Toccara Montgomery of the New York AC has been the dominant U.S. wrestler at 72 kg/158.5 lbs. for the last three seasons. In 2002, Montgomery, then a young World silver medalist who was down a weight division, moved up to this class in order to attempt to make the Olympic team. She has been No. 1 ever since, winning a World silver medal at this division in 2003, and placing seventh at the 2004 Olympic Games.    Montgomery was injured this fall, competing in her senior season at Cumberland College, and was unable to compete at the U.S. Nationals. According to her coaches, Montgomery is getting healthy and has been training to make a return to the mats at the World Team Trials. If Montgomery enters in Ames, she will have the highest expectations of everyone in the field. However, it will remain to be seen how the time away from the mat has affected her performance.    If Montgomery does not wrestle, it is possible that the top three athletes from the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team Trials will not be in the World Team Trials, just one year later. Two-time World champion Kristie Marano of the New York AC was second in the Olympic Trials, but was only in the division because she missed weight at 63 kg. Marano won the U.S. Nationals at 67 kg in Las Vegas and is not expected to be at 72 kg. Stephany Lee of Missouri Valley was third in the Olympic Trials, but she was injured on a tour to Russia and will not be healthy enough to compete in Ames.  This opens all kinds of opportunities for somebody else to step up.    It was a veteran who had the top performance in Las Vegas to win the national title, former World Team member and national champion Iris Smith of the U.S. Army, Smith was fourth at the Olympic Team Trials, seemingly falling behind the field at that time. However, she looked as if her career has been revived, winning all three of her matches at the U.S. Nationals by winning in just two periods. She outscored her opponents 31-2 during the tournament. Her experience, along with strength and size, makes her a legitimate international competitor at this division.    Placing second at the U.S. Nationals was young star Ali Bernard of the Univ. of Regina, who moved up in weight to compete at this division. She was the U.S. Nationals champion at 67 kg last year and is a former Junior World champion at the lower weight class.     Bernard, a Minnesota native, decided to attend college in Canada, and wrestled at the higher divisions (72 kg and 80 kg) for the Univ. of Regina. The top freshman in Canadian wrestling, she won the CIS Canadian college nationals at 80 kg. She remained up at 72 kg where she won the Body Bar FILA Junior Nationals to earn another trip to the Junior World meet. Bernard scored two pins before losing to Smith in the U.S. Nationals finals by a 4-2, 4-0 margin. Because of her skill and proven ability to perform under pressure, Bernard should be considered a serious threat to win this weight class in Ames.    Placing third and fourth, respectively, at the U.S. Nationals are teammates from the USOEC program at Northern Michigan, Randi Miller and Donnel Bradley. Miller edged Bradley, 1-0, 1-0 in their bronze-medal match. Both wrestled for many years on the U.S. women's college circuit, where they received considerable experience. However, both are still looking for their first big win over a "name athlete" in the division, a breakthrough performance at this level.    High school stars Toni Copeland of Shamrock WC and Melissa Simmons of SW Washington qualified for the field in Ames, placing fifth and sixth in the standings in Las Vegas. Both young stars have won numerous USA Wrestling age-group honors, including some national titles at that level. This is the first year that they are testing themselves at the Senior level, and their performance in Las Vegas is encouraging for their futures.    The final qualifier from the U.S. Nationals to earn a spot in the field was college wrestler Tabitha Golt of Cumberland College, who placed seventh. Golt has just completed a successful freshman year in college, gaining experience and improving her performance. There were no additional athletes to qualify for the World Team Trials at this weight class, based upon current criteria.     If international star Toccara Montgomery enters in Ames, this weight class suddenly changes dramatically from the competition at the U.S. Nationals. She will have to go through the Challenge Tournament to reach the finals series, and may have a good battle with young star Ali Bernard along the way. If Montgomery is not yet ready, then Bernard becomes a strong favorite for a return battle with Iris Smith for the World Team spot. Although Smith seemed to control the match in Las Vegas, Bernard may have some new things to bring to the mat in the best-of-three series format. If one of the other entries is able to break through and win the Challenge Tournament, they would clearly be a longshot to beat Smith and make the U.S. team.    2005 U.S. NATIONALS RESULTS AT 72 KG/158.5 LBS.  1st - Iris Smith, Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Army) dec. Ali Bernard, New Ulm, Minn. (Univ of Regina), 4-2, 4-0  3rd - Randi Miller, Arlington, Texas (USOEC) dec. Donell Bradley, Aiea, Hawaii (USOEC), 1-0, 1-0  5th - Toni Copeland, McDonough, N.Y. (Shamrock) dec. Melissa Simmons , Ridgefield, Wash. (SW Washington), 5-3, 3-0  7th - Tabitha Golt, Chesapeake, Va. (Cumberland College) dec. Elizabeth Hernandez,  Valerico, Fla. (Cumberland College), 8-4, 3-0    QUALIFIERS FOR 2005 WORLD TEAM TRIALS AT 72 KG/158.5 LBS.  U.S. Nationals Champion - Iris Smith, Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Army)  U.S. Nationals, second place - Ali Bernard, New Ulm, Minn. (Univ. of Regina)  U.S. Nationals, third place - Randi Miller, Arlington, Texas (USOEC)  U.S. Nationals, fourth place - Donell Bradley, Aiea, Hawaii (USOEC)  U.S. Nationals, fifth place - Toni Copeland, McDonough, N.Y. (Shamrock Wrestling)  U.S. Nationals, sixth place - Melissa Simmons, Ridgefield, Wash. (Southwest Washington)  U.S. Nationals, seventh place - Tabitha Golt, Chesapeake, Va. (Cumberland College)   Rocky Mountain Regional Champion - No entry at this weight class  Northern Plains Regional Champion - No entry at this weight class  Olympic Team member - Toccara Montgomery, Cleveland, Ohio (New York AC)  Past World Team member - Iris Smith, Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Army)  '04 Sunkist Kids International champion - Heather Martin, Wellington, Ohio (New York AC)  '04 NYAC Christmas Open champion - None, foreign champion  '05 Dave Schultz Memorial champion - None, foreign champion  International Tour medalist (within 2 yrs) -   *'03 World Cup gold medalist - Toccara Montgomery, Cleveland, Ohio (Sunkist Kids)