There has been a king of the hill at this weight class for four straight seasons, Olympian Joe Williams of the Sunkist Kids. Williams has not reached his goal of winning an Olympic or World gold medal, and has decided to continue to wrestle, rather than retire like some of his teammates at the Athens Olympics. Williams was a World bronze medalist in 2001, but has not medalled since, and he has confidence in his ability to get that gold medal. Williams lost a close match at the Olympic Games that kept him out of the medal round, something that burns the desire in his heart.     The new rules have been very good for Williams, who often gets a slow start in some bouts. Williams can lose the first period, and still come back to claim periods two and three due to his skill, conditition and experience. He won gold medals at the Sunkist Kids International, the New York AC Christmas Open, the Dave Schultz Memorial International and the respected Yarygin Memorial in Russia so far this season. Williams moved up to 85 kg to win the Schultz Memorial, showing that if he ever considers a move up in the future that he would be successful there. However, right now, Williams is committed to this division and chasing his dream at 74 kg.    The athlete who has pushed Williams hardest the last two seasons is Joe Heskett of the Gator WC, who was second to him at both the U.S. Nationals and Olympic Team Trials in 2005. Heskett has a knack for freestyle, not only good on his feet but also able to get points on the mat with his powerful cradle and other exposure techniques. Heskett has been wrestling in international events this year, but has not faced his top American rivals since the Olympic Trials.    Placing third at the Olympic Team Trials was Ramico Blackmon of Team Excel, who is a former U.S. Nationals champion and has been in the mix for many years. Blackmon has not wrestled since the Olympic Trials and may decide not to continue wrestling. The No. 4 placewinner at the Olympic Trials was Kirk White of the Dave Schultz WC, who wrestled at the Sunkist Kids International, placing fourth. He lost to Jared Frayer in the bronze-medal match there, but Frayer is expected to drop down to 145.5 pounds. White has beaten many of the athletes in this division, but has yet to get past either Williams or Heskett at an important event.    One of the stars of the last four-year cycle at this division was Casey Cunningham of the Sunkist Kids, who was No. 2 on the national ladder prior to the emergence of Heskett as a top force in the division. Cunningham was fifth at the Olympic Team Trials and has not competed since. He is still coaching on the college level, and would be a factor if he ever returned to the mats.    Carl Fronhofer of the Pittsburgh WC, who was a NCAA runner-up and was nationally ranked in Greco-Roman for a few seasons, has switched to freestyle this year and has been impressive. His bronze medal at the New York AC Christmas Open included wins over Frayer and veteran Donny Pritzlaff of the New York AC.     Pritzlaff has been in the mix for many years, but has never put it all together at the U.S. Nationals or World Team Trials. He was a Junior World champion in 1998 back when he was a college star at the Univ. of Wisconsin. Pritzlaff scored a gold medal at the Dave Schultz Memorial this year, something he hopes will launch him forward at the U.S. Nationals this year.    Tyrone Lewis of the Gator WC, a past star at Oklahoma State, is now pursuing his Olympic dream. Lewis reached the finals at the Dave Schultz Memorial, losing to Pritzlaff in the championship finals. It was a good start for Lewis, who has shown strong freestyle skills going back to his age-group days as an Oklahoma high school star.    Sean Harrington of the New York AC, who placed eighth at the U.S. Nationals last season, is a veteran wrestler with strong freestyle skills. He has the capability of beating ranked wrestlers in the division, and will be a tough draw for anybody in the field if he enters in Las Vegas. Yoshi Nakamura of the Dave Schultz WC was sixth at the U.S. Nationals last year and competed in the Olympic Trials. He is a bit undersized at this division, but has great technical skills and would be a strong challenger if he continues to wrestle.    Tony Davis of the Sunkist Kids, who competed at 145.5 pounds in recent years, could become  a factor at this division. Luke Becker of the Minnesota Storm, who was a college star at Minnesota, is also a young talent who is pursuing a freestyle career. Zac Fryling of the Sunkist Kids has also been competing well at this division so far this year.    Among the athletes who competed at this division in the Olympic Team Trials were Matt Lackey of the New York AC, Bryce Hasseman of the Husky WC and veteran David Zuniga of the Minnesota Storm. Lackey was a NCAA champion, who has had some solid freestyle results. Zuniga was on the 1996 Olympic Team in Greco-Roman wrestling, but switched over to freestyle in recent years. Other active freestylers in this weight division are Ron Groves of the Dave Schultz WC and Nathan Coy of Cobra, who has won some matches on the Senior level in recent seasons.    At this point, until somebody beats Joe Williams and proves that he deserves attention, this remains Williams' weight class to control. The development of Joe Heskett, as well as the emergence of some youth talents, will be the threat to Williams' strangle-hold over the 74 kg division. There will be some outstanding matches as the athletes in the field as athletes try to earn the right to be the man to knock off Williams.    2004 U.S. NATIONALS RESULTS  1st - Joe Williams, Iowa City, Iowa (Sunkist Kids) dec. Joe Heskett, Grover Beach, Calif. (Gator WC), 4-0   3rd - Casey Cunningham, Mt. Pleasant, Mich. (Sunkist Kids) dec. Ramico Blackmon, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Team Excel), 5-2  5th -Donny Pritzlaff, Hempstead, N.Y. (Dave Schultz WC) dec. Yoshi Nakamura, Cleveland, Ohio (Dave Schultz WC), 9-1  7th - Kirk White, Tacoma, Wash. (Dave Schultz WC) dec. Sean Harrington, Dracut, Mass. (New York AC), 3-1    THEMAT.COM RANKINGS FOR APRIL 1, 2005  1. Joe Williams, Ames, Iowa (Sunkist Kids)  2. Joe Heskett, Grover Beach, Calif. (Gator WC)  3. Ramico Blackmon, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Team Excel)  4. Kirk White, Tacoma, Wash. (Dave Schultz WC)  5. Carl Fronhofer, Pittsburgh, Pa. (Pittsburgh WC)  6. Donny Pritzlaff, Hempstead, N.Y. (Dave Schultz WC)  7. Tyrone Lewis, Stillwater, Okla. (Gator WC)  8. Tony Davis, Lincoln, Neb. (Sunkist Kids)  9. Luke Becker, Minneapolis, Minn. (Minnesota Storm)  10. Zac Fryling, Lansdale, Pa. (Sunkist Kids)