The USA Wrestling Greco-Roman National Team has created a series of new awards recognizing outstanding achievements within in Greco-Roman wrestling community. The winners of awards for the month of July are: Junior Greco-Roman Wrestler of the Month for July 2006 Shawn Jones, Blackfoot, Idaho Jones won a gold medal in Greco-Roman at 125 pounds at the ASICS/Vaughan Junior National Championships in Fargo, N.D., July 26-28. Jones defeated Kelly Kubec of Washington in the championship finals, 8-4, 3-2. He won nine matches on the way to the title, including five technical falls. Among the athletes he beat in the pool competition was 2005 Cadet National double champion Michael Mangrum of Washington, 7-0, 4-4. Jones also placed fifth in the ASICS/Vaughan Junior Nationals in freestyle this year. In 2005, he was a Junior Nationals Greco-Roman champion and runner-up in freestyle. He also won a FILA Junior Nationals title this year and was second at the FILA Junior World Team Trials. He was also an All-American at the 2004 Junior Nationals and 2002 Cadet Nationals in Greco-Roman. He was a four-time Idaho state high school champion, competing for Snake River High School. Cadet Greco-Roman Wrestler of the Month for July 2006 Travis Rutt, Belle Plaine, Minn. Rutt won a gold medal with a dominant performance at 152 pounds at the Accelerade Cadet National Championships in Fargo, N.D., July 22-24. Rutt defeated Cody Brown of Wyoming in the gold-medal finals by technical fall, 8-0, 6-0. He won 10 matches on the way to the gold medal, including two falls and eight technical falls. In the 10 bouts, he allowed only one point to be scored upon him, in a 7-0, 9-1 technical fall over Sam Thoman of Kansas in the fourth round. He won a 2006 USA Wrestling Cadet National folkstyle title, winning two of the three legs of the Cadet Triple Crown. He placed sixth in the Cadet Nationals in freestyle this year. Rutt was a 2005 Cadet National runner-up in Greco-Roman and placed third in freestyle. He won four Kids Nationals titles in Greco-Roman and three in freestyle. Rutt will be a junior at Jackson County Central High School in the fall. He has placed third in the state high school tournament twice and fourth one time. Greco-Roman Leader of the Month for July 2006 Mark Reiland, Iowa City, Iowa Reiland has served as state chairperson for USA Wrestling in Iowa for four years, and previously served as Iowa's Junior Director for four years. Reiland takes an active role in developing the overall program and helped bring together the coaching staff for the state teams. This year, in Fargo, N.D., Iowa won the Acordia Cup team title in Greco-Roman at both the ASICS/Vaughan Junior Nationals and the Accelerade Cadet Nationals. The Iowa teams for Fargo train each summer at Camp Dodge in Des Moines, a military base with housing and training facilities. The Greco-Roman team trains separately, and those athletes who are wrestling both styles train mostly with the Greco-Roman program. It was this setting where Iowa improved on its finish at the National Duals earlier in the year, where the state was third in Greco-Roman at the Cadet Duals and eighth in Greco-Roman at the Junior Duals. Reiland has been a member of USA Wrestling's National Coaches Council for three years. He has been the head coach at Iowa City West High School for seven years. His team was the state champion in both the state individual championships and dual championships last year. Prior to this coaching position, Reiland was head coach at Solon High School for two years. He was a NCAA Div. I champion at the Univ. of Iowa in 1991, and a two-time All-American. As a youth wrestler, he was a double champion at the Junior Nationals and the Espoir Nationals. Junior Greco-Roman Coach of the Month for July 2006 Zac Dominguez, Council Bluffs, Iowa Dominguez is the head coach in Greco-Roman for Team Iowa, working with Iowa's Junior and Cadet National teams. This year, Iowa won the Acordia Cup team title in Greco-Roman at both the ASICS/Vaughan Junior Nationals and the Accelerade Cadet Nationals. Dominguez has served nine years as a coach with Iowa USA Wrestling, and has coached the Greco-Roman athletes at the National Cadet Duals, the National Junior Duals in addition to the Junior and Cadet Nationals in Fargo, N.D. He began coaching the Iowa teams in Greco-Roman right after he finished his high school career, where he was a Junior Nationals Greco-Roman champion competing for Iowa. He has coached and trained with the nationally respected Golden Eagles club, led by Keith Massey in Underwood, Iowa. This club has produced numerous National champions and All-Americans on the age-group levels. Dominguez has also served assistant coaching stints at the Univ. of Nebraska-Omaha and at Omaha Creighton Prep High School. For the last two years, Dominguez has been a U.S. Olympic Training Center resident athlete in Greco-Roman wrestling. He placed third at the 2004 Olympic Team Trials and fifth at the 2005 World Team Trials. He was also fifth at the 2004 U.S. Nationals. He competed a year for the Univ. of Nebraska, and transferred to Northern Michigan Univ., where he was one of the first athletes at the U.S. Olympic Education Center Greco-Roman program. Cadet Greco-Roman Coach of the Month for July 2006 Bill Reed, Newton, Iowa Reed serves as the coach for Iowa USA Wrestling's Cadet Greco-Roman team, which won the Acordia Cup as the team champions at the Accelerade Cadet National Championships in Fargo, N.D. in July. In addition to coaching the Greco-Roman wrestlers on the Cadet and Junior levels in Fargo, he also assists with coaching freestyle wrestlers during the week there. Reed has coached Iowa's Cadet National Duals team for the last two years. He also coaches athletes who compete in the club program at S.E. Polk, which includes athletes from his high school program. He has been head wrestling coach for Newton High School for eight years, and has been coaching with the program for 13 years. His Newton team placed fifth in the state championships in Iowa this year, its highest placement in 45 years. His teams have won three conference titles and two district titles under his leadership. At least one athlete from his program has qualified to compete in Fargo each year, and one of his wrestlers has been a Junior Nationals All-American. He also coached for five years as an assistant coach at Roosevelt High School. Reed was an Iowa state runner-up competing for Fort Dodge, and was a Greco-Roman Junior Nationals champion. He attended the Univ. of Northern Iowa. He credits the success of the Iowa Greco-Roman program to the fact that the talented young wrestlers in the state have chosen to compete in both Greco-Roman and freestyle. The state holds the Greco-Roman training camp first, and there is a focus on hard work and fun. He also credits the entire coaching staff which have worked together for the last five or more years. The Greco-Roman Recognition Program will run from April through July each season, and will give monthly awards within Greco-Roman in the category of athlete, coach and leader. At the Junior/Cadet Nationals in Fargo, N.D., the 2006 annual Greco-Roman awards were presented to: - Cadet Greco-Roman Wrestler of the Year - Ben Provisor, Stevens Point, Wis. - Junior Greco-Roman Wrestler of the Year - Eric Grajales, Brandon, Fla. - Cadet Greco-Roman Coach of the Year - Ray Brinzer, Cranberry Twp, Pa. - Junior Greco-Roman Coach of the Year - Gary Mayabb, Kansas City, Mo. - Greco-Roman Leader of the Year - Patricia Fox of Kendall Park, N.J. "We are excited to recognize those who are challenging themselves in all styles of wrestling," said Ike Anderson, National Greco-Roman Developmental Coach. "Most of those involved in Greco-Roman wrestling participate in every style of wrestling. By competing in Greco-Roman wrestling, athletes and coaches improve in all aspects of the sport. By recognizing those who are successful in Greco-Roman wrestling, we are honoring those who are doing what it takes to get better in wrestling." Greco-Roman Team USA looks forward to bringing back this awards program for the 2007 season.