A number of past World and Olympic medalists are expected to be in the field, when the annual New York Athletic Club Christmas International Wrestling Championships will be held in New York City, N.Y., Dec. 18-19.    Competition will feature the three international Olympic styles of the wrestling: men's freestyle, men's Greco-Roman and women's freestyle wrestling.    Among the stars expected to compete are 2002 World Champion Dremiel Byers (Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Army) in the men's Greco-Roman division, 2004 Olympic silver medalist Stephen Abas (Fresno, Calif./Sunkist Kids) in the men's freestyle division and two-time World silver medalist Tina George (Colorado Springs, Colo./New York AC) in the women's freestyle division. There is no preregistration for this open tournament, so their participation was confirmed through their coaches and/or clubs.    The tournament will be held at the world-famous New York Athletic Club, at 180 Central Park South in Manhattan. The new rules of international wrestling will be in place, which take effect worldwide starting in January, 2005.    Each style will be contested over just one day. This is consistent with the new international rules, which provides that each weight class will be started and finished on the same day.    The men's freestyle and women's freestyle divisions will be held on Saturday, Dec. 18. The women's meet starts at 9:00 a.m., with the finals set at 12:00 noon. The men's freestyle will begin at 1:00 p.m., with the finals set for 7:00 p.m.    The men's Greco-Roman competition will be held on Sunday, Dec. 19. The tournament will begin at 10:00 a.m., with the finals set for 4:00 p.m.    Byers, who won the 2002 World gold medal at 120 kg/264.5 lbs., is the top star expected to compete in the Greco-Roman field. He placed second in the 2004 U.S. Olympic Trials, losing to two-time Olympic medalist Rulon Gardner in the finals. Byers was the 2004 U.S. Nationals champion, defeating Gardner in the gold-medal round there. He was also sixth in the 1999 World Championships. Byers has won four U.S. Nationals titles.    Abas won an Olympic silver medal at 55 kg/121 lbs. at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, one of three U.S. freestyle athletes to win a medal. He was also a member of three U.S. World Teams (2001-2003), with a fifth place at the 2003 World Championships. He was a 2003 Pan American Games champion, a two-time World Cup champion (2002-03) and a two-time U.S. Nationals champion (2003-04).    George won World silver medals in 2002 and 2003 competing at 55 kg/121 lbs. She was second in the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team Trials. George also participated in the 1998, 1999 and 2000 World Championships. She was a 2003 Pan American Games champion, and has won two U.S. Nationals titles.    There will be prize money available, as part of the USA Wrestling National Teams program. In the men's divisions, champions receive $1,000, runners-up $500 and third-place winners $250. In the women's division, champions receive $400 and runners-up receive $200. These prize levels were determined by the specific Sports Committees for each style. Foreign athletes only receive prize money if they win a gold medal.    Many of the nation's top wrestlers in each style are expected to participate. This will include athletes from outstanding club programs such as the host New York AC, the Dave Schultz WC, the Sunkist Kids, the Gator WC, the Minnesota Storm, the U.S. Army and others. In addition, both the men's Greco-Roman team and the women's freestyle team from the U.S. Olympic Education Center at Northern Michigan Univ. are expected to enter.    A number of talented athletes from Canada are expected to participate, as some top Canadian club programs will attend the competition. Invitations were sent to a dozen international teams, and traditionally there are some talented foreign athletes in the field.     2004 Olympic champion Karam Gaber of Egypt, a New York AC Christmas International champion in 2003, is an example of the caliber of participants who have attended in recent seasons.    Below is a list of top Americans who may attend, based upon discussions with clubs and coaches.    Men's Freestyle  * 2004 Olympic silver medalist Stephen Abas (Fresno, Calif./Sunkist Kids)  * 2004 Olympian and 2001 World bronze medalist Joe Williams (Ames, Iowa/Sunkist Kids)  * Two-time U.S. World Team member Chris Bono (Gilbert, Iowa/Sunkist Kids)  * 1998 U.S. Nationals champion Tolly Thompson (Cedar Falls, Iowa/Sunkist Kids)  * 2004 NCAA champion and Outstanding Wrestler Jesse Jantzen (Cambridge, Mass./Dave Schultz WC)  * 1998 Junior World champion and two-time NCAA champion Donny Pritzlaff (Hemsptead, N.Y./New York AC)  * 2000 Junior World silver medalist and two-time NCAA champion Tommy Rowlands (Columbus, Ohio/Dave Schultz WC)  * 2003 New York AC Christmas International champion Michael Lightner (Norman, Okla./Dave Schultz WC)  * 1999 NCAA champion Kirk White (Tacoma, Wash./Dave Schultz WC)  * 2003 New York AC Christmas International champion Jared Frayer (Cambridge, Mass./Dave Schultz WC)  * 2004 U.S. Nationals bronze medalist Mo Lawal (Stillwater, Okla./Gator WC)    Men's Greco-Roman  * 2002 World champion and four-time U.S. Nationals champion Dremiel Byers (Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Army)  * 2004 Olympian and 2004 World Cup champion Brad Vering (Colorado Springs, Colo./New York AC)  * 2003 U.S. World Team member Justin Ruiz (Colorado Springs, Colo./New York AC)  * 2004 U.S. Olympic Team Trials runner-up Joe Warren (Colorado Springs, Colo./New York AC)  * 2004 U.S. Nationals champion Darryl Christian (Colorado Springs, Colo./New York AC)  * 2002 World Championships sixth placewinner Khoran Papoyan (Armenia/Sunkist Kids)  * Three-time U.S. Nationals runner-up Lindsey Durlacher (Colorado Springs, Colo./New York AC)  * 2001 World Team Trials runner-up Glenn Garrison (Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Army)    Women's Freestyle  * 2002 and 2003 World silver medalist Tina George (Colorado Springs, Colo./New York AC)  * 2001 World silver medalist Stephanie Murata (Colorado Springs, Colo./Sunkist Kids)  * 2001 World Cup champion and 2003 U.S. Nationals champion Katie Downing (Colorado Springs, Colo./Sunkist Kids)  * 2004 U.S. Olympic Team Trials runner-up Alaina Berube (Escanaba, Mich./New York AC)  * 2004 U.S. Nationals runner-up Debbi Sakai (Mililani, Hawaii/USOEC)  * 2004 U.S. Olympic Team Trials fourth place finisher Stefanie Shaw (Waterford, Conn.)  * 2002 and 2003 U.S. Nationals runner-up Kaci Lyle (Colorado Springs, Colo./Sunkist Kids)  * 2002 World Team Trials runner-up Katie Kunimoto (Colorado Springs, Colo./Gator WC)  * 2004 U.S. Nationals runner-up Heather Martin (Wellington, Ohio/New York AC)  * 2002 U.S. Nationals runner-up Danielle Hobeika (Forest Grove, Ore./Dave Schultz WC)    There is a $10 admission fee each day for spectators to enjoy this spectacular international wrestling action. The New York Athletic Club has a dress code for everybody entering the lobby. Men must wear a shirt and jacket, and women must wear casual business attire.    For more information, contact Sonny Greenhalgh of the New York AC at 973-356-0670, or via e-mail at 973-256-0670. An event flyer is available by visiting TheMat.com.    2003 NEW YORK AC CHRISTMAS INTERNATIONAL CHAMPIONS    Men's Freestyle champions  121 - Leroy Vega (Minn. Storm); 132 - Michael Lightner (Dave Schultz WC); 145.5- Jared Frayer (Dave Schultz WC); 163 - Joe Williams (Sunkist Kids); 185 - Lee Fullhart (Gator WC); 211.5 - Dean Morrison (New York AC); 264.5 - Steven Mocco (New York AC)    Men's Greco-Roman champions  121 - Lindsey Durlacher (New York AC); 132 - Joe Warren (New York AC); 145.5 - Harry Lester (USOEC); 163 - Oleg Mivalovich (Belarus); 185 - Ethan Bosch (New York AC); 211.5 - Karam Gaber (Egypt); 264.5 - Rulon Gardner (Sunkist Kids)    Women's freestyle champions  105.5 - Mary Kelly (New York AC); 112.25 - Malinda Ripley (Sunkist Kids); 121 - Diletta Giampiccolo (Italy); 130 - Erin Tomeo (Sunkist Kids); 138.75 - Sara McMann (Sunkist Kids); 158.5 -Kristie Marano (New York AC)