the Cuban World Champion, Romero). The fate of the U.S. team could lie with the three former Oklahoma St stars: veteran Eric Guerrero at 60 kg and "rookies" Jamill Kelly at 66 kg and Daniel Cormier at 96 kg.

---------------------------------------------------
CUBA
55 kg/121 lbs. - Rene Montero '99 World Champ .... or Luis Ibanez
60 kg/132 lbs. - Yandro Quintana (Pan Am champion) or Yoendris Albear
66 kg/145.5 lbs. - Carlos Ortiz or Sergui Rondon (Pan Am champion)
74 kg/163 lbs. - Daniel Gonzalez, Yosmany Sanchez or Ivan Fundora
84 kg/185 lbs. - Yoel Romero 2002 World Champ
96 kg/211.25 lbs. - Wilfredo Morales or Wilber Silega
120 kg/264.5 lbs. - Alexis Rodriguez '98 World Champ

There are a few other nations, which, on a good year, can crack into the top few spots in the standings, most notably Cuba, Ukraine and Turkey. Last year, Cuba placed a strong third in the standings, and Ukraine was right there at fourth.

Cuba has three past World Champions on its team: Rene Montero at 55 kg, Yoel Romero at 84 kg and Alexis Rodriguez at 120 kg. Montero won his World title a year ago, while the other two were medal winners but not champions. Rodriguez won his gold in 1998, with Romero taking his gold in 1999. Romero has a great rivalry with Russia's Saitiev, and is developing one with newcomer Cael Sanderson. Both Montero and Rodriguez were beaten by American stars at the recent Pan American Games, and will be looking for revenge. These three alone can collect a large number of team points if they make the medal rounds again.

Cuba's final finish may be determined by the other divisions. There are some "hot" wrestlers on the squad, including Yandro Quintana at 60 kg and Sergei Rondon at 66 kg, both Pan Am Games champs. Quintana hammered 2001 World Champion Giuvi Sissaouri in the Pan Am finals, and Rondon beat American Jamill Kelly twice. Veteran Wilfredo Morales can be counted on a solid performance at 96 kg. With the pool system in place, it may be Cuba's "other" weight classes that determine whether it is a Top Three team again this year.

--------------------------------------------------------
UKRAINE
55 kg/121 lbs. - Oleksandr Zakharuk
60 kg/132 lbs. - Vasyl Fedoryshyn or Yevgen Buslovich
66 kg/145.5 lbs. - Elbrus Tedeev (World Champ)
74 kg/163 lbs. - Zaza Zozirov or Volidymyr Sirotin
84 kg/185 lbs. - Alik Muzayev
96 kg/211.25 lbs. - Vadym Tasoev (2x World bronze)
120 kg/264.5 lbs. - Ivan Ishenko or Serhii Priadun

Ukraine offers an interesting team, that when on a roll, could be in the battle for the team title. The top star on the team is multiple-World Champion Elbrus Tedeev at 66 kg. Tedeev won the World Gold again last year, beating Iran's Dabir in an exciting overtime bout. Ukraine has a legitimate shot at a medal in every weight class. Vadym Tasoev has been a World bronze medalist two straight years. Zaza Zozirov was a World medalist when there was a 69 kg class, and is looking to make his mark up at the new 74 kg division.

Some of the top veterans on the team are Oleksander Zakharuk at 55 kg and either Vasyl Fedoryshin or Yevgen Buslovich at 60 kg. For Ukraine to keep its edge, the team will need good performances from Alik Muzayev at 74 kg and either Ivan Ishenko or Serhii Priadun at 120 kg. This is a talented and experience team, with a heavy dose of confidence. Drawing a Ukrainian in your pool is a problem, as these athletes know how to win at this level.

--------------------------------------------------------
TURKEY
55 kg/121 lbs. - Demir Ramazan or Melvana Kulac
60 kg/132 lbs. - Tevfik Odabasi or Arif Kama
66 kg/145.5 lbs. - Omer Cubukcu or Ugur Cadir
74 kg/163 lbs. - Yuksel Sanli or Fahrettin Ozata
84 kg/185 lbs. - Gokhan Yavaser, Serhat Balci, Nuri Zengen or Fatih Koyunco
96 kg/211.25 lbs. - Fatih Cakiroglu or Hakan Koc
120 kg/264.5 lbs. - Recep Kara or M. Sait Bingol
The prognosis for Turkey this year is very unclear. In 2002, Turkey seemed to have a positive performance, with three medalists and a sixth place finish. That lofty performance was cut to pieces when two of the medalists, champion Harun Dogan at 60 kg and bronze medalist Ahmet Gulhan at 74 kg testing positive for doping and having their medals stripped. Suddenly, without this kind of veteran presence in the lineup, Turkey is a team "on the bubble."

The other 2002 World medalist was Aydin Polatci at 120 kg, who claimed third place. Polatci is not listed on Turkey's roster for this year. Therfore, it will need some of the others with experience, such as Melvana Kulac at 55 kg, Arif Kama at 60 kg, Yuksel Sanli at 74 kg and Fatih Cakiroglu at 96 kg, to step up big time. This team could challenge near the top, or disappear from the standings. We will know right away during the pool competitions.

----------------------------------------------------------

GEORGIA
55 kg/121 lbs. - Besarion Gochashvili
60 kg/132 lbs. - David Pogosian
66 kg/145.5 lbs. - Otari Tushishvili
74 kg/163 lbs. - Jemali Kiladze or Tarieli Melelashvili
84 kg/185 lbs. - Revaz Mindorashvili
96 kg/211.25 lbs. - Eldar Kurtanidze
120 kg/264.5 lbs. - Aleksi Modebadze

Placing ahead of Turkey last year, with an impressive fifth place finish, was Georgia. The team was led by an individual champion, Eldar Kurtanidze at 96 kg. Kurtanidze had paid his dues, winning bronze medals at the last two Olympic Games, but was never a champion before. Georgia's team finish was also the product a few other strong performances, most notably David Otiashvili's fourth place at 120 kg and a fifth-place place finish from David Pogosian at 60 kg and sixth place from David Mindorashvili at 84 kg. There are some question marks in the Georgian lineup, again putting this team in the status of a strong contender who might still fall a bit short.

With only seven division, all it really takes is a couple of successful athletes, and, BAM!, you are a top 10 power. With this in mind, we will not show any other complete lineups in this story, but realize that some of the other nations could move ahead of the featured teams above with a few medal runs. Placing in the top 10 last year, after Turkey was dropped down, were Uzbekistan, Germany, Bulgaria, Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Uzbekistan has one of the most exciting big men in the sport, two-time silver medalist Artur Taymazov at 120 kg. Also, Damir Zakhartdinov at 60 kg is proven, with a fourth-place finish at the 2000 Olympics. Fans will want to watch 96 kg Magomed Ibragimov, who just won a Junior World title last month.

Germany was hurt with the loss of former World champion Alexander Leipold, who suffered a stroke last month while training in Uzbekistan. Without his points on the board, it will be hard for Germany to put together a team effort worthy of top 10 status.

Bulgaria has a pair of 2001 World Champions on its team, Serafim Barzakov and Nikolai Paslar. Sadly, with loss of a weight and the new alignment, both are ideal 66 kg athletes. Barzakov has stayed at 66 kg and was fifth last year. Paslar moved up to 74 kg and has not finished in the money yet. Arkady Tzopa was a strong fourth in the World last year at 84 kg.

Armenia is always a tough nation to face, with a reigning World Champion in Aram Margaryan at 60 kg. Margaryan got the gold when Turkey's Dogan had his title stripped, losing a close bout in the actual finals in Tehran. Another tough lightweight Armenian star is Martin Berberyan at 55 kg, who was fifth last year at the World Championships.

Azerbaijan is led by 2000 Olympic champion Namik Abdullayev at 55 kg, who was a World silver medalist. His brother Arif Abdullayev was in the top 10 at the World meet last year, as was Elshad Allahverdiev at 74 kg.

Remember, a couple of good showings and your team can be in the Top 10.

Canada could do just that, with 2000 Olympic champion Daniel Igali and 2001 World Champion Giuvi Sissaouri in the lineup. Sissaouri seems to have the best chance to win another gold, as he has done well at the new 60 kg class. Igali basically had his division taken away when the sport dropped to seven medals. He was a star at 69 kg, but is having some challenges at 74 kg, in addition to a rash of injury problems. Canada will need an athlete or two to step up, such as Mikhail Japaridze at 55 kg or Dean Schmeichel at 96 kg, to get up among the elite nations.

M ost of the former Soviet republics have the capability to develop a few star medalists and reach for the top 10 status. Just missing out last year were Kazakhstan and Belarus. Another intriguing team is Mongolia, a nation that loves its wrestling, and has a potential champion in Oyunbileg Purevbaator at 60 kg. European nations such as Poland, Greece, Hungary and Romania have some savvy veterans on their teams, and could put on a good showing in New York.

American fans may hate this, but the draw may have more to do with the team race than the actual abilities of the teams. Catch a poor draw and lose a few stars, and your team is in the also-rans. Catch a favorable draw for your veterans and pop a few surprises with your young athletes, and suddenly your nation can be near the top.

The true powerhouse nations can usually survive a tough draw, but those scratching to get into the elite group can not. The name of the game is winning as many pools as you can, then taking out your rival nations in the championship bracket. Matches like Saitiev vs. Williams or Sanderson vs, Romero could happen in the early rounds rather than in the medal rounds. The teams that win these challenging random showcase battles will most probably be carrying one of the team trophies with them on the plane heading home.

2002 World Championship Team standings:
---------------------------------------------------------------
1-Iran, 44 pt.; 2-Russia, 42 pt; 3-Cuba, 35 pt.; 4-Ukraine, 34 pt.; 5-Georgia, 34 pt.; 6-Uzbekistan, 19 pt.; 7-Germany, 19 pt.; 8-Armenia, 16 pt.; 9-Bulgaria, 15 pt.; 10-Azerbaijan, 14 pt.; 11-Mongolia, 13 pt.; 12-Kazakhstan, 12 pt.; 13-Poland, 11 pt.; 14-Canada, 11 pt.; 15-Turkey, 10 pt., 16-Greece, 9 pt.; 17-Belarus, 7 pt.; 18-Hungary, 7 pt.; 19-Romania, 7 pt.; 20-Korea, 6 pt.; 21-Japan, 5 pt.; 22-Switzerland, 4 pt.; 23-China, 5 pt.; 24-Kyrgyzstan, 4 pt.; 25-India, 2 pt.
-------------------------------------------------------
Next LU Email News: Monday, Sept. 15
-------------------------------------------------------

ESPN2 to air World Championships of Freestyle Wrestling on October 22 and 23

ESPN has notified USA Wrestling that it will air the World Championships of Freestyle Wrestling, held in Madison Square Garden in New York City, on October 22 and 23.

A one-hour show with coverage of the gold-medal round will be broadcast on ESPN2.

The first airing on ESPN2 will be on Wednesday, October 22, starting at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

The second airing on ESPN2 will be on Thursday, October 23, starting at 12:00 noon Eastern Time.

The tournament will feature the world's best men and women freestyle wrestlers, competing in the world's most famous sports arena, Madison Square Garden. The event will be held September 12-14, and the show will be aired on a tape-delayed basis.

The broadcast team for the show will feature play-by-play announcer Russ Hellickson, the head wrestling coach at Ohio State, who has announced the wrestling competition at every Olympic Games since the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. He will be joined by color commentators Kendall Cross, a 1996 Olympic gold medallists in freestyle wrestling, and sports broadcaster Joe Miller.

The United States is expected to have a strong team in both the men's and women's divisions. This competition will also serve as a qualifying event for the 2004 Athens Olympic Games. There are currently over 70 nations expected to participate with almost 500 competitors.

ESPN has aired a number of major international amateur wrestling events in recent years, including the World Cup, USA vs. Russia duals, USA vs. Iran duals and the U.S. Nationals.

1 month to Wrestling Worlds

The 2003 World Championships of Freestyle Wrestling in Madison Square Garden in New York City is exactly one month away!!

It is exactly one month from the opening whistle of the 2003 World Championships of Freestyle Wrestling, which will be held in Madison Square Garden in New York City, September 12-14.

The tournament will feature the world*s best men and women freestyle wrestlers, competing in the world*s most famous sports arena, Madison Square Garden. The World Championships of Freestyle Wrestling is also a qualifying event for the 2004 Athens Olympic Games. Women*s wrestling will be contested in the Olympics for the first time ever in Athens.

The world*s best wrestlers have begun their final training preparations for the competition, getting ready for the opportunity to win World titles and medals in seven weight classes for men and seven weight classes for women. The defending World Freestyle Team Champions are Japan in women*s wrestling and Iran in men*s wrestling.

At this time, based upon registration materials provided by each national federation, there are 305 men freestyle wrestlers and 174 women freestyle wrestlers expected to compete at the World Championships of Freestyle Wrestling.

These 479 athletes represent 71 nations: Albania, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Belarus, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, China, Colombia, Cuba, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Guam, Guinea-Bissau, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, India, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Madagascar, Mauritania, Moldova, Mongolia, Morocco, Namibia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, Peru, Phillippines, Poland, Qatar, Romania, Russian Federation, Senegal, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Chinese Taipei, Tajikistan, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, United States, Uzbekistan.

The teams for the United States have been determined, and the coaching staffs are preparing for the final training camps. The U.S. freestyle teams are coming off a tremendous performance at the Pan American Games in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, where they both won the unofficial team titles. The women*s freestyle team swept all four individual gold medals available, and the men*s freestyle team won four gold medals and seven medals total.

The New York community is also getting ready to host the championships, with final planning underway for all aspects of the event presentation. The Metropolitan Wrestling Association is among the leaders of the local organizers for the event. The tournament is expected to be a huge success, with special credit to the volunteers from the region who have worked very hard to prepare for the competition.

"We are honored to have the world's best freestyle wrestlers coming to New York for these championships," said Ken Podziba, Commissioner of the New York City Sports Commission. "With New York's large ethnic diversity, we are confident that the World Championships of Freestyle Wrestling will stir national passions and demonstrate why New York is such an extraordinary home for great international sports competitions."

New York's Korean and Russian communities, as examples, are full of enthusiastic sports fans that will come out to support wrestlers from their national teams, which have already named rosters for these Championships. "This event will show that New York is truly the World's Second Home(tm), " he continued.

Fans who wish to purchase reserved seats must act soon, as they are expected to be all sold prior to the first day of the competition. Premier seats remain available throughout the arena for the event, but fans should order them right away. Call today to order tickets at 1-877-NYC-2003.

*The 30-day countdown has begun, as the organizing committee prepares from what will be the greatest World Championships ever conducted,* said Mark Scott, competition director for the 2003 World Championships of Freestyle Wrestling. *The organizing committee is excited about the brisk ticket sales, and anticipates a total sellout of the championship finals. USA Wrestling is pleased to host the world*s wrestling federations in this important Olympic qualifying event. Fans will witness the most exciting wrestling action on earth. It will be a tremendous event.*

Fans who have not yet booked hotels still have a limited time frame to get them through the organizers at the special event rate. A variety of hotel options are available. To see the list of hotel options, visit the World Championships web page at www.nyc2012.com/wrestlingworlds. Handling hotel accommodations for the event is Total Travel Management at 516-222-9229 or via e-mail at ttmny@ix.netcom.com.

Media interest worldwide for this event has been strong, with over 250 media accreditation forms already received. There is still time for journalists to apply for credentials, as well as available space for these journalists to be accommodated at the competition. The deadline for media accreditation is 25 August. For information, contact Press Chief Gary Abbott at 719-598-8181, ext. 641 or via e-mail at gabbott@usawrestling.org

Just one month to go! Make plans to attend the World Championships of Freestyle Wrestling today.

World Team Trials Tribune (July 15, 2003)

Tribune Feature
Olympic Trials Set for May 21-23, 2004 in the RCA Dome
USA Wrestling and Indiana Sports Corporation announced today that the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Wrestling, which will take place at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis, have been moved from May 20-22, 2004, (Thursday, Friday and Saturday) to May 21-23, 2004 (Friday, Saturday and Sunday).

The move was made to stage the event on one weekday and two weekend days to better accommodate athletes, coaches, officials and fans that will be traveling to Indianapolis for the event...more.

Ticket Talk
World Team Trials Gold Medal Club Purchasers Get First Shot at Olympic Trials Tickets until July 31, 2003
The 2004 U.S. Olympic Team Trials-Wrestling are set for May 21-23, 2004, at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis. World Team Trials Gold Medal Club level ticket purchasers are able to request ticket applications now, and are entitled to advance notice for prime seating for the Olympic Team Trials until July 31, 2003. For more information, contact Indiana Sports Corporation (ISC) at 1-800-HI-FIVES or e-mail ISC directly by clicking here.

Tickets will go on sale to the general public in November 2003. For the latest news and event information visit <http://www.indianasportscorp.com/>www.indianasportscorp.com.

Thank You!
The Local Organizing Committee Says Thank You to Athletes, Officials, Volunteers, Sponsors and USA Wrestling
The Local Organizing Committee, the Indiana State Wrestling Association and ISC express a sincere thank you to all of those who participated and made the World Team Trials a thrilling event. More than 200 volunteers gave their time freely to the event. The officials' guidance, instruction and effort was first-class. A special thank you to the athletes - the reason for the event, and for their magnificent performances. The event does not happen without the support of our sponsors - Sport Graphics, Real Pro Wrestling and Nestle Purina. The LOC and ISC were proud to host the World Team Trials and thank USA Wrestling for their leadership and the honor of staging the event.

World Team Trials Update (courtesy of USA Wrestling and <http://www.themat.com/>TheMat.com)
Morrison/<http:///> Cormier Wrestle-off Set for Fargo July 25
The Special Wrestle-off for the U.S. World and Pan American Games team at 96 kg/211.25 pounds in freestyle wrestling has been set for Friday, July 25 in Fargo, N.D. There will be a best-of-three series held between 2003 U.S. Nationals Champion Daniel Cormier (Stillwater, Okla./Gator WC) and 2003 World Team Trials champion Dean Morrison (pictured left in blue) (Colorado Springs, Colo./New York AC)...more.

Special Wrestle-offs for U.S. Women's World Team to be held at three non-Olympic weights - 51 kg, 59 kg and 67 kg - at date and site to be determined
The champions of the Women's World Team Trials in all three non-Olympic weight classes will be challenged for their spot on the 2003 U.S. Women's World Team later this summer. At the World Team Trials in Indianapolis, Ind., June 20-22, the winners in the four women's Olympic weight classes (48 kg/105.5 lbs., 55 kg/121 lbs., 63 kg/138.75 lbs., 72 kg/158.5) qualified for both the World Championships team and the Pan American Games team. There are only four women's weight classes at the Pan American Games, the four Olympic divisions...more.

Were you there when...?
The 2003 World Team Trials provided some great memories for all who attended. From Jamill Kelly's triumph at 66 kg./145.5 lbs. freestyle to the Rulon Gardner/Dremiel Byers epic battle at heavyweight in Greco-Roman to the struggle between Tina George (pictured right in blue) and Tela O'Donnell at 55 kg./121 lbs., the event was not-stop action.

Goble Goes One-on-One with Dan Gable
Congratulations to Tyler Goble of Bloomington, Ind., (pictured here with Dan Gable) on winning the Ticketmaster online contest "One-on-One with Dan Gable." Ticket purchasers were entered into the contest and the winner had the opportunity to meet Dan Gable in the Gold Medal Club Lounge. Tyler described the experience as "a great opportunity" to meet with wrestling legend Dan Gable in the Gold Medal Club Lounge on Saturday, June 21. Gable also stayed to sign autographs for members of the Gold Medal Club in the Lounge area.

Upcoming Wrestling Schedule
ASICS Junior and Cadet National Championships - Fargo, N.D., July 25-27
Pan American Games - Freestyle - Santa Domingo, Dominican Republic - August 6-8
World Championships - Freestyle - New York, N.Y. - September 12-14
World Championships - Greco-Roman - Creteil, France - October 2-5
National Championships - Las Vegas, Nev. - April 7-10, 2004
U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Wrestling - Indianapolis, Ind. - May 21-23, 2004

Watch for the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Wrestling May 20-22, 2004

RCA Dome

World Team Trials Tribune
(June 12, 2003)

Tribune Feature
Wrestling Seminars and Autograph Sessions Headline Special Attractions
While the focus will undoubtedly be on the mats, special events organized by USA Wrestling, the Local Organizing Committee and Indiana Sports Corporation will be in full swing at the World Team Trials. A youth clinic, special wrestling seminars and autograph sessions with some of the most prominent wrestlers in U.S. Olympic history will be among the highlights...more.

Ticket Talk
Win a Chance to Meet Dan Gable
Now through June 18, purchase tickets to the 2002 USA Wrestling World Team Trials and one Grand Prize Winner will be selected to meet Dan Gable. Plus the first five customers to purchase tickets will receive an autographed Olympic Team Members poster! Click the logo to the left to win...more.

Click on the icon below to order your Gold, Silver or Bronze Level tickets now.

Two Points Indianapolis
Deadline for Special Hotel Event Rate Today
A limited number of rooms are still available at the Adam's Mark Indianapolis Airport or Courtyard Marriott Airport. Rooms and rates are available until today, Thursday, June 12. Indiana Sports Corporation has arranged special hotel rates and room blocks for wrestling athletes, coaches, media and fans. Contact the Wrestling Housing Bureau at 1-800-556-INDY (4639) or housing@indianapolis.org, or click here to reserve hotel rooms at these great event rates...more.

Overtime (courtesy of USA Wrestling and TheMat.com)
World Team Trials to be Webcast live by LiveSportsVideo.com
For the first time, action from the USA Wrestling Senior World Team Trials will be available over the internet to sports fans across the world.

LiveSportsVideo.com has reached an agreement with USA Wrestling to provide two days of action from the 2003 World Team Trials at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis, Ind. Matches featuring America's top international wrestling stars can be viewed live from your home computer...more.

Were you there when...?
A 21-year-old upstart from the University of Minnesota named Garrett Lowney shocked the wrestling world, knocking off five-time World champion Gogui Koguachvili of Russia at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney. Lowney, a native of Appleton, Wis., went on to win a bronze medal in Greco-Roman at 213.75 pounds. Lowney has continued to have his way in his weight-class in the U.S. and goes after his third-straight World Team Trials title in Indianapolis.

Updated Wrestling Rankings
(courtesy of TheMat.com)
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, native Kerry McCoy (New York AC) continues to be the force to beat in the heavyweight division in freestyle, ranked No. 1. McCoy, the 1994 and 1997 NCAA champion from Penn State, has won four consecutive U.S. national championships, and is in search of his fourth trip to the World Championships in two weeks in Indianapolis. 1998 national champion Tolly Thompson (Cedar Falls, Iowa/Sunkist Kids) is ranked No. 2...more.

Upcoming Wrestling Schedule
World Team Trials - Freestyle and Greco-Roman - Indianapolis, Ind. - June 20-22
Pan American Games - Freestyle - Santa Domingo, Dominican Republic - August 6-8
World Championships - Freestyle - New York, N.Y. - September 12-14
World Championships - Greco-Roman - Creteil, France - October 2-5
U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Wrestling - Indianapolis, Ind. - May 20-22, 2004

World Team Trials Tribune (June 2 , 2003)

Tribune Feature
25 reasons you should be in Indianapolis, June 20-22, covering the USA Wrestling World Team Trials
Wrestling is an individual sport, and every one of the 245 athletes who are eligible to wrestle in Indianapolis have their own personal story to tell. For some, international success has already been achieved, while for others it is still a dream. USA Wrestling and Indiana Sports Corporation are glad to help you find something interesting and exciting to write about or place on your broadcast. This is a can't miss event, and you are invited to join us...more.

Ticket Talk
Tickets Available for the Gold Medal Club
All-Session tickets are still available for the prestigious Gold Medal Club. Club members get great benefits, including special opportunities with National Team Coaches, and other former wrestling greats. The only place to get autographs and hang out with these former champions will be in the Gold Medal Club Lounge. Other benefits of your All-Session Gold Medal Club ticket include reserved seats, free program, free downtown Indianapolis parking, and possibly the best benefit of them all...FIRST chance at the best seats to next year's 2004 U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Indianapolis next May 20-22. Check next week's Tribune for more information....more.

Click on the icon below to order your Gold, Silver or Bronze Level tickets now.

Two Points Indianapolis
Deadline for Special Hotel Event Rate Wednesday, June 4
The deadline to reserve hotel rooms at the Adam's Mark Indianapolis Airport or Courtyard Marriott Airport is less than a week away (Wednesday, June 4). Indiana Sports Corporation has arranged special hotel rates and room blocks for wrestling athletes, coaches, media and fans. Rooms and rates are available until Wednesday, June 4. Contact the Wrestling Housing Bureau at 1-800-556-INDY (4639) or <mailto:housing@indianapolis.org>housing@indianapolis.org, or click here to reserve hotel rooms at these great event rates...more.

Overtime (courtesy of USA Wrestling and TheMat.com)
Lewis, Antonelli to coach 2003 U.S. Greco-Roman World Team
USA Wrestling has named its head and assistant coaches for the 2003 U.S. Greco-Roman World Team: head coach Shon Lewis of Colorado Springs, Colo. and assistant coach Jay Antonelli of Quantico, Va.

The U.S. Greco-Roman World Team will compete at the 2003 Greco-Roman World Championships, set for Cretiel, France, October 2-5. The U.S. team will be determined at the 2003 World Team Trials in Indianapolis, Ind., June 20-22...more.

Were you there when...?
Chicago Mount Carmel High School graduate Joe Williams is considered by many to be the best men's freestyle wrestler in any weight-class in the country. The four-time Illinois state champion and three-time NCAA champion has dominated 74 kg./163 lbs. for most of the last two years. His first of three national championships came in 1999 in Las Vegas. He'll look to win his second World Team Trials championship June 22.

Updated Wrestling Rankings (courtesy of <http://www.themat.com/>TheMat.com)
Ranked sixth at 66 kg. in Greco-Roman is William Wirt High School (Gary, Ind.) graduate Steve Woods. Wrestling for U.S. Air Force in Colorado Springs, the 29-year-old Woods finished sixth at this year's national championships and sixth at the 2002 World Team Trials....more.

Jeffrey Weitekamp
Director of Communications and Media Relations
Indiana Sports Corporation
201 S. Capitol Ave., Suite 1200
Indianapolis, IN 46225

W: (317) 237-5016
C: (317) 714-3671
F: (317) 237-5041
jeff.weitekamp@indianasportscorp.com

Get your tickets now for the World Team Trials at the <http://www.iccrd.com/>Indiana Convention Center June 20-22!
For tickets, visit any Ticketmaster outlet, including the RCA Dome Box Office, charge-by-phone at (317) 239-5151

World Team Trials Tribune (May 29, 2003)

Tribune Feature
The 25 reasons you should come to the USA Wrestling World Team Trials in Indianapolis June 20-22
The 2003 USA Wrestling World Team Trials are loaded with intense competition and exciting opportunities for wrestling fans of all ages. With the help of USA Wrestling, we've chosen the Top 25 stories, subplots, rivalries and events that are sure to make the World Team Trials among your best wrestling experiences...more.

Click on the icon below to order your Gold, Silver or Bronze Level tickets now.

Two Points Indianapolis
Deadline for Special Hotel Event Rate Wednesday, June 4
The deadline to reserve hotel rooms at the Adam's Mark Indianapolis Airport or Courtyard Marriott Airport is less than a week away (Wednesday, June 4). Indiana Sports Corporation has arranged special hotel rates and room blocks for wrestling athletes, coaches, media and fans. Rooms and rates are available until Wednesday, June 4. Contact the Wrestling Housing Bureau at 1-800-556-INDY (4639) or <mailto:housing@indianapolis.org>housing@indianapolis.org, or click <http://resweb.passkey.com/liveres/start.asp?e=9417>here to reserve hotel rooms at these great event rates...more.

Overtime TheMat.com)
Lewis, Antonelli to coach 2003 U.S. Greco-Roman World Team
USA Wrestling has named its head and assistant coaches for the 2003 U.S. Greco-Roman World Team: head coach Shon Lewis of Colorado Springs, Colo. and assistant coach Jay Antonelli of Quantico, Va.

Get your tickets now for the 2003 USA Wrestling World Team Trials at the Indiana Convention Center June 20-22!
For tickets, visit any Ticketmaster outlet, including the RCA Dome Box Office, charge-by-phone at (317) 239-5151 or click on the following logo.

World Team Trials Tribune (May 22, 2003)

Tribune Feature
Guerrero/Wilson Continue Rivalry in Indianapolis
It will be tough to find an athlete wrestling better than Eric Guerrero at 60 kg./132 lbs. Guerrero took home most-outstanding-wrestler honors in men's freestyle at the recent national championships in Las Vegas May 10. The San Jose, Calif., native and three-time NCAA champion at Oklahoma State University, is vying for his third consecutive World Team Trials championship in Indianapolis...more.

Ticket Talk
Group Sales Discounts Available
Groups of ten or more can now purchase tickets at a discount of $3 off per ticket. Call Indiana Sports Corporation now at 1-800 HI-FIVES to reserve tickets for your family, wrestling club or team. Click on the link below to download the <http://www.indianasportscorp.com/ISCEvents/2003Wrestling/group.pdf>Group Ticket Order Form (PDF)...more.

Click on the icon below to order your Gold, Silver or Bronze Level tickets now.

Two Points Indianapolis
Event Hotel Information
Indiana Sports Corporation has arranged special hotel rates and room blocks for wrestling athletes, coaches, media and fans at the Adam's Mark Airport Indianapolis and the Marriott Courtyard Airport. Rooms and rates are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Contact the Wrestling Housing Bureau at 1-800-556-INDY (4639) or <mailto:housing@indianapolis.org>housing@indianapolis.org, or click <http://resweb.passkey.com/liveres/start.asp?e=9417>here to reserve hotel rooms at these great event rates...more.

Overtime (courtesy of USA Wrestling and TheMat.com)
Saunders, Hatta to coach 2003 U.S. Women's World Team
USA Wrestling has named its head and assistant coaches for the 2003 U.S. Women's World Team: head coach Townsend Saunders of Phoenix, Ariz. and assistant coach Tadaaki Hatta of Elyria, Ohio.

The U.S. Women's World Team will compete at the 2003 Freestyle World Championships, to be held alongside the men's freestyle event, set for New York City, Sept. 12-14. The U.S. team will be determined at the 2003 World Team Trials in Indianapolis, Ind., June 20-22..more.

Were you there when...?
Former Indiana University wrestling coach Charles Burton had to wait an extra month to earn his dream of competing in the Olympics. Burton worked his way through the 185 lbs. Olympic Trials tournament in Dallas in June 2000, and then was forced to face 2000 national champion Les Gutches in a special wrestle-off in Fargo, North Dakota, in July 2000. He won a hard fought best-of-three series 2-1, and would go onto to finish fifth in the Olympic Games in Sydney.

Updated Wrestling Rankings courtesy of <http://www.themat.com/>TheMat.com
Tina George (Colorado Springs, Colo./Sunkist Kids) is ranked No. 1 at 55 kg./121 lbs. in women's freestyle and Stephanie Murata (Colorado Springs, Colo./Sunkist Kids) is ranked No. 2 in the division. With 13 national teams between the two wrestlers, it was expected that the five-time World Team Trials champion George and the seven-time defending national champion Murata would meet in the final.

It was No. 3 Tela O'Donnell (Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Army), who place fifth at last year's nationals, knocking off Murata in the semifinals and George in the finals last May 10, proving she would be a factor in Indianapolis at World Team Trials in June...more.

Upcoming Wrestling Schedule
World Team Trials - Freestyle and Greco-Roman Indianapolis, Ind. June 20-22
Pan American Games Freestyle Santa Domingo, Dominican Republic August 6-8
World Championships Freestyle New York, N.Y. September 12-14
World Championships Greco-Roman - Creteil, France October 2-5
U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Wrestling - Indianapolis, Ind. - May 20-22, 2004

Jeffrey Weitekamp
Director of Communications and Media Relations
Indiana Sports Corporation
201 S. Capitol Ave., Suite 1200
Indianapolis, IN 46225

W: (317) 237-5016
C: (317) 714-3671
F: (317) 237-5041
jeff.weitekamp@indianasportscorp.com

World Team Trials Tribune
(May 14, 2003)

Tribune Feature
Byers Solidifies His Greco-Roman Supremacy
Dremiel Byers (right) will be the top seed in Indianapolis at the USA Wrestling World Team Trials in the Greco-Roman super heavyweight division. The 2002 world champion was too much for third-seeded Corey Farkas of Colorado Springs in the finals of the 2003 USA Wrestling Senior National Championships May 10 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

The 2003 national champions automatically earn the first seed and a spot in the finals of the World Team Trials, which take place at Indianapolis' Indiana Convention Center June 20-22...more.

Ticket Talk
Wrestling Community Outreach Package
Community Outreach Packages are available for the World Team Trials. The packages include Gold Medal Club All-Session tickets, Silver Level single-day tickets, public address announcements throughout the Trials, and listing in the event program. Contact Larry McQueary of Indiana Sports Corporation at (317) 237-5000 for more information.

Click on the icon below to order your Gold, Silver or Bronze Level tickets now.

Two Points Indianapolis
NCAA Hall of Champions Celebrates Wrestling Student-Athletes
Wrestling fans are sure to enjoy celebrating the history of past NCAA wrestling champions at the NCAA Hall of Champions. A corporate member of Indiana Sports Corporation and located in White River State Park within walking distance from downtown, the Hall of Champions is designed to celebrate student-athlete champions and honor intercollegiate athletics with a variety of entertainment and educational opportunities through state-of-the-art interactive exhibits...more.

Overtime (courtesy of USA Wrestling and <http://www.themat.com/>TheMat.com)
U.S. wrestlers to compete in Takhti Cup in Iran in May
A team of U.S. wrestlers have entered the international Takhti Cup in Iran. The Greco-Roman competition will be held in Sanandaj, Iran, May 15-16 and the freestyle competition will be held in Tehran, Iran, May 22-23.

Coaching both U.S. teams will be Dan Russell of Gresham, Ore., a top Greco-Roman wrestler as an athlete who has become one of the nation's best volunteer coaches. Amir Bashiri of Atlanta, Ga., an Iranian-American who is an active volunteer within USA Wrestling, is serving as the team leader for both groups...more.

Were you there when...?
After finishing second in the 1999, 2000 and 2001 national championships and second in the 2000 Olympic Trials, Chris Bono of Gilbert, Iowa (Sunkist Kids WC) knocked off Ramico Blackmon at 152 lbs. at the 2001 World Team Trials in Cincinnati. For Bono, it was the first time he had made the U.S. world team after a slew of near misses. Bono went on to make the team in 2002, as well.

Updated Wrestling Rankings (courtesy of TheMat.com)
Mike Mena is not the only Indiana University assistant coach ranked in the top 10 in his weight class. Reggie Wright of Gator WC and also an assistant coach with Indiana is ranked fourth at 66 kg./145 lbs. At nationals, Wright was seeded sixth and came on in the consolation round to beat the 12th seed, Tony Davis, before losing to former Olympian Lincoln McIlavy in the third-place match. Chris Bono defeated Bill Zadick in the final...more.

Jeffrey Weitekamp
Director of Communications and Media Relations
Indiana Sports Corporation
201 S. Capitol Ave., Suite 1200
Indianapolis, IN 46225

W: (317) 237-5016
C: (317) 714-3671
F: (317) 237-5041
jeff.weitekamp@indianasportscorp.com

Get your tickets now

2003 USA Wrestling World Team Trials

Indiana Convention Center June 20-22!

For tickets, visit any Ticketmaster outlet, including the RCA Dome Box Office, charge-by-phone at (317) 239-5151

USA's World Championship Team to Be Decided in Indianapolis

The Road to the World Championships Travels through Indy

Before any U.S. wrestler has any thoughts about becoming a world champion on home soil or in Europe, he or she must survive the intensity and immense pressure of the World Team Trials.

With the World Championships in freestyle right here in the U.S. in New York City, and the Greco-Roman worlds in France, the struggle for first place in the World Team Trials will be almost as great as the Olympic Trials.

Who will represent the U.S. in New York and France, as well as in Santa Domingo at the 2003 Pan American Games will be determined June 20-22 at the Indiana Convention Center in downtown Indianapolis.

With the stakes so great, the nation's best in men's freestyle, men's Greco-Roman and women's freestyle are expected to compete.

2000 Olympic champion and 2001 world champion Rulon Gardner; U.S. world team member Cael Sanderson; 2001 world silver medal winner and World Outstanding Athlete Toccara Montgomery; 2000 Olympian Kerry McCoy; 2002 world champion Dremiel Byers; 2000 world champion and five-time world medal winner Kristie Marano; 1996 Olympic silver winner Brandon Paulson; 2001 world bronze winner Joe Williams; and 2002 world silver winner Tina George are likely participants for Indianapolis.

Ticket Information
With the elite athletes expected at the event, and just 3,500 seats, tickets may be scarce come event time. All-session tickets and single-day passes are available starting at $14 at all Ticketmaster outlets, charge-by-phone (317-239-5151 in Central Indiana) or online at www.ticketmaster.com. Order forms also are available at Indiana Sports Corporation's Web site, www.indianasportscorp.com.

Indiana Sports Corporation (ISC), local host of the event, and the Local Organizing Committee have put to together several special tickets packages for wrestling fans of all ages, which feature athlete autograph opportunities and free downtown parking.

Hotel Information
The event being in Indianapolis makes it easy for wrestling fans from across the region and nation to attend the event. More than half of the nation's population lives within a day's drive of Indianapolis.

ISC has arranged special hotel rates and room blocks for wrestling athletes, coaches and fans at the Adam's Mark Airport Indianapolis and the Marriott Courtyard Airport. Contact the Wrestling Housing Bureau at 1-800-556-INDY (4639) or housing@indianapolis.org, or log onto www.indianasportscorp.com to reserve hotel rooms at these great event rates. Rooms and rates are available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Indiana's Wrestling Heritage
Indiana has a rich tradition in amateur wrestling. Its high school state championship is among the most popular in the country. The Indiana State Wrestling Association (ISWA), USA Wrestling's third largest state organization with more than 8,400 registered wrestlers.

"USA Wrestling is pleased to bring the World Team Trials event to Indianapolis in 2003," said Rich Bender, USA Wrestling executive director. "Indianapolis is a proven leader in the organization of quality Olympic sports events, and the region is a hotbed for wrestling."

Event Format
This will be only the third time in USA Wrestling history that the World Team Trials for men's Freestyle, women's Freestyle and men's Greco-Roman will be staged together at one site.

The tournament format features a two-day challenge tournament and a championship finals series. The challenge tournament in all three styles takes place Friday, June 20 and Saturday, June 21. This includes all of the competitors, except for the 2002 national champions who are automatically in the finals.

Sunday, June 22 is the championship finals in each weight class, featuring the national champion facing the challenge tournament winner in a best-of-three series.

There are seven weight classes in each style. Only the champions in each weight class will qualify to represent the United States at the 2003 world championships and the 2003 Pan American Games. The 2003 world championships in freestyle are in New York's Madison Square Garden Sept. 11-14. The Greco-Roman worlds are in Creteil, France, Oct 2-5. Santa Domingo, Dominican Republic hosts the 2003 Pan American Games in August.

The U.S. won seven wrestling medals at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia, including four medals in freestyle and three medals in Greco-Roman. The United States also captured seven medals at the 2001 World Championships, including three in Greco-Roman and two each in men's Freestyle and women's Freestyle.

The U.S. Olympic Team Wrestling Trials will be in May 2004 in Indianapolis.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Quick Facts

What: USA Wrestling World Team Trials
When: June 20-22, 2003
Where: Indianapolis, Ind., Indiana Convention Center, Exhibit Halls F & G (Seating Capacity: 3,500)
Disciplines: Men's Freestyle, Men's Greco Roman, and Women's Freestyle
Format: USA Wrestling Tournament Format
Who: Athletes expected to compete include:
- Rulon Gardner, 2000 Olympic Champion and 2001 World Champion
- Cael Sanderson, U.S. World Team member and undefeated Iowa State University star
- Toccara Montgomery, 2001 World silver medal winner and World Outstanding Athlete
- Kerry McCoy, 2000 Olympian
- Dremiel Byers, 2002 World Champion
- Kristie Marano, 2000 World Champion and five-time World medallist
- Brandon Paulson, 1996 Olympic silver medallist
- Joe Williams, 2001 World bronze medallist
- Tina George, 2002 World silver medallist

Tournament Schedule:
Session Date Time - Style
Session 1 - Friday, June 20 - 9:30 a.m. 1 p.m. - Greco Roman Challenge Tournament
Session 2 - Friday, June 20 - 4 p.m. 8 p.m. - Men's & Women's Challenge Tournaments
Session 3 - Saturday, June 21 - 9:30 a.m. 1 p.m. - Greco Roman Challenge Tournament
Session 4 - Saturday, June 21 - 4 p.m. 8 p.m. - Men's & Women's Freestyle Challenge Tournaments
Session 5 - Sunday, June 22 - 9:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. - Championship Finals
Session 6 - Sunday, June 22 - 3:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. - Championship Finals

Ticket Information: Tickets are on sale through Ticketmaster.
Hotel Reservations: Contact the Wrestling Housing Bureau via www.indianasportscorp.com, 1-800-556-INDY (4639) or housing@indianapolis.org.

Williams wins Bronze, Abas, Guerrero, Saunders, Bono don't get past prelim-pools

======================================
First Group of Medal Matches
======================================
Men's Freestyle
54 kg/119 lbs. Gold - Belarus 5-1 Iran & Bronze - Russia 4-1 Kazakhstan
63 kg/138.75 lbs. Gold - Bulgaria 3-1 Iran & Bronze - Ukraine 4-0 Turkey
76 kg/167.5 lbs. Gold - Russia 3-1 Korea & Bronze - USA 10-0 Slovakia
97 kg/213.75 lbs. Gold - Russia 3-0 Bulgaria & Bronze - Ukraine 10-0 Hungary

Women's Freestyle
46 kg/101.25 lbs. Gold - Ukraine 3-1 Canada & Bronze - Germany 4-2 France
56 kg/123.25 lbs. Gold - Japan 4-1 Russia & Bronze - Ukraine 5-1 Korea
68 kg/149.75 lbs. Gold - Canada 4-1 USA & Bronze - Germany 11-1 Russia

Friday AP article - Williams Wins at Wrestling Worlds
11/23/2001 Associated Press/

SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) - Joe Williams beat Romania's Eugen Preda 3-1 Friday to advance to the quarterfinals of the World Freestyle Wrestling Championships.

Williams, who is from Iowa City, Iowa, turned Preda for a 2-0 lead in the first period of the 167-pound division match, then had a takedown for a 3-0 lead in the second period.

Preda had a late takedown.

Williams faces Hajizadeh Joybari Mehdi of Iran in the quarterfinals. Mehdi overpowered Turkey's Gokhan Yavaser 4-2 Friday.

In the women's 150-pound class, Tocarra Montgomery of Cleveland took a 4-0 lead and got her third straight pin, defeating Finland's Heidi Martti at 1 minute, 21 seconds
=================================
update
=================================
Williams won his quarterfinal match on Saturday morning, beating Hajizadeh Joy Mehdi of Iran, 3-0. In the semifinals, he lost a heartbreaking match to 1996 Olympic champion and three-time World Champion Bouvaisa Saitiev of Russia, 5-4. Making a last-ditch effort at winning, the American brought down Saitiev with a spectacular throw, but the judges ruled he had stepped outside the mat. Williams is a former star at the Univ. of Iowa and placed fourth in the 1999 World Championships.

Williams has qualified for the bronze medal match at 76 kg/163 lbs. this evening. He will battle Radion Kertanti of Romania for third place.
=============================
Montgomery makes Finals
re-match with Nordhagen from Canada
=============================
Toccara Montgomery (Cleveland, Ohio/Sunkist Kids) has qualified for the gold-medal finals at 68 kg/149.75 lbs. at the World Freestyle Wrestling Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Montgomery, who is competing in her first World Championships, will face five-time World Champion Christine Nordhagen-Vierling in the gold-medal finals on Saturday night.

Montgomery qualified for the finals after beating Sveta Yaroshevitch of Russia in the semifinals by pin. It was her fourth straight pin in the tournament.

The finals will be a rematch of a bout at the 2001 Sunkist Kids International Open in Phoenix in October, which Montgomery won by pin over Nordhagen-Vierling. Montgomery is a freshman at Cumberland College, and was a Junior World silver medalist a year ago.
============
update
============
Christine Nordhagen of Calgary just became the most successful wrestler in women's international wrestling history winning her 8th World Championships medal, and her 6th Gold medal. In the Final of the 2001 World Championship in Sofia, Bulgaria, Christine beat her American opponent, Tocarra Montgomery, 4-1 in the 68 kg. category. Christine scored three single leg takedowns and a gutwrench to secure the victory.
======================================
Zadick wins pool, loses to Iranian Olympic Champ
======================================
Falling just short of the medal round was Bill Zadick (Iowa City, Iowa/Hawkeye WC) at 63 kg/138.75 lbs. After winning his pool competition, Zadick was defeated by 1999 World Champion and 2000 Olympic champion Ali Reza Dabir of Iran, 9-2. Zadick, a former star at the Univ. of Iowa, is competing in his first World Championships

So far excellent tournament. I've watched many of the bouts.

Boris Reports from World Championships

Abas vs. Kontoev: excellent bout, but Abas needs to do alot more learning on the ground. Kontoev turned him few times he should not have been able to. Kontoev is also physically stronger than Abas. Abas made good impression on me, very technical, but he needs to work more ground. He could have won that match with a little bit more luck. Also seemed a little hesitant, probably first Worlds. (Abas was Junior World Champion)

Black vs. Tasoev: Black was outclassed. Not even close. Tasoev was physically much better prepared, technically better. Black keeps his arm so high during matches, he gives lots of opportunities for takedowns. No chance for Black. He could have lost by a lot more.

Barzakov vs. Ortiz: To my disappointment, Serafim was outclassed. He fought very defensively. Ortiz was better physically, but Barzakov rarely for 6 minutes attempted anything. He deserved to lose. 4:0, but it could have been worse.

Tomaev (RUS) vs. Greece: Tomaev got injured 10 seconds into the bout, he was in bad shape physically. lost 3:2, but with normal arm would have won. The greek wrestled well though.

B. Saitiev vs. Uzbekstan: Saitiev could have lost, he simply got all his points from top position. Bad takedowns, Saitiev. Pray noone is more aggressive, he got taken down 2 times, could have lost that match. I am a little disappointed in him, we will see what he does next. Uzbek was way more aggressive.

Dabir vs. Peru: Dabir has everything he needs to win it all. PHysically and technically. So far the best wrestler of the tournament.

Kurtanidze vs. Belarus: Kurtanidze was very very aggressive. Belarus guy was taller by 2-3 inches. But great match. Kurtanidze simply overpowerd him when on top and he turned him 2 times, the guy could not do anything.

Anyway, today in the afternoon will go watch the other ones. Bulgaria so far has bad showing, worse than i thought, Barzakov and Ivan Jorev, did not do well. They are not aggressive enough especially on home soil. So far Iran seems best prepared.

Neither Black nor Abas nor Bono from USA are contender material yet. Abas, great talent, but needs more work on the ground. Especially getting turned so easy. Gives up too many good positions on the ground. Standing was good though.

Refereeing has been excellent. They do not even help the Bulgarians, in one situation with Ortiz and Barzakov, Ortiz broke the clinch and even though he was outside the mat in the process he got his points, a little controversial, but OK. Barzakov did not wrestle well enough to win anyway.

Boris,
Since Team USA only had about 5 days to acclimate itself to the huge time zone differential, could you see any inclination that Abas, Geurrero, Bono, or Black were fatigued late in the match? Abas gave up 4 unanswered points at the end...I just noticed Guerrero lost 8-3 after going ahead 3-0, early in the match. And Bono's opponent broke a tie bout to win that one. It is very unlike our wrestlers to lose bouts because of conditioning.

I don't know. Black was very outclassed by Tasoev. Physically Tasoev was alot stronger and was attacking all the time. It seemed he can do anything he wants.

Abas, yes, may be. But still the way he gave up points was strange. Got turned so many times. The Belarusian was physically better again.

I think time difference does matter, i remember traveling from USA to Russia and i was tired for 1 week. I think Abas was more hesitant than anything. He could have won that match, but Black really had no chance. Did not get chance to watch Bono yet. Tonight i will see what he does. So far its still too early.

Match Round No: Name Red Country TP KP No: Name Blue Country TP KP 1 1 1 Ivan Djorev BUL 3 3 2 Roman Kollar SVK 1 1 2 1 4 Kantoev Alexander RUS 8 3 5 Mikheil Japaridze CAN 6 1 3 1 7 Donbaev Nurdin KGZ 10 4 8 Ta Dinh Duc VIE 0 0 4 1 10 Williams Shaun RSA 0 0 11 Zakharuk Oleksandr UKR 10 4 5 1 13 Farmanov Arif AZE 7 3 14 Nagao Yuki JPN 4 1 6 1 16 Stepve Abas USA 6 1 17 Kantoyeu Herman BLR 7 3 7 1 19 Kim Hyo-Sub KOR 3 1 20 Mansurov Dilshod UZB 8 3 8 1 21 Kardanov A. GRE 7 3 22 Blidari Ion ROM 2 1 9 1 23 Mevlana Kulac TUR 12 4 24 Herto Gamacho VEN 0 0 10 1 25 Mamyrov Maulen KAZ 11 4 26 Tulbea Ghenadie MLD 1 1 43 2 3 Zuunbayan Tumendemberel MGL 5 3 1 Ivan Djorev BUL 3 1 44 2 6 Wilfredo Garcia CUB 3 1 4 Kantoev Alexander RUS 6 3 45 2 9 Kirkitadze Goha GEO 10 3 7 Donbaev Nurdin KGZ 5 1 46 2 12 Nourzad Babak IRI 11 4 10 Williams Shaun RSA 1 1 47 2 15 Martin Liddle NZL 0 0 13 Farmanov Arif AZE 0 4 48 2 18 Kirpa Shankar IND 1 1 16 Stepve Abas USA 8 3 49 2 19 Kim Hyo-Sub KOR 0 0 21 Kardanov A. GRE 11 4 50 2 20 Mansurov Dilshod UZB 11 4 22 Blidari Ion ROM 0 0 51 2 23 Mevlana Kulac TUR 7 1 25 Mamyrov Maulen KAZ 11 3 52 2 24 Herto Gamacho VEN 0 0 26 Tulbea Ghenadie MLD 10 4 123 3 2 Roman Kollar SVK 1 1 3 Zuunbayan Tumendemberel MGL 4 3 124 3 5 Mikheil Japaridze CAN 3 3 6 Wilfredo Garcia CUB 2 1 125 3 8 Ta Dinh Duc VIE 1 1 9 Kirkitadze Goha GEO 3 3 126 3 11 Zakharuk Oleksandr UKR 1 1 12 Nourzad Babak IRI 6 3 127 3 14 Nagao Yuki JPN 0 4 15 Martin Liddle NZL 0 0 128 3 17 Kantoyeu Herman BLR 6 3 18 Kirpa Shankar IND 2 1 129 3 19 Kim Hyo-Sub KOR 3 0 22 Blidari Ion ROM 4 4 130 3 20 Mansurov Dilshod UZB 4 3 21 Kardanov A. GRE 3 1 131 3 23 Mevlana Kulac TUR 8 4 26 Tulbea Ghenadie MLD 11 0 132 3 24 Herto Gamacho VEN 0 0 25 Mamyrov Maulen KAZ 10 4

Joe Williams 1 away from quarters, Montgomery, Zadick & Williams undefeated

Tocarra Montgomery 3-0 Kg Kg, 5:29 Poland, 3:54 China, 1:21 Finland
Bill Zadick 2-0 Kg 63, 11-0 3:26 Nederland, bye, 5-3 Armenia
Joe Williams 2-0 Kg 76, bye, 4-3 OT Canada, 3-0 Italy
Stephen Abas 1-1 Kg 54, (7-6) Belarus, bye, 8-1 India
Dominic Black 1-1 Kg 97, (2-6) Ukraine, 11-7 Mongolia, bye
Erin Tomeo 1-2 Kg 56, (1:54) Japan, 6-2 Greece, (0-10) China
Saunders 0-2 Kg 46, bye, (2-3) Japan, (Inj Def) Turkey

First Group U.S. Results - 2001 World Championships
11/23/2001
Meredith Witulski/USA Wrestling

First Group U.S. Results
54, 63, 76, 85kg - Men
46, 56, 68kg - Women

54kg - Men
Pool Round 1
Herman Kontoyev (BLR) dec. Stephan Abas (USA), 7-6
First Period
At :58 Abas called for passivity.
At 1:16 Kontoyev turns Abas with a gut wrench for 1pt exposure, 1-0
At 1:44 Kontoyev turns for another 2 pts, 3-0

Second Period
At 3:09 Abas hits a takedown and turns Kontoyev for 3 pts to tie the match, 3-3
At 4:05 Abas takes down Kontoyev and gets 2pt exposure to take the lead, 3-6
At 4:48 Abas gives up a 1pt takedown, 4-6
At 5:37 Kontoyev takes down and turns Abas for 2pts, 6-6
At 5:52 Kontoyev turns Abas for 1pt to win the match 7-6

Pool Round 2
Stephan Abas (USA) dec. Kripa Shankar Patel (IND), 8-1
First Period
At 1:34 Abas hits a double-leg takedown for 2pts exposure and hold Shankar Patel for another point. 3-0
At 2:13 Abas scores a singleleg takedown for 1pt., 4-0

Second Period
At 3:47 Abas scores another singleleg takedown, 5-0
At 5:30 Shankar Patel hits a high-c for a 1pt takedown, 5-1
At 5:48 Abas scores another takedown with 2pts exposure and hold for an additional point to win the 8-1 decision.

Pool Round 3
Stephan Abas (USA) - Bye

63kg - Men
Pool Round 1
Bill Zadick (USA) tech fall Youssef Nasiri-Sadiqiu (NED), 11-0, 3:26
First Period
At 1:19 Zadick throws Nasiri-Sadiqiu for 3pts, then turns him for another 2pts exposure, 5-0
At 2:03 Zadick hits a single leg takedown on the edge for 1pt, 6-0

Second Period
At 3:15 Zadick scores a single leg takedown and turns Nasiri-Sadiqiu for 2pts, 9-0
At 3:26 Zadick guts Nasiri-Sadiqiu for another 2 pts to secure the tech fall, 11-0

Pool Round 2
Bill Zadick (USA) - Bye

Pool Round 3
Bill Zadick (USA) dec. Arshak Hayrapetyan (ARM), 5-3
First Period
At :32 Hayrapetyan scores on a single leg, 1-0
At 1:47 Hayrapetyan takesdown Zadick, 2-0
At 2:02 Zadick scores a 1pt singleleg takedown, 2-1

Second Period
At 3:40 Zadick scores another singleleg takedown and turns Hayrapetyan for 2pts, 2-4
At 4:25 Zadick hits another singleleg, 2-5
At 5:10 Hayrapetyan scores a takedown, 3-5

76kg - Men
1/8th Finals
Pred Eugen (ROM) vs. Joe Williams (USA)
Gokhan Yavaser (TUR) vs. Hajizadeh Joy Mehdi (IRI)
* These match will determine who will wrestle in the quarterfinals

Pool Round 1
Joe Williams (USA) - Bye

Pool Round 2
Joe Williams (USA) dec. Nick Ugolaha (CAN), 4-3 OT
First Period
At 1:07 Ugolaha is called for passivity, no scoring
At 2:44 Ugolaha is called for passivity, no scoring

Second Period
The second period begins in the clinch. Ugolaha locks first.
At 5:04 Ugolaha throws Williams for 3, Williams counters for 2pts, 3-2
At 5:24 Ugolaha is called for caution, Williams awarded 1 pt, 3-3

Overtime
At 7:26 Ugolaha called for passivity, no scoring
At 8:34 Williams scores a 1pt takedown to win the match, 4-3

Pool Round 3
Joe Williams (USA) dec. Rinella Salvatore (ITA), 3-0
First Period
At :36 Williams scores 1pt on a snapdown, 1-0
At 2:08 Williams scores a double-leg takedown on the edge of the mat 2-0

Second Period
At 3:15 Williams counters a shot with a double-leg on the edge of the mat, 3-0

97kg - Men
Pool Round 1
Vadim Tasoev (UKR) dec. Dominic Black (USA), 6-2
First Period
At 1:16 Tasoev gets a 1pt takedown and turn Black for 2pts, 3-0

Second Period
At 4:00 Tasoev takes Black down with a single leg with 2pts exposure, 6-0
At 4:39 Black hits a 1pt takedown from a single leg, 6-1
At 5:17 Black hits another single leg takedown, 6-2

Pool Round 2
Dominic Black (USA) dec. GankHuyag Ganzoreg (MGL), 11-7
First Period
At :38 Black guts Ganzoreg for 2 pts., 2-0
at :48 Ganzoreg reverses Black for 3pts and holds for an additional point. Black reverses Ganzoreg for 3pts and Ganzoreg reverses Black for 2pts. , 6-5
At 1:42 Black hits a single leg takedown for 1pt, 6-6
At 2:27 Black hits another singleleg takedown, 7-6

Second Period
At 3:31 Black hits another takedown, 8-6
At 5:01 Black scores another singleleg takedown, then turns Ganzoreg for another 2pts, 11-6
At 5:50 Ganzoreg scores a takedown from an ankle pick narrowing the gap, 11-7

Pool Round 3
Dominic Black (USA) - Bye

46kg - Women
Pool Round 1
Tricia Saunders (USA) - Bye

Pool Round 2
Misato Shimizu (JPN) dec. Tricia Saunders (USA), 3-2
First Period
At 1:08 Shimizu called for passivity. Saunders guts Shimizu for 2pts., 2-0
At 2:45 Saunders gets caught in a headlock and held for 3pts until the period expires, 2-3

Second Period
At 3:57 Saunders called for passivity, no scoring
Shimizu wins the 3-2 decision.

Pool Round 3
Ayse Guneri (TUR) win by iunjury default Tricia Saunders (USA)

56kg - Women
Pool Round 1
Seiko Yammuto (JPN) fall Erin Tomeo (USA), 1:54
First Period
At :21 Yammuto throws Tomeo to her back for 4pts., 4-0
At 1:28 Yammuto turns Tomeo to her back for another 3pts and gets the fall at 1:54

Pool Round 2
Erin Tomeo (USA) dec. Tsibana Kouk (GRE), 6-2
First Period
At :20 Tomeo scores a 1pt takedown from a front headlock, 1-0
At 1:47 Kouk scores a takedown from the front headlock position to tie the match, 1-1
At 2:57 Tomeo hits an arm spin before the end of the period of 2 pts, 3-1

Second Period
At 4:04 Tomeo counters a shot by Kouk for a 1pt takedown, 4-1
At 4:38 Tomeo spins behind countering a double-leg attempt by Kouk for another takedown, 5-1
At 5:12 Kouk hits a double-leg takedown for 1 pt, 5-2
At 5:58 Tomeo scores another takedown countering a shot by Kouk to win the 6-2 decision

Pool Round 3
Sun Dongmei (CHI) tech fall Erin Tomeo (USA), 10-0, 3:46
First Period
At :57 Dongmei is called for passivity, no scoring
At 1:33 Tomeo is called for passivity, Dongmei turks Tomeo over for 2pts, 2-0
At 2:20 Tomeo gets caught in a cradle for 3pts, 5-0
At 2:56 Dongmei turns Tomeo for 2 more, 7-0

Second Period
At 3:33 Dongmei scores off a shot and then turns Tomeo for the tech fall at 3:46

68 kg - Women
Pool Round 1
Tocarra Montgomery (USA) fall Monika Kowalska (POL), 5:29
First Period
At :51 Montgomery scores a single leg takedown to lead 1-0
At 1:54 Montgomery scores a doubleleg takedown on the edge of the mat, 2-0
At 2:57 Montgomery scores a slideby takedown to take a 3-0 lead into the second period.

Second Period
At 3:05 Montgomery throws Kowalska for 3pts, 6-0
At 4:14 Montgomery hits a single leg takedown, 7-0
At 4:44 Kowalska scores 1pt with a single leg takedown, 7-1
At 5:26 Montgomery turns Kowalska with a half and gets the fall at 5:29

Pool Round 2
Tocarra Montgomery (USA) fall Yang Yanli (CHI), 3:54
First Period
At :56 Montgomery turns Yanli for 3pts, then again for 2pts, 5-0
At 2:06 Yanli scores a 1pt singleleg takedown, 5-1
At 2:27 Montgomery reverses for 2pts, then gets reversed for 3pts exposure, 7-4
At 2:54 Montgomery reverses for 1pt, 8-4

Second Period
At 3:21 Montgomery gets a 1pt takedown and turns Yanli for 2pts, 11-4
At 3:52 Montgomery takes Yanli to her back and gets the fall at 3:54.

Pool Round 3
Tocarra Montgomery (USA) fall Heidi Martti (FIN), 1:21
First Period
At :12 Montgomery spins behind on a shot attempt by Martti for 1, then turns and holds Martti for another 3pts, 4-0
At 1:10 Montgomery cradles Martti and gets the fall at 1:21

World Championships start today - Tricia Saunders & Stephen Abas each lose by 1 point

Sofia is 7 hrs ahead of EST & 10 hrs ahead of PST
1 pm on the west coast = 11 pm in Sofia

NOTE: Due to technical difficulties by the Bulgarian media officials, complete results of all matches have not yet been made available. Those results also will be posted as soon as they become available.
{also, if you want OUT of my wrestling address book, just let me know} Ruben

22.11.2001
10.30-13.00 Eliminations, I round - men, cat. 54 (Abas 6-7), 63, 76, 97 kg
- women, cat. 46, 56, 68 kg
Abas lost a close match to Herman Kontoyev of Belarus, falling 7-6 after three late match points by Kontoyev. Abas was down 3-0 going into the second period. All Kontoyev's points were scored from the top position after Abas was called for passivity less than one minute into the match.

Abas came out strong in the second period turning Kontoyev for 3 points 10 seconds into the period to tie the match, then turning Kontoyev for another 3pts to lead 6-3 with less than two minutes to go. After giving up a takedown at 4:48, Abas was turned two more times to give up the 7-6 decision to Kontoyev.

14.00-15.00 Medical control - men, cat. 58, 69, 85, 130 kg
14.30-15.30 Medical control - women, cat. 51, 62, 75 kg
15.00-15.30 Weighing-in - men, cat.58, 69, 85, 130 kg
15.30-16.00 Weighing-in - women, cat.51, 62, 75 kg
16.30-17.00 Opening Ceremony
17.00-20.00 Eliminations, II round - men, cat. 54 (Abas 8-1), 63, 76, 97 kg
- women, cat. 46 (Saunders 2-3), 56, 68 kg
Four-time World Champion Tricia Saunders, who sat out the first round with a bye, dropped a 3-2 dec. to veteran wrestler Misato Shimizu from Japan. Saunders scored the first 2 points of the match by turning her opponent after Shimuzi was called for passivity. However, with 15 seconds remaining in the first period, Saunders was caught in a headlock, but managed to fight the fall until time ran out in the period. There was no scoring in the second period, giving the 3-2 decision to Shimuzi. Saunders will face Ayse Guneri of Turkey in third pool round.
<http://www.themat.com/pressbox/pressdetail.asp?aid=3900>http://www.themat.com/pressbox/pressdetail.asp?aid=3900

23.11.2001
09.00-13.00 Eliminations, I round - men, cat. 58, 69, 85, 130 kg
- women, cat. 51, 62, 75 kg
Eliminations, III round - men, cat. 54, 63, 76, 97 kg
- women, cat. 46, 56, 68 kg
16.00-20.30 Eliminations, II round - men, cat. 58, 69, 85, 130 kg
- women, cat. 51, 62, 75 kg
1/8 and 1/4 finals - men, cat. 54, 63, 76, 97 kg
- women, cat. 46, 56, 68 kg

24.11.2001
09.00-13.00 Eliminations, III round - men, cat. 58, 69, 85, 130 kg
- women, cat. 51, 62, 75 kg
1/2 final - men, cat. 54, 63, 76, 97 kg
- women, cat. 46, 56, 68 kg

16.00-17.30 1/8 and 1/4 finals - men, cat. 58, 69, 85, 130 kg
- women, cat. 51, 62, 75 kg
17.30-20.30 Finals for 3-4 and 1-2 place- men, cat. 54, 63, 76, 97 kg
- women, cat. 46, 56, 68 kg

Award ceremony

25.11.2001
10.00-12.00 1/2 final - men, cat. 58, 69, 85, 130 kg
- women, cat. 51, 62, 75 kg
16.00-19.00 Finals for 3-4 and 1-2 place- men, cat. 58, 69, 85, 130 kg
- women, cat. 51, 62, 75 kg

Award ceremony

20.00 Official dinner

26.11.2001 Departure of delegations

<http://www.themat.com/pressbox/presslist.asp?catid=1>http://www.themat.com/pressbox/presslist.asp?catid=1

First Day Results - 2001 World Championships
11/22/2001
Meredith Witulski/USA Wrestling

takedown from a single leg, 6-1
At 5:17 Black hits another single leg takedown, 6-2

Pool Round 2
Dominic Black (USA) vs. GankHuyag Ganzoreg (MGL)

Pool Round 3
Vadim Tasoev (UKR) vs. GankHuyag Ganzoreg (MGL)

46kg - Women
Pool Round 1
Misato Shimizu (JPN) vs. Ayse Guneri (TUR)

Pool Round 2
Misato Shimizu (JPN) dec. Tricia Saunders (USA), 3-2
First Period
At 1:08 Shimizu called for passivity. Saunders guts Shimizu for 2pts., 2-0
At 2:45 Saunders gets cought in a headlock and held for 3pts until the period expires, 2-3

Second Period
At 3:57 Saunders called for passivity, no scoring
Shimizu wins the 3-2 decision.

Pool Round 3
Ayse Guneri (TUR) vs. Tricia Saunders (USA)

Tsibana Kouk (GRE) vs. Sun Dongmei (CHI)

Pool Round 2
Erin Tomeo (USA) vs. Tsibana Kouk (GRE)
Seiko Yammuto (JPN) vs. Sun Dongmei (CHI)

Pool Round 3
Erin Tomeo (USA) vs. Sun Dongmei (CHI)
Seiko Yammuto (JPN) vs. Tsibana Kouk (GRE)

68 kg - Women
Pool Round 1
Heidi Martti (FIN) vs. Yang Yanli (CHI)

Tocarra Montgomery (USA) fall Monika Kowalska (POL), 5:29
First Period
At :51 Montgomery scores a single leg takedown to lead 1-0
At 1:54 Montgomery scores a doubleleg takedown on the edge of the mat, 2-0
At 2:57 Montgomery scores a slideby takedown to take a 3-0 lead into the second period.

Second Period
At 3:05 Montgomery throws Kowalska for 3pts, 6-0
At 4:14 Montgomery hits a single leg takedown, 7-0
At 4:44 Kowalska scores 1pt with a single leg takedown, 7-1
At 5:26 Montgomery turns Kowalska with a half and gets the fall at 5:29

Pool Round 2
Heidi Martti (FIN) vs. Monika Kowalska (POL)
Yang Yanli (CHI) vs. Tocarra Montgomery (USA)

Pool Round 3
Heidi Martti (FIN) vs. Tocarra Montgomery (USA)
Yang Yanli (CHI) vs. Monika Kowalska (POL)

U.S. Pool Results

Pool Round 3
Herman Kontoyev (BLR) vs. Kripa Shankar Patel (IND)

Second Period
At 3:15 Zadick scores a single leg takedown and turns Nasiri-Sadiqiu for 2pts, 9-0
At 3:26 Zadick guts Nasiri-Sadiqiu for another 2 pts to secure the tech fall, 11-0

Pool Round 2
Youssef Nasiri-Sadiqiu (NED) vs. Arshak Hayrapetyan (ARM)

Pool Round 3
Bill Zadick (USA) vs. Arshak Hayrapetyan (ARM)

76kg - Men
Pool Round 1
Nick Ugolaha (CAN) dec. Rinella Salvatore (ITA), 5-2

Pool Round 2
Joe Williams (USA) dec. Nick Ugolaha (CAN), 4-3 OT
First Period
At 1:07 Ugolaha is called for passivity, no scoring
At 2:44 Ugolaha is called for passivity, no scoring

Overtime
At 7:26 Ugolaha called for passivity, no scoring
At 8:34 Williams scores a 1pt takedown to win the match, 4-3

Pool Round 3
Rinella Salvatore (ITA) vs. Joe Williams (USA)

97kg - Men
Pool Round 1
Vadim Tasoev (UKR) dec. Dominic Black (USA), 6-2
First Period
At 1:16 Tasoev gets a 1pt takedown and turn Black for 2pts, 3-0

Pool Round 3
Vadim Tasoev (UKR) vs. GankHuyag Ganzoreg (MGL)

46kg - Women
Pool Round 1
Misato Shimizu (JPN) vs. Ayse Guneri (TUR)

Second Period
At 3:57 Saunders called for passivity, no scoring
Shimizu wins the 3-2 decision.

Pool Round 3
Ayse Guneri (TUR) vs. Tricia Saunders (USA)

Tsibana Kouk (GRE) vs. Sun Dongmei (CHI)

Seiko Yammuto (JPN) vs. Sun Dongmei (CHI)

Pool Round 3
Erin Tomeo (USA) vs. Sun Dongmei (CHI)
Seiko Yammuto (JPN) vs. Tsibana Kouk (GRE)

68 kg - Women
Pool Round 1
Heidi Martti (FIN) vs. Yang Yanli (CHI)

Tocarra Montgomery (USA) fall Monika Kowalska (POL), 5:29
First Period
At :51 Montgomery scores a single leg takedown to lead 1-0
At 1:54 Montgomery scores a doubleleg takedown on the edge of the mat, 2-0
At 2:57 Montgomery scores a slideby takedown to take a 3-0 lead into the second period.

Pool Round 2
Heidi Martti (FIN) vs. Monika Kowalska (POL)
Tocarra Montgomery (USA) fall Yang Yanli (CHI), 3:54
First Period
At :56 Montgomery turns Yanli for 3pts, then again for 2pts, 5-0
At 2:06 Yanli scores a 1pt singleleg takedown, 5-1
At 2:27 Montgomery reverses for 2pts, then gets reversed for 3pts exposure, 7-4
At 2:54 Montgomery reverses for 1pt, 8-4

Second Period
At 3:21 Montgomery gets a 1pt takedown and turns Yanli for 2pts, 11-4
At 3:52 Montgomery takes Yanli to her back and gets the fall at 3:54.

Pool Round 3
Heidi Martti (FIN) vs. Tocarra Montgomery (USA)
Yang Yanli (CHI) vs. Monika Kowalska (POL)

U.S wrestlers fare well after first day of competition at the 2001 World Championships
11/23/2001
Meredith Witulski/USA Wrestling

SOFIA, BULGARIA Three U.S wrestlers suffered first round losses at the 2001 World Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria., but came back strong to finish the day on an overall good note. Wrestling in the first session were Stephan Abas (54kg), Bill Zadick (63kg), Dominic Black (97), Erin Tomeo (56kg), Tocarra Montgomery (68kg). While Joe Williams (76kg) and Tricia Saunders (46kg) both had first-round byes.

First Session
Abas lost a close match to Herman Kontoyev of Belarus, falling 7-6 after three late match points by Kontoyev. Abas was down 3-0 going into the second period. All Kontoyev's points were scored from the top position after Abas was called for passivity less than one minute into the match.

Also giving up first rounds losses were Dominic Black (97kg) and Erin Tomeo (56kg).

Tomeo, who stepped up to fill in for World Team qualifier Tina George, was welcomed to International competition by two-time World Champion Seiko Yammuto of Japan. A short 21 seconds into the match Tomeo was thrown to her back for a quick 4-0 deficit. After fighting off her back, Yammuto turned Tomeo again to get the fall at 1:54.

At 97kg. Dominic Black lost a 6-2 decision to 2000 Olympian Vadim Tasoev of Ukraine. After taking a 3-0 deficit into the second period, Black was taken down and turned for another 3 points and trailed 6-0 with two minutes left in the match. Black fought back and scored two single leg takedowns, losing the match 6-2.

Both Bill Zadick and Tocarra Montgomery came on strong in the first round; Montgomery earning a fall over her Polish competitor, while Zadick earned a technical fall.

Montgomery took down Monika Kowalska (POL) three times in the first period to take a 3-0 into the second period. Montgomery came off the break ready for action throwing Kowalska for another 3pts just five seconds into the second period. Kowalska did manage to score a takedown on Montgomery before giving up the fall at 5:29.

Zadick handled Youssef Nasiri-Sadiqiu of the Netherlands easily, amassing 11 points for the tech fall shortly into the second period. Zadick jumped out to an early 5-0 lead with a 3-point throw followed by a 2-point turn. He also scored a singleleg takedown on the edge of the mat, taking a 6-0 lead into the second period. After hitting another singleleg takedown, Zadick turned Nasiri-Sadiqiu twice more to capture the 11-0 tech fall.

Second Session
After sitting out the first round with a bye, Joe Williams came on strong to beat proven Canadian Nick Ugolaha in a 4-3 OT battle. Ugolaha was called for passivity twice in the first period, as well as in overtime. With the score at 0-0, the second period began in the clinch, with Ugolaha earning the right to lock first by the flip of the coin. >From the clinch position Ugolaha threw Williams for 3 points, but Williams countered turning Ugolaha for 2 points before going out of bounds. With just under a minute and a half remaining, Ugolaha is cautioned for fleeing the mat and Williams is awarded 1 point to send the match into overtime. Ugolaha was called once more for passivity, before Williams shot in to score the winning takedown securing the 4-3 OT decision.

Williams will face Rinella Salvatore of Italy in the third pool round. Salvatore lost his first round match to Ugolaha by a 5-2 decision.

Four-time World Champion Tricia Saunders, who also sat out first round with a bye, dropped a 3-2 dec. to veteran wrestler Misato Shimizu from Japan. Saunders scored the first 2 points of the match by turning her opponent after Shimuzi was called for passivity. However, with 15 seconds remaining in the first period, Saunders was caught in a headlock, but managed to fight the fall until time ran out in the period. There was no scoring in the second period, giving the 3-2 decision to Shimuzi. Saunders will face Ayse Guneri of Turkey in third pool round.

In his second session match, Abas easily handled Kripa Shankar Patel of India earning an 8-1 decision. Abas came on strong scoring two takedowns in the first period taking a 4-0 lead in to the second period. Abas scores two more take downs in the second period amassing 8 points, giving up only one takedown late in the match.

Abas has completed his pool rounds and will wait to see the results of match between Shankar Patel and Kontoyev to determine if he will advance to the next round.

Zadick sat out the second round with a bye, and will face Arshak Hayrapetyan or Armenia in third pool round.

In second round action Tomeo jumped out to an early lead over Tsibana Kouk of Greece scoring a takedown from a front headlock 20 seconds into the match. Tomeo would collect three more takedowns and a 2pt arm spin to secure a solid 6-2 decision over Kouk. Tomeo will face 2001 Asian Championship gold medallist Sun Dongmei of China in her third pool round match.

Black defeated GankHuyag Ganzorig of Mongolia in the second round, capturing an 11-6 decision over the 2001 Asian Championships silver medallist. Black finishes 1-1 in pool competition and now awaits the results of the final pool match to see if he will advance.

Montgomery claimed her second fall of the day with a second period pin of Yang Yanli of China. Although it was a rather high scoring match, Montgomery clearly dominated her opponent putting her down at 3:54. Montgomery is set to face Finish challenger Heidi Martti in the third pool round.

NOTE: Due to technical difficulties by the Bulgarian media officials, complete results of all matches have not yet been made available. Those results also will be posted as soon as they become available.

Second Day Weigh-ins
The second group of wrestlers completed weigh-ins and medical checks today. They are set to begin competition on Friday, Nov. 23.

While name of participants have not yet been released, the following are the men's pool draws by country. The participant names, as well as complete women's draws will be posted as soon as they become available.

58 kg Men
(CAN)
Eric Guererro (USA)
(EGY)

69kg Men
Chris Bono (USA)
(ESP)
(ROM)
(TKM)

85kg Men
Brandon Eggum (USA)
(GRE)
(IND)

130kg - Men
(HUN)
Kerry McCoy (USA)
(MGL)