The United States claimed eight individual champions on the final night of the 8th Annual Dave Schultz Memorial International held at Sports Center I at the U.S. Olympic Training Center (USOTC) in Colorado Springs, Colo., Feb. 4.

Combined with the six gold medals earned by U.S. athletes on Friday night, the United States captured 14 of the 21 weight classes contested during the weekend.

The eight U.S. winners on Saturday included four women freestyle wrestlers, three men's freestyle wrestlers and one men's Greco-Roman wrestler.

All seven weight classes in the women's division were held on Saturday. The four U.S. winners were:
- Stephanie Murata (Colorado Springs, Colo./Sunkist Kids) at 48 kg/105.5 lbs.
- Patricia Miranda (New Haven, Conn./Sunkist Kids) at 51 kg/112.25 lbs.
- Alaina Berube (Escanaba, Mich./USOEC) at 63 kg/138.75 lbs.
- Kristie Marano (Colorado Springs, Colo./New York AC)

Murata, a past World silver medalist, defeated Angela Mott of Canada, 6-0, 5-4 in the finals. Murata was a member of the 2005 U.S. World Team, but has dropped a weight class from last year.

Miranda, a 2004 Olympic bronze medalist and two-time World silver medalist, won her first international tournament since winning her Olympic medal at the 2004 Athens Games. She defeated  Julieta Okot (New York, N.Y./New York AC), 5-0, 1-0 in the finals. Okot, a recent U.S. citizen who previously competed internationally for Bulgaria, was wrestling in her first event as an American.

Miranda was named Outstanding Wrestler in the women's division for the competition.

Berube, who was second in the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team Trials, pinned Elena Pirozhkov (Colorado Springs, Colo./NE Elite) in the third period, with a score of 3-4, 6-0, 0:54. Berube won the Dave Schultz Memorial International for the second straight year.

Marano, a two-time World champion and seven-time World medalist, also secured a pin in the finals, stopping Megan Buydens of Canada, 0-2, 1:59. 

All three weight classes contested in men's freestyle were captured by U.S. wrestlers:
- Matt Azevedo (Arroyo Grande, Calif./Sunkist Kids) at 55 kg/121 lbs.
- Mike Zadick (Iowa City, Iowa/Hawkeye TC) at 60 kg/132 lbs.
- Tolly Thompson (Cedar Falls, Iowa/Sunkist Kids) at 120 kg/264.5 lbs.

Azevedo won the Dave Schultz Memorial International for the second straight year. He defeated 2005 Junior World silver medalist Yasuchiro Inaba of Japan, 7-1, 2-3, 3-0.

Zadick defeated the No. 1 ranked U.S. wrestler in his division, 2005 World Team member Michael Lightner (Colorado Springs, Colo./Sunkist Kids), 1-0, 0-3, 2-1 in the finals.

Thompson, a 2005 World bronze medalist, stopped Michael Irving (Colorado Springs, Colo./Gator WC), 2-0, 5-0 in the gold-medal match. Thompson won the Dave Schultz Memorial for the second straight year.

The Outstanding Wrestler in the men's freestyle division was Joe Williams (Ames, Iowa/Sunkist Kids), who won the 74 kg/163 lbs. class on Friday night.

The U.S. champion  on Saturday in Greco-Roman was 2005 Greco-Roman U.S. World team member Lindsey Durlacher (Colorado Springs, Colo./New York AC) at 55 kg/121 lbs. Durlacher stopped Kohei Hasegawa of Japan, 6-1, 2-1 in the finals.

Durlacher was named the Outstanding Wrestler in the Greco-Roman division. 

Champions from other nations on Saturday were men's Greco-Roman wrestlers Dilshod Aripov of Uzbekistan at 60 kg/132 lbs. and David Vala of the Czech Republic at 120 kg/264.5 lbs., plus women wrestlers Tonya Verbeek of Canada at 55 kg/121 lbs., Breanne Graham of Canada at 59 kg/130 lbs. and Stanka Hristova of Bulgaria at 72 kg/158.5 lbs.

This competition is held in memory of 1994 Olympic champion and 1993 World champion Dave Schultz, who was murdered 10 years ago. Schultz was an ambassador of goodwill around the world, and one of the nation's greatest wrestling champions.

QUOTES FROM U.S. CHAMPIONS

55 kg - Matt Acevedo, Arroyo Grande, Calif. (Sunkist Kids)
"I felt I wrestled pretty good. My leg attack was working well and my defense was tough. I have been working on my defense. I didn't let anybody get to my leg except for in the finals. It feels good to win. I went to the Sunkist International this year and took third; I was first there last year so it was disappointing. I was looking forward to wrestling here. I wanted to wrestle a lot of foreign competitors here, and I didn't wrestle a single American. That is good. I need more foreign competition. It was great to wrestle these opponents and to repeat as champion."

60 kg - Mike Zadick, Iowa City, Iowa (Hawkeye TC)
"Most importantly, I am excited to be here to compete. It has been a long time. I'm not by any means content. But for where I am now, I accomplished what I came to do. This is something to build off and to improve. I am glad to come in, compete and win. I am in better condition. I train hard, and I feel I am in better shape than the opponents. I know I will wrestle hard the whole time. I won't be denied. I always work hard to score. I put myself in position to make my own breaks."

120 kg - Tolly Thompson, Cedar Falls, Iowa (Sunkist Kids)
"I feel pretty solid. I am not 100%, probably 70%. I'm not doing all my offense, but I am hand fighting, moving my feet. What else do you need? I want to improve on last year's results. That has got to be the goal. Improve every time you wrestle. It felt good. I got stronger as the day went on."

48 kg - Stephanie Murata, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Sunkist Kids)
"It was alright. I came back from Russia sick. In every tournament, you learn something from it. That is why I am here. The reason I wrestled here was to get more competition, more matches in. If you go all the way to Russia for matches, you might as well wrestle in your own back yard."

51 kg - Patricia Miranda, New Haven, Conn. (Sunkist Kids)
"I think I made some improvement from my first one back (the New York AC Holiday Open). It's clear to see the results of time and persistence, and believing that the timing will come back. Wrestling is more than what you do on the mat. I forgot about what all the other things were. There were a couple of things in the right direction, and a couple of things I still need to bring out. I am glad I got some matches. I am not out just to compete. I want to stay on the top of the podium. I'll need some big improvements without being in optimal situations. Slowly, I am coming back."

63 kg - Alaina Berube, Escanaba, Mich (New York AC)
"Overall, I felt I wrestled allright. I'm glad to be on the mat to get experience before Nationals. In the finals, I came out a little flat and didn't wrestle well. As I warmed up, I felt better. It has been going pretty good this year. I've gotten a lot of matches in. I am looking forward to the bigger tournaments going ahead.

67 kg - Kristie Marano, Colorado Springs, Colo. (New York AC)
"It went pretty good. I felt good out there and was consistent on the mat. I want to compete in as many tournaments as I can to prepare for the World Team Trials again."

(about losing the first period) "Coach Terry Steiner tells us to take it one period at a time. So I was not too concerned. The pin happened so fast. I don't know how I turned her. It was in a scramble. 

55 kg - Lindsey Durlacher, Colorado Springs, Colo. (New York AC)
"I wrestled a strong tournament. We had a competition last week and a training camp. As a team we were beat up a little bit. We are training so hard. It's starting to pay off for me. It doesn't get any easier as you get older. There were good wrestlers in this tournament. I work hard. Sometimes I don't have enough confidence in myself. This proves I am doing the right things. I am happy the way it turned out. I work hard to represent my country to the best of my ability."

DAVE SCHULTZ MEMORIAL INTERNATIONAL
At Colorado Springs, Colo., Feb. 4

Women's freestyle

48 kg/105.5 lbs.
Gold medal - Stephanie Murata (Colorado Springs, Colo./Sunkist Kids) dec. Angela Mott (Canada), 6-0, 5-4
Bronze medal - Mary Kelly (Mahomet, Ill./USOEC/New York AC) dec. Anne Catherine Delunsche (France), 2-0, 2-0
5th (tie) - Lindsay Rushton (Canada) and Clarissa Chun (Colorado Springs, Colo./Gator WC)

51 kg/112.25 lbs.
Gold medal - Patricia Miranda (New Haven, Conn./Sunkist Kids) dec. Julieta Okot (New York, N.Y./New York AC), 5-0, 1-0
Bronze medal - Jenny Wong (Colorado Springs, Colo./Sunkist Kids) dec. Erica Sharp (Canada). 1-0, 5-3
5th (tie) - Erica Sharp (Canada) and Clair du Pont (Leadville, Colo./CO School of Mines)

55 kg/121 lbs.
Gold medal - Tonya Verbeek (Canada) dec. Marcie Van Dusen (Colorado Springs, Colo./Sunkist Kids), 6-0, 3-3, 2-0
Bronze medal - Sharon Jacobsen (El Cajon, Calif./USOEC/Gator WC) pin Anna Gomis (France), 1:12
5th (tie) - Olena Malyshko (Ukraine) and Malinda Ripley (Colorado Springs, Colo./Sunkist Kids)

59 kg/130 lbs.
Gold medal - Breanne Graham (Canada) pin Deanna Rix (Berwick, Maine/New York AC), 4-0, 0:31
Bronze medal - Sally Roberts (Colorado Springs, Colo./Gator WC) dec. Emily Richardson (Canada), 8-0, 3-0
5th (tie) - Othella Lucas (San Diego, Calif./New York AC) and Leigh Jaynes (Colorado Springs, Colo./Gator WC)

63 kg/138.75 lbs.
Gold medal - . Alaina Berube (Escanaba, Mich./USOEC) pin Elena Pirozhkov (Colorado Springs, Colo./NE Elite), 3-4, 6-0, 0:54
Bronze medal - Erin Tomeo (Colorado Springs, Colo./Sunkist Kids) pin Audrey Prieto (France), 5-3, 1:38
5th (tie) - Martina Zyklov (Czech Republic) and Stephanie Shaw (Waterford, Conn./USOEC)

67 kg/147.5 lbs.	
Gold medal -Kristie Marano (Colorado Springs, Colo./New York AC) pin Megan Buydens (Canada), 0-2, 1:59
Bronze medal - Katie Downing (Colorado Springs, Colo/Sunkist Kids) pin Randi Miller (Marquette, Mich./USOEC), 0-3, 0:16
5th (tie) - Valeriya Zlatova (Bulgaria) and Heather Martin (Wellington, Ohio/New York AC)

72 kg/158.5 lbs.
Gold medal - Stanka Hristova (Bulgaria) pin Pam Wilson (Canada), 5-0, 1:00
Bronze medal -Rosangela Conseicao (Brazil) dec. Nina Sklenkova (Czech Republic), 1-0, 1-0
5th (tie) - Mariana Kolic (France) and Ayako Murishima (Japan)

Men's freestyle

55 kg/121 lbs.
Gold medal - Matt Azevedo (Arroyo Grande, Calif./Sunkist Kids) dec. Yasuchiro Inaba (Japan), 7-1, 2-3, 3-0
Bronze medal - Luke Eustice (Iowa City, Iowa/Hawkeye TC) dec. Takashi Adachi (Japan), 1-0, 2-5, 3-0
5th (tie) - Dzhamel Otarsultanov (Russia) and Mark McKnight (State College, Pa./New York AC)

60 kg/132 lbs.
Gold medal -Mike Zadick (Iowa City, Iowa/Hawkeye TC) dec. Michael Lightner (Colorado Springs, Colo./Sunkist Kids), 1-0, 0-3, 2-1
Bronze medal - Zach Roberson (Ames, Iowa/Sunkist Kids) inj. dft. over David Lee, Ithaca, N.Y. (New York AC)
5th - (tie) Noriyuki Takatsuka (Japan) and Sahit Prizreni (Albania)

120 kg/264.5 lbs.
Gold medal - Tolly Thompson (Cedar Falls, Iowa/Sunkist Kids) dec. Michael Irving (Colorado Springs, Colo./Gator WC), 2-0, 5-0
Bronze medal - Pat Cummins (Evanston, Ill./New York AC) dec. Kellen Fluckiger (Tempe, Ariz./Sunkist Kids), 5-0, 1-1, 2-1

Men's Greco-Roman

55 kg/121 lbs.
Gold medal - Lindsey Durlacher (Colorado Springs, Colo./New York AC) dec. Kohei Hasegawa (Japan), 6-1, 2-1
Bronze medal - Takumu Otsu (Japan) dec. Kazuma Kuramoto (Japan), 2-0, 0-6, 2-0
5th (tie) - Yun Young-Min (Korea) and Joseph Betterman (Chicago, Ill./USOEC/New York AC)

60 kg/132 lbs.
Gold medal -Dilshod Aripov (Uzbekistan) won by disq. over Kang Kyung-Il (Korea), 3-2, disq.
Bronze medal - Ryutaro Matsumoto (Japan) dec. Dallas Seavey (Homer, Alaska/USOEC)
5th (tie) - Joe Warren (Colorado Springs, Colo./New York AC) and Willie Madison (Metarie, La./USOEC/Gator WC)

120 kg/264.5 lbs.
Gold medal -David Vala (Czech Republic) dec. Russ Davie (Colorado Springs, Colo./New York AC), 1-1, 3-1
Bronze - Dremiel Byers (Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Army) dec. Frank Workman (Quantico, Va./U.S. Marines), 4-0, 3-1
5th (tie) - Jalmar Sjoberg (Sweden) and Petar Bogaevski (Bulgaria)