All-Army wrestling team sets roster in match against Team USA

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Tim Hipps (USACFSC Public Affairs)
03/25/2005


FORT CARSON, Colo. - The 2005 All-Army wrestling team roster was finalized March 17 in an exhibition match against Team USA contenders.    Two-time U.S. Olympic Trials champion Staff Sgt. Keith Sieracki and 2002 Greco-Roman super heavyweight world champion Staff Sgt. Dremiel Byers led the Soldiers to a 7-7 tie in the Morale, Welfare and Recreation-sponsored event.    Sieracki moved up to the Greco-Roman 84-kilogram weight class and said he is committed to making another Olympic run at the 2008 Beijing Games. He got the All-Army team rolling with a victory against Team USA's Abraham Haddon.    Spc. James Henderson of Fort Bragg, N.C., earned a spot on the All-Army roster with a win against Fort Carson's 2004 Olympian Sgt. Oscar Wood in the 74-kilogram freestyle division. Wood stepped up from 66-kilograms, his normal weight class, to give Henderson a taste of world-class competition. Henderson responded with a takedown in the first period and won the match two periods to one under new rules implemented this season by the International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles.     "I knew that Oscar wasn't ready," All-Army wrestling coach Staff Sgt. Shon Lewis said. "I wanted him to wrestle up a weight class, but he hasn't had any freestyle training in practice. Henderson put the pressure on Oscar, and that's what I wanted to see."    Former Marine turned Army Sgt. Jess Hargrave of Fort Carson defeated Team USA's Cory Posey out of the clinch in the first two periods of their 74-kilogram Greco-Roman match.    "I wanted him to wrestle Posey, who has been a mainstay at the Olympic Training Center," Lewis said of Hargrave. "He's a newbie for the Army and I wanted to see if he could pull it out."    Army Sgt. Al Sankey, another former Marine, prevailed two periods to one over Team USA's Brandon Ruiz in a Greco-Roman match at 96 kilos. Pfc. Everette McDaniel won the final two periods against 1st Lt. John Lopez in an All-Army wrestle-off at 96 kilos freestyle.    Byers ended the exhibition by defeating Team USA's Russ Davie in back-to-back periods. Byers returned to Fort Carson March 22 from a tour of Hungary and Poland, where he finished third and first respectively in international tournaments.    The final score was unofficial because some of the wrestlers are neither Soldiers nor Team USA members. At any rate, Fort Carson's community was treated to an evening of big-time amateur wrestling that attracted a crowd of about 600 to the mountain post's Special Events Center.    In addition, Lewis invited national-caliber female and high school wrestlers to compete in the event.    "My main objective was to give them exposure and show them we have a program they can come into and the Army will help them obtain their goals," he said of Californian Marcie Van Dusen and Connecticut's Tina Pihl, who competed in a women's 55-kilogram freestyle match. "Because of the success of [Sgt.] Tina George, a lot of female [wrestlers] are interested in coming into the Army."    Van Dusen and Pihl both train at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo.    The event also featured a 132-pound freestyle match between two-time Arizona high school state champ Henry Cejudo, a reigning Colorado high school state champion, and Colten Palmer, a two-time state high school champ from North Carolina.    "The purpose of that match was to show the community that we have a lot of up-and-coming athletes here in Colorado Springs who are thinking about coming into the Army," Lewis said. Palmer was in town to check out the Army's wrestling program while preparing for the FILA Junior National Championships.    Lewis said he plans to have the All-Army team train through the Armed Forces Wrestling Championships March 31 and April 1 at the OTC with sights set on winning their fourth Greco-Roman team title in five years at the U.S. National Wrestling Championships April 29 and 30 at Las Vegas.    "We're not overlooking Armed Forces but we can definitely make some corrections and adjustments from these matches tonight," he said.    All-Army Wrestling Team for 2005 Armed Forces Championships  At U.S. Olympic Training Center, Colorado Springs, Colo., March 31-April 1    Greco-Roman  55 kilograms: Capt. Neal Rodak; Fort Carson, Colo.  60 kg: Staff Sgt. Dwaine Martin, Fort Carson, Colo.  66 kg: Glenn Garrison, Fort Carson  74 kg: Sgt. Jess Hargrave, Fort Carson  84 kg: 2nd Lt. Michael Mathers, Fort Hood, Texas  96 kg: Sgt. Al Sankey, Fort Carson  120 kg: Staff Sgt. Dremiel Byers, Fort Carson.    Freestyle  55 kg: Capt. Eric Albarracin, Fort Carson  60 kg: Pfc. Jermaine Hodge, Camp Casey, Korea  66 kg: Staff Sgt. Marcel Cooper, Fort Carson  74 kg: Spc. James Henderson, Fort Bragg, N.C.  84 kg: Sgt. Kevin Ahearn, Fort Carson  96 kg: 1st Lt. Lance Schwabenbauer, Fort Drum, N.Y.  120 kg: Pfc. Everette McDaniel, Fort Bragg, N.C.