WORLD CHAMPIONS BRANDS, GUTCHES, HALL, SAUNDERS AMONG CHAMPIONS AT U.S. NATIONAL WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPS IN LAS VEGAS, NEV., MAY 1Four former World Champions were among the individual champions at the 1999 U.S. National Wrestling Championships, held at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nev., May 1. They included freestyle wrestlers Terry Brands (Iowa City, Iowa/Hawkeye WC) and Les Gutches (Corvallis, Ore./Sunkist Kids), Greco-Roman wrestler Dennis Hall (Plover, Wis./Sunkist Kids) and women's freestyle wrestler Tricia Saunders (Phoenix, Ariz./Sunkist Kids).
Brands, a 1993 and 1995 World Champion, won his third career national title with a 5-3 win over Tony Purler (Clarion, Pa./Sunkist Kids) at 127.75 pounds. Brands was injured in 1998 and did not compete, and has returned for another attempt to make a U.S. Olympic team.
Gutches, a 1997 World Champion, won his fourth straight U.S. Nationals title, with a solid 3-0 win over Derek Jones (Minneapolis, Minn./Minnesota Storm) at 187.25 pounds. Gutches was seventh in the 1996 Olympic Games.
Hall, a 1995 World Champion, won his eighth straight U.S. Nationals title, defeating James Gruenwald (Colorado Springs, Colo./Sunkist Kids), 5-0 at 127.75 pounds. It was the third straight year that Hall defeated Gruenwald in the U.S. Nationals finals. Hall was also a 1996 Olympic silver medalist and 1994 World bronze medalist.
Three-time World Champion Saunders claimed the 112.25-pound title with a 3-0 overtime win over Malissa Sherwood (Rocklin, Calif./Dave Schultz WC), in overtime at the 8:43 mark. It was her record ninth U.S. Women's Nationals title. Saunders has never lost a match in this event.
The freestyle competition featured a star-studded field. Winning his third straight U.S. Nationals title was Lincoln McIlravy (Iowa City, Iowa/Gateway WC), who stopped long-time rival Chris Bono (Ames, Iowa/Sunkist Kids), 4-0, in overtime at 6:49. McIlravy was a 1998 World bronze medalist.
Claiming a third career U.S. Nationals title was 1996 Olympian Lou Rosselli (Edinboro, Pa./New York AC), who won the 119-pound title with a 4-2 decision over Eric Akin (Overland Park, Kan./Dave Schultz WC). Rosselli defeated Akin in the finals of the 1996 Olympic Trials as well.
Also winning his second career national crown was Cary Kolat (Bethlehem, Pa./Dave Schultz WC) at 138.75 pounds. Kolat defeated Shawn Charles (Mt. Pleasant, Mich./Sunkist Kids), in a 2-0, overtime referee's decision. Kolat is a two-time World medalist, winning a World silver medal in 1997 and a World bronze medal in 1998.
Winning their first U.S. Nationals freestyle title were Joe Williams (Iowa City, Iowa/Hawkeye WC) at 167.5 pounds, Dominic Black (Colorado Springs, Colo./Armed Forces) at 213.75 pounds and Stephen Neal (Bakersfield, Calif./Dave Schultz WC) at 286 pounds.
Williams defeated Sean Bormet (Madison, Wis./Wisconsin WC), 6-3. Williams, a three-time NCAA champion at the Univ. of Iowa, is competing in his first season in freestyle on the Senior level.
Black, who competes for the U.S. Army team, defeated top-seeded. J.J. McGrew, Stillwater, Okla. (Sunkist Kids), 8-4 in the finals.
Neal, a two-time NCAA champion, who is a senior at Cal-State Bakersfield,was named Outstanding Wrestler in freestyle after he defeated 1997 U.S. Nationals champion Tom Erikson (W. Lafayette, Ind./Sunkist Kids), 9-3, at 286 pounds. Neal broke open a close match with a three-point throw in the first period, and dominated the second period.
The Greco-Roman tournament featured a number of exciting young talents. Five wrestlers won their first U.S. Greco-Roman National titles: Steven Mays (Pensacola, Fla./Armed Forces), Glenn Nieradka (Colorado Springs, Colo./Armed Forces) at 138.75 pounds, David Zuniga (New Brighton, Minn./Minnesota Storm), Quincey Clark (New Brighton, Minn./Minnesota Storm) at 187.25 pounds and Dremiel Byers (Colorado Springs, Colo./Armed Forces) at 286 pounds.
Mays upset two-time Olympian Shawn Sheldon (Colorado Springs, Colo./New York AC), 3-0, scoring all three points on a counter move to a throw attempt. Mays, who serves in the Navy, was third in the 1996 Olympic Trials.
Nieradka defeated 1997 U.S. Nationals champion Kevin Bracken (Colorado Springs, Colo./New York AC), 3-2, scoring the winning point on a gut wrench turn with just one second in the match. Nieradka serves in the U.S. Army.
Zuniga, who was ninth in the 1996 Olympic Games, claimed his first national title after almost a decade on the national scene, beating Marcel Cooper (Woodbridge, Va./Armed Forces), 3-0, at 152 pounds.
Clark, who was ninth in the 1998 World Championships, scored a solid 5-0 win over Ethan Bosch (Colorado Springs, Colo. /New York AC).
Byers was the Outstanding Wrestler in Greco-Roman after stopping two-time national champion Rulon Gardner (Colorado Springs, Colo./Sunkist Kids), 4-1, in overtime at 6:51. Byers scored a major upset in the semifinals, when he stopped 1996 Olympic silver medalist Matt Ghaffari in a 2-1 overtime decision.
Veteran champions included four-time national champion Randy Couture (Gresham, Ore./Sunkist Kids) at 213.75 pounds and three-time national champion Matt Lindland (Lincoln, Neb./Sunkist Kids) at 167.5 pounds.
Couture pinned Dan Hicks (Fredricksburg, Va./Armed Forces) at the 2:40 mark. Couture has competed on four U.S. World Teams.
Lindland scored an impressive 13-0 technical fall over 1996 U.S. Nationals champion Keith Sieracki (Colorado Springs, Colo./Armed Forces). Lindland, who was sixth in the 1998 World Championships, was named the 1998 USA Wrestling Greco-Roman Wrestler of the Year on Friday.
The women's tournament was dominated by veteran stars. Winning a fifth U.S. Nationals title was Lauren Wolfe (Ithaca, N.Y./Michigan WC), who scored an impressive 10-1 decision over Colleen McDonald (Colorado Springs, Colo.).
Claiming their fourth U.S. Nationals women's titles were Stephanie Murata (Boca Raton, Fla./Sunkist Kids), Sandra Bacher (San Jose, Calif./Dave Schultz WC) and Kristie Stenglein (Albany, N.Y./ATWA) at 165.25 pounds.
Murata was named Outstanding Wrestler in the women's event after a 2-1 overtime referee's decision over 1998 World team member Tina George (Colorado Springs, Colo./Minnesota Storm) at 123.25 pounds. Murata was fourth in the 1998 World Championships.
Bacher, a two-time World medalist, scored a 10-0 technical fall over Abigale Schwarzberg (San Francisco, Calif./Peninsula Grapplers).
Three-time World silver medalist Stenglein won her fourth straight U.S. Nationals, with a pin in 2:38 over Iris Smith (Colorado Springs, Colo./Minnesota Storm) in 2:38.
The only new national champion was Olivia Ocampo (Oxnard, Calif./UM-Morris), who pinned Julie Gonzales (Vallejo, Calif./Peninsula Grapplers), in 5:01 at 101.25 pounds.
Winning the team titles in freestyle were the Sunkist Kids in Div. I and the New York AC in Div. II. The Greco-Roman team champions were the Minnesota Storm in Div. I and the Sunkist Kids in Div. II. The champion team in the women's nationals were the Peninsula Grapplers.