There has been a dominant force in U.S. wrestling at 76 kg/163 lbs. for a number of years, one that is continuing into the new Olympic four-year cycle. Joe Williams of the Sunkist Kids has owned this weight class, and shows no signs that he will release his grip any time soon.    Williams has been the No. 1 athlete in the division every year since 1999, except in the 2000 season when he was beaten out by Brandon Slay, who went on to win Olympic gold. Williams high-water mark was a World bronze medal in 2001. He competed at the 2004 Olympic Games and placed fifth. Williams decided to continue wrestling after the Athens Olympics, and has been very strong competing under the new rules of wrestling. 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, then defended his U.S. Nationals title. Williams enters the Olympic Trials as perhaps the biggest favorite of all.    Reaching the U.S. Nationals finals for the first time in his career was veteran Kirk White of the Bronco WC, who was the third seed in the competition. He stopped No. 2 Joe Heskett of the Gator WC in the semifinals in three periods, then gave Williams a good match in the finals. White won the second period of the match against Williams, and showed the kind of toughness that has made him a threat in every tournament he enters. White has not had consistency, however, and will have to prove it once again during the Challenge Tournament portion of the World Team Trials.     After losing to White, Heskett took an injury default and did not wrestle again, finishing in sixth. He has been the No. 2 athlete behind Williams for the two previous seasons, and will have to win the Challenge Tournament for another shot at the World Team spot. Heskett has been competing often, and has strong freestyle skills, moving ahead of many of the other competitors in recent seasons. His loss to White may prove a motivation to Heskett, who will be wrestling in his home arena where he had so much success at Iowa State during the World Team Trials.    Placing third at the U.S. Nationals was the talented Donny Pritzlaff of the New York AC, who is still seeking a major break through on the senior level. Pritzlaff was a Junior World champion in 1998 and had a tremendous college career for the Univ. of Wisconsin. His victory at the Dave Schultz Memorial this winter showed that he may be back on track this season, and his only loss in Las Vegas was in the semifinals to Williams.    Carl Fronhofer of the Sunkist Kids placed fourth in Las Vegas, and has showed great progress this season. Fronhofer was a Senior-level All-American a number of times in Greco-Roman while he was in college, but has switched to freestyle full-time. His bronze medal at the New York AC Christmas Open included a win over Pritzlaff.     It was a bit of a surprise that Nick Passolano of the Sunkist Kids placed fifth in this division. He entered the U.S. Nationals unseeded, and had a big win over No. 6 Tyrone Lewis of the Gator WC in the round of 16 at the U.S. Nationals, then had another impressive win over Luke Becker of the Minnesota Storm in the consolation rounds. Becker rebounded from that match to place seventh, which qualified him for the World Team Trials as well. Becker had a great college career for Minnesota, and has been wrestling on the national circuit in recent seasons.    The two athletes who will compete in Ames by virtue of winning a Regional tournament are Nathan Coy, who is a USOTC resident athlete and former Oregon State wrestler, as well as Travis Paulson of the Cyclone WC, a current star on the Iowa State team. Neither of these athletes will have great expectations at the World Team Trials, but both could make some progress in their careers by winning a few matches in Ames.    There  are potentially four college wrestling stars who get into the Challenge Tournament at the World Team Trials after being finalists at the NCAA Championships. Ryan Bertin of Michigan, the NCAA champion at 157 pounds, has indicated that he has retired. The runner-up at that division, Joe Johnston of Iowa, has been doing some freestyle and could choose to wrestle in Ames. The finalists at 165 pounds at the NCAA meet, champion Johny Hendricks of Oklahoma State and runner-up Mark Perry of Iowa, have not competed on the Senior level in freestyle. It will be interesting if any of these collegians decide to test themselves in Ames.    The big question this year is whether there is an athlete who has improved to the point that they can beat Joe Williams two of three matches for the U.S. World Team spot. The athlete who had the opportunity the last two years, Joe Heskett, will attempt to win the Challenge Tournament again for another chance. U.S. Nationals runner-up Kirk White, who beat Heskett in Las Vegas, is also excited about getting this opportunity. Other wrestlers such as Donny Pritzlaff, Carl Fronhofer and Luke Becker have the same goals. It will interesting to see if the field has closed the gap, and if Williams dominance of this division is in any jeopardy.    2005 U.S. NATIONALS RESULTS AT 74 KG/163 LBS.  1st - Joe Williams, Ames, Iowa (Sunkist Kids) dec. Kirk White, Tacoma, Wash. (Bronco WC), 4-1, 1-1, 2-1  3rd-  Donny Pritzlaff, Hempstead, N.Y. (New York AC) dec. Carl Fronhofer, Pittsburgh, Pa. (Sunkist Kids), 0-1, 2-0, 7-0  5th -Nick Passalano, Ames, Iowa (Sunkist Kids) inj. dft. over Joe Heskett, Grover Beach, Calif. (Gator WC)   7th - Luke Becker, Minneapolis, Minn. (Minnesota Storm) dec. Eddie Gifford, Las Vegas, Nev. (Sunkist Kids), 2-0. 3-2    QUALIFIERS FOR 2005 WORLD TEAM TRIALS AT 74 KG/163 LBS.  U.S. Nationals Champion - Joe Williams, Ames, Iowa (Sunkist Kids)  U.S. Nationals, second place - Kirk White, Tacoma, Wash. (Bronco WC)  U.S. Nationals, third place - Donny Pritzlaff, Hempstead, N.Y. (New York AC)  U.S. Nationals, fourth place - Carl Fronhofer, Pittsburgh, Pa. (Sunkist Kids)  U.S. Nationals, fifth place - Nick Passolano, Ames, Iowa (Sunkist Kids)  U.S. Nationals, sixth place - Joe Heskett, Grover Beach, Calif. (Gator WC)  U.S. Nationals, seventh place - Luke Becker, Minneapolis, Minn. (Minnesota Storm)  Rocky Mountain Regional Champion - Nathan Coy, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Unattached)  Northern Plains Regional Champion - Travis Paulson, Council Bluffs, Iowa (Cyclone WC)  Olympic Team member - Joe Williams, Ames, Iowa (Sunkist Kids)  '04 Sunkist Kids International champion - Joe Williams, Ames, Iowa (Sunkist Kids)  '04 NYAC Christmas Open champion - Joe Williams, Ames, Iowa (Sunkist Kids)  '05 Dave Schultz Memorial champion - Donny Pritzlaff, Hempstead, N.Y. (New York AC)  International Tour medalist (within 2 yrs) -   *'03 Henri Deglane Challenge bronze medalist - Joe Heskett, Grover Beach, Calif. (Gator WC)  *'04 Henri Deglane Challenge bronze medalist - Joe Heskett, Grover Beach, Calif. (Gator WC)  *'05 Ivan Yarygan Memorial gold medalist - Joe Williams, Ames, Iowa (Sunkist Kids)  '05 NCAA Champion - Ryan Bertin, Broadview Heights, Ohio (Michigan)  '05 NCAA runner-up - Joe Johnston, PrairieVillage, Kan. (Iowa)  '05 NCAA Champion - Johny Hendricks, Edmond, Okla. (Oklahoma State)  '05 NCAA runner-up - Mark Perry, Sillwater, Okla. (Iowa)