KRISTIE STENGLEIN NAMED 1998 USA WRESTLING WOMENÕS WRESTLER OF THE YEAR 
  Kristie Stenglein (Albany, N.Y./ATWA) has been named the 1998 Women's Wrestler of the Year by USA Wrestling. It is the first time that Stenglein has received this prestigious award. 
  Stenglein won a silver medal at 165.25 pounds at the 1998 Women's World Championships, held in Poznan, Poland. It was the third straight year that Stenglein has won a World silver medal. 
  She was defeated in the gold-medal finals by Kyoko Hamaguchi of Japan, 5-2. Hamaguchi, who also defeated Stenglein in the 1997 World finals, was named International Women's Wrestler of the Year by FILA this year. 
  Stenglein won two matches to qualify for the gold medal finals, scoring a technical fall in the first round, then beating Nina Englich of Germany, 5-1, in the semifinals. 
  To qualify for the U.S. World team, Stenglein won the 1998 WomenÕs World Team Trials in Minneapolis, Minn. She defeated Diana Wesendunk in two straight matches in the finals series. 
  Stenglein was also the 1998 FILA Junior World Champion, claiming the 165.25-pound weight class in Fredrikstad, Norway. This competition features the best 17-20 year-old wrestlers in the world. Stenglein pinned all three of her opponents in the tournament, including a fall in 1:50 over May Bente Erikson of Norway in the finals. 
  Stenglein won womenÕs national championships on three age levels in 1998. She was the 1998 U.S. WomenÕs Nationals champion on the Senior level, defeating World medalist Sandra Bacher of the Dave Schultz WC in the finals, 4-1. It was her third straight U.S. Nationals title. 
  She was also the champion at the 1998 University Nationals in Evanston, Ill., an event which was hosted for the first time. Stenglein claimed a gold medal at the 1998 FILA Junior Nationals/World Team Trials in New Orleans, La., the qualifying event for the Junior World Championships. 
  Stenglein also claimed a gold medal on a winter tour, winning the 1998 Klippan Cup in Klippan, Sweden. 
  Stenglein competes for the Adirondack Three-Style Wrestling Association. She attends Hudson Valley Community College, and was a member of the Colonie Central High School wrestling team in Albany. She was also a successful softball and judo athlete. 
  PAST WOMEN'S WRESTLER OF THE YEAR AWARD WINNERS 
  1998 - Kristie Stenglein, Albany, N.Y., ATWA 
  1997 - Sandra Bacher, San Jose, Calif., Dave Schultz WC 
  1996 - Tricia Saunders, Phoenix, Ariz., Sunkist Kids 
  1995 - Vickie Zummo, Hamburg, N.J., New York AC 
  1994 - Shannon Williams, Ontario, Calif., Sunkist Kids 
  1993 - Tricia Saunders, Phoenix, Ariz., Sunkist Kids