The dominant athlete at this division in recent years has been Toccara Montgomery of the New York AC, a two-time World silver medalist and member of the 2004 U.S. Olympic team. Montgomery has shown an ability to compete with anybody in the world, and has held an edge at this division over all U.S. rivals since she moved up in weight three seasons ago. She is coming off a tough experience at the Olympics, where she drew Japan's superstar Kyoko Hamaguchi in the first round and lost, and did not wrestle back well. Montgomery was injured this winter and has not competed for many months. It is very possible that she will not be ready in time for U.S. Nationals, and will not be there to defend her title.    This weight class may be the most devastated by injuries, as the top three ranked wrestlers in the nation have been out all winter. Kristie Marano of the New York AC, the two-time World champion who missed weight at 63 kg at the Olympic Trials and placed second at 72 kg instead, has been recovering from injury. If Marano is able to compete at U.S. Nationals, she is expected to drop down in weight.     Stephany Lee of Missouri Valley placed second behind Montgomery in the U.S. Nationals, and lost to Marano to place third at the Olympic Team Trials. Lee was a University World champion last year, and has shown great promise in recent seasons. She pinned Olympic silver medalist Gouzel Marianova of Russia in a dual meet in Russia this winter, then got injured on the tour and has not been able to wrestle since. Like the others, she may not be ready to compete yet, throwing this weight class wide open for others.    An athlete who might be favored to win this division under the current circumstances is Ali Bernard of Rolling Thunder, who was the U.S. Nationals champion at 67 kg last year. Bernard wrestled at 72 kg and 80 kg for the Univ. of Regina this winter, and won the 72 kg division at the FILA Junior Nationals just a few weeks ago. Bernard was a Junior World champion at 67 kg in 2003, and will return at this division to try to win it again in 2005. But in Las Vegas, we may see Bernard down at 67 kg again.    Former U.S. Nationals champion and World Team member Iris Smith of the U.S. Army had a few down seasons recently, placing fourth at the Olympic Team Trials and the U.S. Nationals last year. Smith has not competed since the Olympic Trials, but may be back on the mats this year in Las Vegas. Nina Vernon of the Gator WC, a former U.S. Nationals runner-up, placed fifth at the U.S. Nationals and sixth at the Olympic Team Trials last year. Like Smith, she also has not competed yet this season. You can't really count on either of these athletes at this point in the season.    A former star at this division is young Samantha Lang of the Sunkist Kids, who has placed as high as second at the U.S. Nationals and World Team Trials in the past. Lang has had problems making this weight class in the past year or so. She was unable to qualify for the Olympic Trials, missing weight at the final Olympic Regional qualifier last spring. Although she has been training at the U.S. Olympic Training Center this year, she still has not been down to scratch weight at 72 kg. If Lang is prepared and on weight, she could be the U.S. Nationals champion with a good performance in this field. However, until she has been to 72 kg again, there is no way to know how well she can do again.    Two USOEC resident athletes with experience are Donell Bradley and Randi Miller. Both wrestled on the college scene for a number of years, placing at the national level a number of times in the past. However, neither has moved high on the medal lists yet at the major tournaments. It will be interesting to see if they have made any progress since joining the University resident program at Northern Michigan this year.    The top high school talent is Juanita Russell of TNT, a former Junior World team member at this division. At this year's FILA Junior Nationals, Russell moved up to 77 kg, a weight that is not contested at the World meet, and placed second behind Lang. A veteran at this division is Elena Mena of Minnesota, who has placed numerous times at the national level. She was seventh at the U.S. Nationals in 2004, and continues to train and compete.  Misty Stalley of Menlo College was eighth at the U.S. Nationals last year, but has not wrestled at all this season.    A talented newcomer on the college scene is Tabitha Golt of Cumberland College, who was second behind Bernard at the FILA Junior Nationals this year. A few athletes who are just becoming eligible from the high school ranks who may make an impact if they show up in Las Vegas are Junior Nationals champion Melissa Simmons of SW Washington and Junior Nationals runner-up Toni Copeland of Shamrock. In the bronze-medal match at the FILA Juniors this year, Copeland defeated Simmons. Both have the ability to compete for All-American honors on the Senior level, if not this year, sometime very soon in the future.    There should be other athletes who, if they win a few matches in Las Vegas, could sneak into the medal rounds at this division. However, this would probably be a result of many of the top stars not being there this year, and an opportunity opening for them to step up.    With names like Montgomery, Marano and Lee in the rankings of this weight class, it looks like a strong field on paper. However injuries may keep many big names out of the U.S. Nationals this year. If Ali Bernard chooses to move up to this division this season, she has a legitimate chance to take it all. Iris Smith will need to return to form of a few years ago, and Samantha Lang will have to prove that she can get down to weight and still wrestle with skill and dominance. The only thing certain about the 72 kg division this year is that it remains very uncertain days prior to weighins. The title may end up going to the last woman standing…    2004 U.S. NATIONALS RESULTS  1st - Toccara Montgomery, Cleveland, Ohio (New York AC) dec.  Stephany Lee, Honolulu, Hawaii (Missouri Valley), 3-1  3rd -Katie Downing, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Sunkist Kids) dec. Iris Smith, Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Army), 4-2  5th - Nina Vernon, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Gator WC) dec. Randi Miller. Arlington, Texas (Dave Schultz WC), 3-2  7th -Elena Mena, St. Paul, Minn. (West Side) pin Misty Stalley, Atherton, Calif. (Menlo), 1:36    THEMAT.COM RANKINGS FOR APRIL 1, 2005  1. Toccara Montgomery, Cleveland, Ohio (Cumberland College)  2. Kristie Marano, Colorado Springs, Colo. (New York AC)  3. Stephany Lee, Honolulu, Hawaii (Missouri Valley)  4. Iris Smith, Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Army)  5. Samantha Lang, Tualatin, Ore. (Sunkist Kids)  6. Donell Bradley, Aiea, Hawaii (USOEC)  7. Randi Miller, Arlington, Texas (USOEC)  8. Juanita Russell, Galway, N.Y. (TNT)  9. Elena Mena, St. Paul, Minn.   10. Tabitha Golt, Chesapeake, Va. (Cumberland College)