United States to field four teams at the 1999 Concord Cup at the Concord Pavilion in Concord, Calif., May 28-30The United States will field four teams at the 1999 Concord Cup of Greco-Roman wrestling at the Concord Pavilion in Concord, Calif., May 28-30. Three teams will be made up of nationally ranked athletes, and one will be made up primarily from all-stars from the Armed Forces and some other nationally ranked athletes.
In addition to the four teams from the United States, the 1999 Concord Cup will feature teams from Japan, Mexico, Venezuela, Hungary, Cuba and France.
The first team for the U.S. will consist mostly of the 1999 U.S. Nationals champions. Team two will be made up mostly from the second-place finishers at the 1999 U.S. Nationals, and the third team will consist mostly of the third-place finishers at the 1999 U.S. Nationals. The fourth U.S. team will be U.S. Armed Forces stars and other top U.S. competitors.
Each of the U.S. teams will have at least one Olympic athlete on it. On Team USA One: 1992 fourth-place finisher and 1988 team member Shawn Sheldon at 119 pounds and 1996 tenth-place finisher Dave Zuniga at 152 pounds. For Team USA Two: 1996 silver medalist Brandon Paulson at 119 pounds. For Team USA Three: 1992 and 1996 Puerto Rico Olympic team member Dan Sanchez at 213.75 pounds, 1996 silver medalist Matt Ghaffari at 286 pounds and 1996 team member Mujaahid Maynard at 119 pounds. 1984 Olympic silver medalist Greg Gibson will compete at 286 pounds for Team USA Four.
Past Concord Cup individual champions among U.S. athletes include: 1998 champion Jim Gruenwald at 127.75 pounds, 1998 champion Glenn Nieradka at 138.75 pounds, 1997-98 champion Dave Zuniga at 152 pounds and five-time champion (1985, 89-90, 95, 98) Shawn Sheldon at 119 pounds. 1998 champion Keith Sieracki will compete at 167.5 pounds, 1998 champion Rulon Gardner at 286 pounds, 1998 champion Dan Niebuhr at 187.25 pounds and 1990 and 1994 champion Matt Ghaffari at 286 pounds.
This year the format for the Concord Cup has changed. First, the teams will compete against each other in dual meets, not an open individual tournament which it has been in the past. Second, for the first time there will be $26,000 of prize money to be awarded to the athletes and their coaches based upon their team performance. Third, there will still be an individual champion determined at each weight class based upon overall record, and number of falls and classification points.
Each of the U.S. teams will only wrestle the foreign teams, and the foreign teams will only wrestle the U.S. teams. The foreign teams will not wrestle each other, nor will the U.S. teams wrestle each other.
The Concord Pavilion will be host to other amateur sports activities over the holiday weekend. Tickets can be purchased at the door the days of the event or can be ordered ahead of time by calling the Bass ticket agency at 1-925-762-BASS. Tickets are $5 for general admission into the pavilion and $10 for the reserved section for wrestling. For more information, contact Heather Folks of USA Wrestling at 719-598-8181.
The U.S. coaches of Teams One, Two and Three will be split up among Jim Hall of Syracuse, N.Y., Andy Sears of Albany, N.Y. and Rich Estrella of Colorado Springs, Colo. The Team Four head coach is Jay Antonelli of Quantico, Va. and the assistant coach is David Spinelli of Colorado Springs, Colo.
USA TEAM LINEUPS FOR 1999 CONCORD CUP
May 28-30 in Concord, Calif.
Team USA One
54 kg/119 lbs. - Shawn Sheldon, Colorado Springs, Colo. (New York AC)
58 kg/127.75 lbs. - Jim Gruenwald, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Sunkist Kids)
63 kg/138.75 lbs. - Glenn Nieradka, Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Army)
69 kg/152 lbs. - Dave Zuniga, New Brighton, Minn. (Minnesota Storm)
76 kg/167.5 lbs. - Matt Lindland, Lincoln, Neb. (Sunkist Kids)
85 kg/187.25 lbs. - Quincey Clark, New Brighton, Minn. (Minnesota Storm)
97 kg/213.75 lbs. - Dan Hicks, Fredricksburg, Va. (U.S. Marine Corps)
130 kg/286 lbs. - Dremiel Byers, Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Army)
Team USA Two
54 kg/119 lbs. - Brandon Paulson, Minneapolis, Minn. (Minnesota Storm)
58 kg/127.75 lbs. - Darnell Lollis, Colorado Springs, Colo. (New York AC)
63 kg/138.75 lbs. - Kevin Bracken, Colorado Springs, Colo. (New York AC)
69 kg/152 lbs. - Marcel Cooper, Woodbridge, Va. (U.S. Marine Corps)
76 kg/167.5 lbs. - Keith Sieracki, Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Army)
85 kg/187.25 lbs. - Ethan Bosch, Colorado Springs, Colo. (New York AC)
97 kg/213.75 lbs. - Jason Klohs, Maple Grove, Minn. (Minnesota Storm)
130 kg/286 lbs. - Rulon Gardner, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Sunkist Kids)
Team USA Three
54 kg/119 lbs. - Mujaahid Maynard, Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Army)
58 kg/127.75 lbs. - Cody Sanderson, Heber City, Utah (Cyclone WC)
63 kg/138.75 lbs. - James Shillow, Quantico, Va. (U.S. Marine Corps)
69 kg/152 lbs. - Herb House, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Jets)
76 kg/167.5 lbs. - T.C. Dantzler, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Wildcat WC)
85 kg/187.25 lbs. - Dan Niebuhr, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Sunkist Kids)
97 kg/213.75 lbs. - Dan Sanchez, Walden, N.Y. (New York AC)
130 kg/286 lbs. - Matt Ghaffari, Avon Lake, Ohio (Sunkist Kids)
Team USA Four
54 kg/119 lbs. - Justin Weber, Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Army)
58 kg/127.75 lbs. - Jacob Hey, Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Air Force) and Dave Nieradka, Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Army)
63 kg/138.75 lbs. - Jason Tolbert, Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Army) and Scott Munsey, Quantico, Va. (U.S. Marine Corps) and Charley Carbough, Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Air Force)
69 kg/152 lbs. - Chris Saba, Colorado Springs, Colo. (New York AC) and Steve Woods, Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Air Force)
76 kg/167.5 lbs. - Mike Uker, Minneapolis, Minn. (Minnesota Storm) and Aaron Sieracki, Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Air Force)
85 kg/187.25 lbs. - Kenneth Owens, Quantico, Va. (U.S. Marine Corps)
97 kg/213.75 lbs. - Jason Loukides, Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Army)
130 kg/286 lbs. - Billy Pierce, Minneapolis, Minn. (Minnesota Storm), Corey Farkas, Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Air Force) and Greg Gibson, Quantico, Va. (U.S. Marine Corps)
Head Coach - Captain Jay Antonelli, Quantico, Va.
Asst. Coach - Sgt. David Spinelli, Colorado Springs, Colo.