Schultz Memorial at 48 kg women is preview for Olympic Trials 

If there is any doubt that the Dave Schultz Memorial is important for athletes who have goals to compete at the 2008 Olympic Games, just check out the 48 kg/105.5 lbs. division in women's wrestling. The top six ranked wrestlers in the nation in current TheMat.com rankings are competing here in preparation for the Olympic quest.

On the mats today at 48 kg are No. 1 Stephanie Murata of the Sunkist Kids, No. 2 Mary Kelly of the New York AC, No. 3 Clarissa Chun of the Sunkist Kids, No. 4 Sara Fulp-Allen of the New York AC, No. 5 Alyssa Lampe of the Sunkist Kids and No. 6 Rachel Holthaus of the Sunkist Kids.

Certainly, the opportunity to compete against foreign athletes is a reason to enter this tournament, but there will certainly be some battles between the American Olympic hopefuls on Sunday, setting the stage for the Olympic Trials process. 

"People can't just walk in and succeed at this level," said National Women's Coach Terry Steiner. "They need matches and they need to finetune their wrestling. They need to establish their own wrestling style. It doesn't matter who they wrestle. They all know each other by this time. It is good that they may get some international bouts today. They have to hone their skills."

Top-ranked Murata enjoys wrestling in this event, and finds nothing wrong with facing some of her top U.S. rivals at this part of the year.

"The only way to get better is to put it out there. You have to test yourself to improve," said Murata. "If you don't do that, why wrestle? It is important to continually compete. Matches aren't the same as practice. We only have the opportunity to get this kind of competition once a year, especially when it is in your back yard. We traveled all the way to China, 6,000 miles, to get two matches at the World Cup. Here, we get up to five in one day."

Murata also believes it is positive for USA Wrestling to put this event at the Olympic Training Center, to expose wrestling athletes to those within the Olympic family.

"It is also fun for us," said Murata. "We get so much support here with the services available to athletes at the Olympic Training Center. It is fun for them to come to this event and check us out wrestling in matches. It is one thing to see your fellow athletes in practice, but it is another thing for them to see us compete."

The missing name on the brackets this weekend here is 2004 Olympic bronze medalist Patricia Miranda of the Sunkist Kids. Miranda has wrestled up at 51 kg/112.25 for the past two seasons, and is just coming off an injury. At some point during the next few weeks, she will be moving down to that division. She is scheduled to have her first competition since last season at the Pan American Championships at the end of the month.

Miranda went through the process of making weight at 48 kg on Saturday, as if she was going to wrestle today. Miranda said it was "as close as you can get to competing." She will be watching the U.S. and foreign athletes competing today, to prepare for her bouts with them in the future.

"By competing and training with each other, we sharpen each other," said Miranda. "The best one goes. Hopefully, whoever makes it will win the gold medal at the Olympics. Without this kind of depth, it would be hard to succeed internationally. It is good that all of our girls are out there and competing."

10th year of Schultz International brings back memories

In 1999, USA Wrestling, working with the Dave Schultz Wrestling Foundation, established an international tournament in honor of the slain Olympic and World champion legend Dave Schultz. That first year, the event had men's freestyle and Greco-Roman, and was hosted at Fort Carson, the U.S. Army base south of Colorado Springs.

In 2000, a women's freestyle division was added, and the tournament moved to the U.S. Olympic Training Center. This year marks the 10th Dave Schultz Memorial, a respected event that has established itself on the international schedule every February.

Of the first set of Dave Schultz Memorial champions, two entered the Greco-Roman competition on Friday, two-time Olympian Jim Gruenwald of the Sunkist Kids and two-time Olympic champion Armen Nazarian of Bulgaria. In 1999, Gruenwald was the champion at 58 kg and Nazarian won the title at 63 kg. Both competed at 60 kg this weekend, and neither was able to win a medal. Gruenwald, who is 37 years old, and Nazarian, who is 33 years old, were among the most experienced athletes on the mat this weekend.

One of the other champions from 1999, Dan Niebuhr at 85 kg in Greco-Roman, was in attendance on Saturday, enjoying the action from the stands. Niebuhr remains a resident of Colorado Springs and was here to support the current crop of U.S. athletes.

Another one of the inaugural Schultz Memorial champions, freestyle wrestler Kerry Bowmans, the 1999 champion at 58 kg. Bowmans was a 2000 Olympic Trials runner-up and a U.S. Nationals champion before his competitive career ended. Bowmans is now a coach with the nationally respected Overtime School of Wrestling in Illinois, working with Sean Bormet developing champions of all ages. He coaches on the Senior level with the New York AC.

"The competition at the first tournament was high," said Bowmans. "The level has raised a bit since it started, but that first one was a good tournament. What I remember was the most was the quality of my competitors. Back then, it was a tournament for young athletes from across the world to come, compete and get good wrestling in. That hasn't changed. There are a lot of young talents here this week, both U.S. and foreign. Unfortunately, not a lot of us get the chance to travel overseas much. This tournament gives everybody a chance to get quality competition."

Jeannie Saint Germain, Dave Schultz' mother, has attended every Dave Schultz Memorial International, has special memories for the first event, and all of the others that have been held.

"I was so happy with USA Wrestling decided to start this tournament as a way of honoring Dave," said Jeannie. "Now, I am flabbergasted at how it has grown. It is an international event that is important for people to attend. I'd like to think they keep coming here to honor Dave. Every year it makes me happy to come here. Every year, I want to do more for wrestling."

Gentry looking for Olympic medal for Canada

Matt Gentry made some big news within American college wrestling when he won a NCAA individual title for Stanford University in 2004. It is no surprise that almost four years later, Gentry is pursuing an Olympic medal. However, if he does bring home some hardware from the Beijing Olympics, it will be for Canada.

Gentry, a native of Grants Pass, Ore., has dual citizenship because his mother is from Canada, which also gives him Canadian citizenship. Gentry has already won the Canadian Olympic Trials, but his plane ticket to China has not yet been earned. He still needs to qualify his weight class for the Olympic Games at 74 kg/163 lbs.

"The year after I graduated from college, in 2006, I made my first Canadian team. I was No. 6 at the U.S. Open at that time. Since then, the international exposure has helped me so much," said Gentry.

"He has shown tremendous progress," said Canadian National Freestyle Coach Dave McKay. "We are very pleased. It has been a two year journey, accumulating experience on the international level."

The quest for the Olympics will include competing at the Pan American Championships in Colorado Springs at the end of the month. Champions at the Pan Ams in each weight qualify their nation to wrestle in Beijing, or the top placewinner whose nation has not already qualified. Both the United States and Cuba have already earns spots in the Olympics at 74 kg, based upon their placement at the 2007 World Championships. 

"I want to get that step out of the way, and start focusing on picking up my training for Beijing," said Gentry. 

Gentry spends his time moving in many locations, training sometime in Canada along with the United States. 

"His mom is from British Columbia, so it is a natural fit," said McKay. "He has been in Vancouver at our National Training Center. We have had good middle weights over the years, like Daniel Igali and Chris Wilson, so he has quality training partners. It is a great mix for him, working as a coach at Stanford with Kerry McCoy. We have a great relationship with (U.S. National Coach) Kevin Jackson and with the U.S. Olympic Training Center also. We would like to expand in that area with the USA. In Europe, those countries don't have to go far for quality competition and training."

Gentry is getting daily attention from McCoy, who will be one of the U.S. Olympic Freestyle Coaches for the United States. 

"I am a volunteer coach at Stanford. Kerry McCoy has gone through this as an athlete for a few Olympic cycles. He allows me to be flexible with my schedule," said Gentry. 

Gentry's Olympic dream really took root during his college days at Stanford, where he developed the skills that could make it all possible. His role models in wrestling were from the USA program.

"It was always a dream. It started becoming a reality the first time I came to the U.S. Olympic Training Center in 2003. Later that year, I went to the World Championships in New York City. It was the first international tournament I saw, and it was a great experience," said Gentry. "My teammate Patricia Miranda and her husband Levi were teammates with me at Stanford and we are good friends. When I saw her compete in the Olympics, it cemented things for me."

His international career has included tremendous support from both sides of the border.

"I have been very lucky. I am fortunate that the U.S. lets me come back and train here. There are no hard feelings. I have a lot of respect for my opponents. I have made friends in many weight classes along the way. I value that and it is important to me," he said.

Gentry is competing in the Dave Schultz Memorial as a tuneup for the Pan American Championships, and perhaps the upcoming Olympic Games. He has qualified for the semifinals on Sunday afternoon.

"It is hard for me to focus on this because my next tournament is so important," said Gentry. "This is good practice for me for the Olympic qualifier and the Olympics.