Seven U.S. wrestlers still alive in hunt for Greco-Roman wrestling gold medals; Medals to be awarded at 7:00 p.m. session on Sunday night
After the Sunday morning session, seven of the eight U.S. Greco-Roman wrestlers are still in the hunt for gold medals at the Pan American Games in Winnipeg, Canada. The wrestling competition is being held at the Winnipeg Convention Centre Hall B.
The U.S. won six of seven semifinals matches, with victories by Dennis Hall (Plover, Wis./Sunkist Kids) at 58 kg/127.75 lbs., David Zuniga (New Brighton, Minn./Minn. Storm) at 69 kg/152 lbs., Matt Lindland (Lincoln, Neb./Sunkist Kids) at 76 kg/167.5 lbs., Quincey Clark (New Brighton, Minn./Minn. Storm) at 85 kg/187.25 lbs., Jason Klohs (Maple Grove, Minn./Minn. Storm) at 97 kg/213.75 lbs. and Dremiel Byers (Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Army) at 130 kg/286 lbs.
Hall pinned Mike Francis of Canada in 2:44. He faces Cuba's Roberto Monzon in the gold medal match. Hall, a 1995 Pan American Games gold medalist, will attempt to claim his second career Pan Am Games title.
Zuniga came back from a 3-0 deficit to defeat Luis Izquierdo of Colombia, 6-3. He will face 1995 Pan American Games champion Liubal Colas of Cuba in the finals. Zuniga won a bronze medal at the 1995 Pan American Games.
Lindland scored a dominant 11-0 technical fall over Rodolpho Hernandez of Mexico in 1:41. He will battle archrival Filiberto Azcuy of Cuba, the 1996 Olympic Champion, in the gold-medal match. Azcuy was also the 1995 Pan American Games champion. Lindland has faced Azcuy many times, including a victory over Azcuy at the 1996 World Cup in Colorado Springs, Colo.
Clark tossed and pinned Felix Villalobos of Peru in 3:37. His finals opponent will be Luis Mendez of Cuba.
Klohs scored a solid 3-0 decision over Arnulfo Hernandez of Colombia to reach the gold-medal round. Klohs will battle 1995 Pan American Games champion Reynaldo Pena of Cuba in the championship match.
Byers, locked up in the "clinch" position with his opponent after a scoreless first period, threw and pinned Alfredo Far of Panama in 3:03. He will battle 1992 Olympic Champion Hector Millian in the finals match. Millian has won three career Pan American Games gold medals (1987, 1991, 1995) and will attempt to become the first wrestler to win four Pan Am Games golds.
The Byers-Milian finals is a rematch of a preliminary match on Saturday, when Milian pinned Byers in 1:42. This will be the only rematch of the gold-medal round.
The lone U.S. loss in the semifinals was at 63 kg/138.75 lbs., where Enrique Cubas defeated Glenn Nieradka (Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Army), 6-1. Cubas hit a headlock throw on Nieradka in the opening period, and Nieradka was unable to come from behind in the second period. Nieradka will face Armondo Olivier of Venezuela in the bronze-medal match on Sunday night.
There is no specific gold medal match at 54 kg/119 pounds, where five athletes are competing in a round-robin format. Steven Mays (Pensacola, Fla./U.S. Navy) still has an outside chance to win a gold medal, in spite of a loss in his match on Sunday morning.
Mays dropped a 2-2 overtime referee's decision to David Ochoa of Venezuela. The tiebreaker was determined by passivity calls, as Ochoa was penalized twice, while Mays was hit with three passivity calls. Mays has a slim chance to win a gold medal if he is able to defeat Cuba's Lazaro Rivas in the final match by technical fall or pin.
The U.S. team is led by head coach Joe DeMeo of Niskayuna, N.Y. and assistant coach Dan Russell of Colorado Springs, Colo.
"Going into tonight, we have a chance for seven golds and eight medals," said DeMeo. "We have got to get up for tonight."
PAN AMERICAN GAMES GRECO-ROMAN WRESTLING
July 25, 1999, Morning session
Semifinals
58 kg/127.75 lbs.
Dennis Hall, United States pin Mike Francis, Canada, 2:44
Roberto Monzon, Cuba won by tech. fall over Sidney Guzman, Peru, 1:14
63 kg/138.75 lbs.
Juan Maren, Cuba, won by tech. fall over Armondo Olivier, Venezuela, 10-0, 2:53
Enrique Cubas, Peru, dec. Glenn Nieradka, United States, 6-1
69 kg/152 lbs.
David Zuniga, United States, dec. Luis Izquierdo, Colombia, 6-3
Liubal Colas, Cuba, won by tech. fall over Angelo Brea, Dominican Republic, 1:43
76 kg/167.5 lbs.
Filiberto Azcuy, Cuba, won by tech. fall over Olguin Sabua, Dominican Republic, 11-0, 1:29
Matt Lindland, United States, won by tech. fall over Rodolpho Hernandez, Mexico, 11-0, 1:41
85 kg/187.25 lbs.
Luis Mendez, Cuba, dec. Eddy Bartolozzi, Venezuela, 7-0
Quincey Clark, United States, pin Felix Villalobos, Peru, 3:37
97 kg/213.75 lbs.
Reynaldo Pena, Cuba, pin Colbie Bell, Canada, 3:16
Jason Klohs, United States, dec. Arnulfo Hernandez, Colombia, 3-0
130 kg/286 lbs.
Dremiel Byers, United States pin Alfredo Far, Panama, 3:03
Hector Milian, Cuba, won by tech. fall over Rafael Barreno, Venezuela, 11-0, 2:10
Preliminary matches
54 kg/119 lbs.
Lazaro Rivas, Cuba, won by tech. fall over Kerry Ashley, Canada, 12-0, 2:21
David Ochoa, Venezuela, won by ref. dec. over Steven Mays, Pensacola, Fla., 2-2, ot, 9:00
MEDAL MATCH PAIRINGS
Sunday, July 25 at 7:00 p.m.
58 kg/127.75 lbs.
Gold - Dennis Hall, United States, vs. Roberto Monzon, Cuba
Bronze - Mike Francis, Canada, vs. Sidney Guzman, Peru
63 kg/138.75 lbs.
Gold - Juan Maren, Cuba, vs. Enrique Cubas, Peru
Bronze - Glenn Nieradka, United States, vs. Armondo Olivier, Venezuela
69 kg/152 lbs.
Gold - David Zuniga, United States, vs. Liubal Colas, Cuba
Bronze - Luis Izquierdo, Colombia, vs. Angelo Brea, Dominican Republic
76 kg/167.5 lbs.
Gold - Matt Lindland, United States, vs. Filiberto Azcuy, Cuba
Bronze - Olguin Sabua, Dominican Republic, vs. Rodolpho Hernandez, Mexico
85 kg/187.25 lbs.
Gold - Quincey Clark, United States, vs. Luis Mendez, Cuba
Bronze - Eddy Bartolozzi, Venezuela, vs. Felix Villalobos, Peru
97 kg/213.75 lbs.
Gold - Jason Klohs, United States, vs. Reynaldo Pena, Cuba
Bronze - Colbie Bell, Canada, vs. Arnulfo Hernandez, Colombia
130 kg/286 lbs.
Dremiel Byers, United States, vs. Hector Milian, Cuba
Bronze -Alfredo Far, Panama, vs. Rafael Barreno, Venezuela
Final round-robin pairings
54 kg/119 lbs.
Steven Mays, United States, vs. Lazaro Rivas, Cuba
David Ochoa, Guatemala, vs. Julio Maldonado, Guatemala