USA Wrestling has added the Men's FILA Junior National Championships to the events that will be hosted alongside the U.S. Senior Nationals in Las Vegas, Nev. this year. The event will be held at the Las Vegas Convention Center, April 27-30, 2005.    FILA Junior athletes are ages 17-20 years old. This includes many of the nation's best high school wrestlers as well as college wrestlers who are underclassmen. Competition will be held in both freestyle and Greco-Roman.    There will be a FILA Junior World Championships this year, held in Vilnius, Lithuania from July 5-10. The Men's FILA Junior National Championships is part of the qualification process for the U.S. team that will compete at the Junior World Championships. The national champions will earn the No. 1 position on top of the ladder for the Junior World Team wrestle-offs later in the year.    As part of this change, the Veterans National Championships in freestyle and Greco-Roman have been scheduled alongside the Southeast Junior Regionals in New Orleans, La. on April 8-9. This location provides a fun vacation location for the Veterans wrestlers, as well as a quality competition site.    The popular Western Junior Regionals will continue to be held alongside the U.S. Nationals and the FILA Junior Nationals in Las Vegas.    The decision to move the FILA Junior Nationals to this location has been made in an attempt to strengthen the U.S. Junior World Team, as well as to better serve the college and high school wrestling community.    "We have listened to our membership, and believe that the FILA Junior National Championships is a great fit for our U.S. Nationals week in Las Vegas," said National Events Director Pete Isais.     "This change will help encourage the top FILA Junior wrestlers to compete in their national championships, and will also result in a stronger U.S. team at the Junior World Championships. We are excited, and expect that the size and quality of the FILA Junior Nationals should increase," Isais said.    This is not the first time that the FILA Junior Nationals have been held alongside the U.S. Nationals. In the first four years of the event, then called the Espoir Nationals, the FILA Junior meet was held alongside the U.S. Senior Nationals.    In freestyle, the U.S. Senior Nationals and FILA Junior Nationals were held together in Lock Haven, Pa. (1985), Las Vegas, Nev. (1986 and 1987) and Reno, Nev. (1988). The Outstanding Wrestler in the FILA Juniors in 1985 was John Smith, who went on to win six World and Olympic titles. The Outstanding Wrestler in 1986 was Zeke Jones, who went on to win a World gold and an Olympic silver medal.    In Greco-Roman, the U.S. Senior Nationals and FILA Junior Nationals were held together in Ann Arbor, Mich. (1985), LaCrosse, Wis. (1986), Schenectady, N.Y. (1987) and Cedar Rapids, Iowa (1988). The FILA Junior Outstanding Wrestler in 1987 was Travis West, who made the 1992 U.S. Olympic Team.    The 2004 FILA Junior National Championships were held in Lincoln, Neb. The Outstanding Wrestler in the freestyle division was Brent Metcalf of Michigan, while J.D. Bergman of Ohio International won the Outstanding Wrestler award in Greco-Roman.    IMPORTANT NOTE: Pre-registration is mandatory for all participants in Las Vegas and can be completed online at www.lvsports.org    The complete schedule for the FILA Junior Nationals is still being finalized, and will be published and posted as soon as it is available.