In 2004, the 74 kg/163 lbs. division in Greco-Roman was considered no-man's land in American wrestling. The U.S. was unable to qualify to compete in this division at the Athens Olympic Games. Three different wrestlers entered qualifying events for the U.S., and all fell short. Russia was the only nation that had qualified every weight class for the Olympics, but this was the first time that the USA had not had a full team in recent Olympic wrest;ling history.     The person who won the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in this division became the top athlete in the rankings for Greco-Roman Team USA, but was unable to compete at the Olympics. The answer to that trivia question is Keith Sieracki of the U.S. Army, who came through the Challenge Tournament then defeated 2004 U.S. Nationals champion Darryl Christian of the New York AC in the Championship Series. Sieracki had made U.S. World Teams and won past national titles, but did not get his opportunity at the Olympic Games.     Sieracki continues to compete, but has moved up to 84 kg/185 lbs., where he was second in the U.S. Nationals this year. He is not expected to return to 74 kg/163 lbs., but he is eligible to do that if he chooses to drop the weight.     Christian won the 2005 U.S. Nationals for his second straight national title. He has continued to improve since becoming a U.S. Olympic Training Center resident athlete, combining toughness with solid technical skills. He entered the tournament as the No. 1 seed, and has set himself up to try to make his first U.S. World Team. He has been successful in international competitions, and believes he could challenge for a medal if he qualifies for the World Championships.    His finals opponent this year was a surprise, No. 7 seed Jacob Volkmann of the Minnesota Storm. Volkmann, who was a NCAA All-American at the Univ. of Minnesota, just started competing in Greco-Roman on the Senior level this season. He showed that he would be a factor by claiming the gold medal at the Sunkist Kids International Open in the fall. Volkmann's big win in Las Vegas came in the quarterfinals, when he stopped two-time World Team member T.C. Dantzler in three periods. Volkmann may lack the experience of many of his opponents, but has shown an ability to compete well under the new rules.    Dantzler rebounded from the loss to Volkmann to capture third place at the U.S. Nationals. He combines considerable experience with some tremendous athletic skills, and an ability to throw his opponents. The new rules currently do not favor wrestlers like Dantzler who have throwing abilities. When he is wrestling well, Dantzler is exciting to watch and can score points. He will be training for a chance to get through the Challenge Tournament for a shot at Christian, who he has wrestled often in recent seasons.    The rest of the field in this weight division is young and still developing their Greco-Roman skills. Taking fourth at the U.S. Nationals was USOEC wrestler Kevin Lozano. It was clearly the best Senior-level performance of his life. Lozano lost in the second round in Las Vegas, but won three straight matches in the consolation rounds before losing to Dantzler. His performance shows the kind of impact that the Northern Michigan program is having on Greco-Roman wrestling in our nation.    A pair of military athletes, Jess Hargrave of the U.S. Army and Carson Bernard of the U.S. Marines, placed fifth and sixth in the U.S. Nationals, respectively. Hargrave has been competitive at this division in recent seasons. Bernard made a big step forward, entering the tournament unseeded and qualifying for the U.S. Nationals semifinals.     The final qualifier from the U.S. Nationals was Josh Henson of the Gator WC, who placed seventh in the standings. Henson has improved his Greco-Roman skills since becoming a U.S. Olympic Training Center resident athlete, after a college career at the Univ. of Pennsylvania.     The field is expanded with two Regional champions, Zach Lomano of Elite, who won the Rocky Mountain Regionals and Jake Fisher of the USOEC, who captured the Northern Plains Regionals. Both are young talents who are trying to make a name for themselves. Also getting into the field by winning a medal on the international level this winter was Ryan Cunningham of the U.S. Marines, who is just getting into Greco-Roman after an impressive college career at Central Michigan. 2000 Olympian Heath Sims of the Dave Schultz WC is eligible to compete, but has not been on the mats yet this season.    This could be the year that Darryl Christian is able to claim the No. 1 spot in the division, by winning a title when it most counts. He will have to wait to see who his opponent will be in the Championship Series of the World Team Trials. Many expect that longtime rival T.C. Dantzler will emerge from the pack to challenge Christian. Young Jacob Volkmann has made his claim as a true contender. The rest of the field is rather young, and will need to improve quickly if they want to have much impact here. The only wildcard would be if Keith Sieracki decides to make the difficult weight drop to his old division.     2005 U.S. NATIONALS RESULTS AT 74 KG/163 LBS.  1st - Darryl Christian, Colorado Springs, Colo. (New York AC) dec. Jacob Volkmann, Minneapolis, Minn. (Minnesota Storm), 1-0, 1-0  3rd - T.C. Dantzler, Colorado Springs, Colo. (New York AC) dec. Kevin Lozano, Jefferson, La, (USOEC), 3-0, 1-0  5th - Jess Hargrave, Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Army) dec. Carson Bernard, Quantico, Va. (U.S. Marines), 3-0, 0-1, 1-0  7th - Josh Henson, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Gator WC) dec. Robb Maxwell, Sandy, Utah (Cal Poly), 1-0, 1-0    QUALIFIERS FOR 2005 WORLD TEAM TRIALS AT 74 KG/163 LBS.  U.S. Nationals Champion - Darryl Christian, Colorado Springs, Colo. (New York AC)  U.S. Nationals, second place - Jacob Volkmann, Minneapolis, Minn. (Minnesota Storm)  U.S. Nationals, third place - T.C. Dantzler, Colorado Springs, Colo. (New York AC)  U.S. Nationals, fourth place - Kevin Lozano, Jefferson, La. (USOEC/Gator WC)  U.S. Nationals, fifth place - Jess Hargrave, Quantico, Va. (U.S. Marine Corps)  U.S. Nationals, sixth place - Carson Bernard, Quantico, Va. (U.S. Marine Corps)  U.S. Nationals, seventh place - Josh Henson, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Gator WC)  Rocky Mountain Regional Champion - Zach Lomano, Layton, Utah (Elite)  Northern Plains Regional Champion - Jake Fisher, Platte City, Mo. (USOEC)  Past Olympic Team member - Heath Sims, La Hoya, Calif. (Dave Schultz WC)  Past World Team member - T.C. Dantzler, Colorado Springs, Colo. (New York AC)  Past World Team member - Keith Sieracki, Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Army)  '04 Sunkist Kids International champion - Jacob Volkmann, Minneapolis, Minn. (Minnesota Storm)  '04 NYAC Christmas Open champion - Darryl Christian, Colorado Springs, Colo. (New York AC)  '05 Dave Schultz Memorial champion - Darryl Christian, Colorado Springs, Colo. (New York AC)  International Tour medalist (within 2 yrs) -   *'05 Granma Cup bronze medalist - Ryan Cunningham, Quantico, Va. (U.S. Marine Corps)