Van Dusen and Lee win golds, Weitzel captures silver at the 2004 University World Championships
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John Fuller (USA Wrestling)
06/07/2004
U.S. women's freestyle wrestlers Marcie Van Dusen (Colorado Springs, Colo./Sunkist Kids) and Stephany Lee (Honolulu, Hawaii) won gold medals at the 2004 University World Championships in Lodz, Poland, June 3-6. Van Dusen, who won at 59 kg/130 lbs., outscored her four opponents 19-4, including a 6-0 win over Volha Serbina of Belarus in the gold-medal match. Lee, coming off a third-place finish at the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team Trials, pinned Agnieszka Wieszczek of Poland in the gold-medal match at 72 kg/158.5 lbs. Other U.S. women who placed were Olympic Trials runner-up Clarissa Chun (Colorado Springs, Colo./Gator WC) at 48 kg/105.5 lbs. and Tabithia Ramsey (Austin, Texas/UM-Morris) at 51 kg/112.25 lbs. Chun placed fourth and Ramsey places seventh. Men's freestyle wrestler Joshua Weitzel (Lincoln University, Pa./Cliff Keen WC) captured the other U.S. medal, winning a silver at 84 kg/185 lbs. Weitzel, a freshman at the Univ. of Michigan, won his pool despite having one loss. However, in the finals, he lost a 6-0 match to Pejman Dorostkar of Iran, a wrestler Weitzel defeated in pool competition. Four other U.S. men's freestyle wrestlers placed in the competition: Salvador Gonzalez (Merced, Calif./Sunkist Kids), ninth at 55 kg/121 lbs., Eric Tannenbaum (Naperville, Ill./Dave Schultz WC), fifth at 66 kg/145.5 lbs., Marcus LeVesseur (Minneapolis, Minn./Augsburg), 10th at 74 kg/163 lbs. and Jamie Rakevich (Elma, Wash./Orange Crush), fifth at 120 kg/264.5 lbs. R.C. Johnson (Plymouth, Minn./USOEC/New York AC) led the U.S. Greco-Roman squad with a fourth-place finish at 96 kg/211.5 lbs. Johnson won his first three matches before losing a close 3-0 decision to Denis Shakaia of Russia in the semifinals. In the bronze-medal match, Johnson lost to Emin Ozturk of Turkey, 2-0 in overtime. Harry Lester (Akron, Ohio/USOEC/Gator WC) won his pool, but lost a 4-0 match to Seraf Turfenk of Turkey in the qualification round. Lester placed fifth. Also placing for the U.S. were Willie Madison (Metairie, La./USOEC/Gator WC), seventh at 60 kg/132 lbs., Olympic Trials runner-up Jake Clark (Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Marine Corps), seventh at 84 kg/185 lbs. and Adam Wheeler (Lancaster, Calif./USOEC/Gator WC), 10th at 120 kg/264.5 lbs. Johnson, Lester, Madison and Wheeler all train at the U.S. Olympic Education Center in Marquette, Mich. on the campus of Northern Michigan Univ.