Freestyle Team Arrival The U.S. Olympic Men's Freestyle Wrestling Team arrived in Athens, Greece at 5:00 p.m. local time, Thursday, August 12, to compete in the 2004 Athens Olympic Games. They arrived on a flight from Amsterdam, the final leg of a long journey from all across the United States. The seven-member team, along with two of their Olympic Coaches, emerged from the B Terminal of the Athens airport for the first day of their final preparation for competition. "The flight was real easy," said Olympic Coach and National Freestyle Coach Kevin Jackson. "We are excited to be on the ground in Athens. It won't be long now." The team members who arrived on Thursday as a group were: 55 kg/121 lbs. - Stephen Abas, Fresno, Calif. (Sunkist Kids) 60 kg/132 lbs. - Eric Guerrero, Stillwater, Okla. (Gator WC) 66 kg/145.5 lbs. - Jamill Kelly, Stillwater, Okla. (Gator WC) 74 kg/163 lbs. - Joe Williams, Iowa City, Iowa (Sunkist Kids) 84 kg/185 lbs. - Cael Sanderson, Ames, Iowa (Sunkist Kids) 96 kg/211.5 lbs. - Daniel Cormier, Stillwater, Okla. (Gator WC) 120 kg/264.5 lbs. - Kerry McCoy, Bethlehem, Pa. (New York AC) Olympic Coach - Kevin Jackson, Colorado Springs, Colo. Olympic Coach - Zeke Jones, Morgantown, W.Va. The trip was "easy," according to Coach Jackson because of an unexpected surprise in the Chicago airport. "We got a gift in Chicago," said Cormier. "We all got upgraded to business class. Some got into first class. We had filet mignon for dinner." The two lucky athletes in first class were Stephen Abas and Jamill Kelly. "It was the best flight I ever had," said Abas, a veteran traveler. The wrestlers are not here for the travel. The U.S. placed second as a team at the 2003 World Freestyle Championships, and have high goals to win a number of medals at the Olympic Games. "It is good to be here," said Sanderson. "It is time to get started." The complete coaching staff is not yet here. Two of the Olympic Coaches, Tom Brands of Blacksburg, Va. and Bobby Douglas of Ames, Iowa, along with some of the training partners, had a different flight itinerary and ran into weather problems during their travel. They did not arrive in Athens as scheduled today, but should be here very soon. The team features three past World medalists, silver medallists Sanderson and McCoy and bronze medalist Williams. All seven of the Olympic Team members were on that 2003 U.S. World Team that was second in the team standings at the World meet in New York City. It is a talented and tight group, looking to do damage in Athens. The team loaded a bus with some members of the U.S. Modern Pentathlon Team. The team did not get any rest upon arrival, as they were scheduled to go immediately from the airport to go through USOC Processing to get their apparel and official equipment. When they are finally finished with the long day, they will return to the same hotel that the other two U.S. wrestling teams are staying for a well deserved night's rest. Kerry McCoy, the only past Olympian on the squad, is an avid computer and technology enthusiast. He was talking with the some of the people on the bus about wireless connections in the airport, then got out a cell phone and made a call right away. He was loading a new game on his Kyocera phone, which also serves as a personal data assistant, an MP3 player and web browser. Even in Greece, McCoy is at home. The team will have its first workout on Friday morning at the U.S. Olympic Training Center facility at the American College of Greece. Then, along with all of the other Olympic athletes from all of the other teams, the athletes will march in the Opening Ceremonies on Friday night. The team will then resume training for its final preparation cycle. The competition will be held at the Ana Liossa Olympic Hall the last three days of the Olympics, August 27-29. The U.S. Olympic Men's Freestyle Wrestling Team will have its press conference on Monday, August 16, at 1:30 p.m. at the Main Press Center at the Knossos Press Conference Room, on the fourth floor next to the USOC Press Office.