Henson, Thompson in gold-medal finals of Cerro Pelado Tournament in Cuba
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Gary Abbott (USA Wrestling)
02/24/2005
Two U.S. freestyle wrestlers have reached the gold-medal finals of the Cerro Pelado Tournament held in Sancti Spiritus, Cuba, which started on Feb. 24: Sammie Henson (St. Louis, Mo./Sunkist Kids) at 55 kg/121 lbs. and Tolly Thompson (Cedar Falls, Iowa/Sunkist Kids) at 120 kg/264.5 lbs. Henson won three matches to earn a spot in the finals, where he will battle Andy Moreno Gonzalez of Cuba. His victories were against Mogomed Dgukaev of Russia, Yumir Fernandez of Cuba and Hector Camacho of Venezuela. Henson was a 1998 World Champion and 2000 Olympic silver medalist. Thompson also won three bouts to reach his gold-medal match, which will be against 1998 World Champion Alexis Rodriguez of Cuba. Thompson's wins were against Oleg Khorpiakov of Russia, Jaimie Cox of Canada and Ruslan Baisiev of Russia. Thompson was second in the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team Trials, and was a 1998 U.S. Nationals champion. Four U.S. wrestlers have lost one match, but have secured a place in the bronze medal round. Under the new international rules, two bronze medals are awarded in each weight class. Those competing for bronze medals include Chris Bono (Gilbert, Iowa/Sunkist Kids) at 66 kg/145.5 lbs. , Jared Lawrence (Minneapolis, Minn./Minnesota Storm) at 66 kg/145.5 lbs., Jared Frayer (Cambridge, Mass./Dave Schultz WC) at 66 kg/145.5 lbs. and Lee Fullhart (Blacksburg, Va./Gator WC) at 84 kg/185 lbs. One of the 66 kg/145.5 lbs. bronze medal match is an all-American battle, as Bono will face Lawrence for one of the bronze medals. Fullhart, a runner-up at the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team Trials, was defeated in the semifinals by 1999 World Champion Yoel Romero of Cuba. Each weight class completes in one day, so the results of the medal matches from today will be posted when received. Three other weight divisions will be contested on Friday, Feb. 25: 60 kg/132 lbs., 74 kg/163 lbs. and 96 kg/211.5 lbs.