The wrestling community is invited to meet numerous wrestling heroes of the past at the "Gold Medal Reception" in Sioux City, Iowa on Saturday, May 27.

This special evening will be held Saturday night at the Sioux City Convention Center, from 7:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. The general public can attend for a $25 per person price.

It is being hosted in conjunction with U.S. World Team Trials in men's freestyle and Greco-Roman will be held in Sioux City, Iowa at the Tyson Events Center, May 27-28. 

All of the past U.S. Olympic Team and U.S. World Team members who are in Sioux City will be the special guests of the hosts of the championships for this reception. The evening will include heavy hors d'oeuvres, drinks and entertainment. The setting will allow anybody who attends a chance to mingle with these stars in a friendly, informal manner.

It will be a "can't miss" opportunity to have a fun time with wrestling's greatest stars. Tickets for the Gold Medal Reception can be purchased at the Box Office at the Tyson Events Center, as well as online at the official web page of the World Team Trials:
http://www.2006trials.org

As part of the reception, USA Wrestling will also present a number of important awards. Being honored as USA Wrestling's Man of the Year will be long-time coach and leader Al Bevilacqua of the Metropolitan Wrestling Association. The USA Wrestling Woman of the Year, Kim Martori-Wickey of the Sunkist Kids, will also receive her award. 

USA Wrestling will also give a special recognition to Larry Sciacchetano, a past USA Wrestling president who is completing his service as a member of the FILA Bureau. This is a special year for Sciacchetano, who is also receiving the Order of Merit from the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in June.

There will also be a number of other opportunities for fans to see our sport's greatest heroes during the week in Sioux City.

On Friday night, May 26, at the Sioux City Explorers baseball game against the St. Joseph Blacksnakes, wrestling heroes will be special guests. All U.S. Olympic Team and World Team members have been invited. The game begins at 7:05 p.m., and there will be a variety of wrestling-related activities. Among the wrestling dignitaries expected at the baseball game are Olympic champion Steve Fraser, World champion Bill Scherr and Olympian Ike Anderson. Tickets for adults to attend the game cost between $5 and $7.

A USA Wrestling tradition at major events has been the parade of champions, where past World and Olympic team members are brought up onto the stage and introduced to the crowd. The World and Olympic Team parade at the World Team Trials is scheduled for Saturday, May 27 at approximately 4:00 p.m., prior to the start of the Championship Series matches that evening in the Tyson Events Center.

USA Wrestling has developed a special program where all past World and Olympic Team members will receive a special  jacket signifying that they represented the United States in international wrestling. These attractive jackets will be presented to those wrestling legends who attend the World Team Trials. 

The number of past heroes who will be at the World Team Trials will be very high, based upon the special effort USA Wrestling gave to inviting them to participate this year.

Who might we see in Sioux City this year? It is very hard to tell, as so many wrestling legends show up when a major wrestling competition is hosted. 

Among those expected to be in Sioux City this year are:

Olympic champions: Kevin Jackson, Steve Fraser, Momir Petkovic, John Smith, Tom Brands, Cael Sanderson, Dan Gable, Kenny Monday, Doug Blubaugh, Mark Schultz

World champions: Terry Brands, Stan Dziedzic, Bill Scherr, Zeke Jones, Chris Campbell, Sammie Henson. Lee Kemp, Dremiel Byers

Olympic medalists: Lincoln McIlravy, Barry Davis, Andy Rein, Gene Davis

World medalists: Jim Scherr, Lee Roy Smith, Tolly Thompson, Joe Williams, Justin Ruiz

Olympians:Ike Anderson, Jim Gruenwald, Dan Chandler, J Robinson, Shawn Sheldon, Bobby Douglas, Andy Seras, Jim Hazewinkel, Dave Hazewinkel, Charles Burton, Alan Rice, Kerry McCoy, Eric Guerrero, Brad Vering, Oscar Wood, Daniel Cormier

World Team members: Marty Morgan, Jim Raschke, Eric Akin, James Johnson, Michael Lightner, Chris Bono, Bill Zadick, Mo Lawal, Lindsey Durlacher, Joe Warren, Marcel Cooper, Harry Lester, T.C. Dantzler, Keith Sieracki

Many others may attend. Please join USA Wrestling in honoring the heroes of international wrestling who will be our guests in Sioux City, Iowa this weekend.