USA Wrestling selects John Smith & Greg Strobel as co-head coaches of the 2000 Olympic freestyle wrestling team 
   USA Wrestling has selected John Smith of Stillwater, Okla. and Greg Strobel of Bethlehem, Pa. as co-head coaches for the 2000 U.S. Olympic freestyle wrestling team.   
 The selections were made by USA Wrestling's Freestyle Coach Selection Committee, and approved by USA Wrestling's Executive Committee during teleconference calls on the evening of March 30.   
 The other finalist candidates for the freestyle Olympic coaching positions were Dan Gable of Iowa City, Iowa, Mark Manning of Cedar Falls, Iowa and Joe Seay of Perry, Okla. Each of the candidates were interviewed by the Freestyle Coach Selection Committee by teleconference in late March.   
 USA Wrestling's selections must be formally approved by the U.S. Olympic Committee's International Games Preparation Committee.   
 The coaches of the 2000 Olympic team, Smith and Strobel, will also serve as the co-head coaches for the 1999 U.S. Freestyle World Team, which will compete in Ankara, Turkey, Oct. 8-11.   
 Smith served as the head coach of the 1998 U.S. Freestyle World team, which placed third in the World Championships, held in Tehran, Iran. He was also the head coach of the 1998 U.S. Goodwill Games team, which captured the team title and featured three individual gold medalists. He was a co-coach of the 1997 U.S. World Cup team that won the team title and made history by winning every bout in the gold-medal match against Russia.   
 He is currently the head coach at Oklahoma State Univ., one of the most successful Div. I wrestling programs in history. Smith led the Cowboys to the 1994 NCAA team title and second place at the 1998 NCAA Championships. As an athlete, Smith was considered by many the best freestyle wrestler in U.S. history. He claimed gold medals at the 1988 and 1992 Olympic Games, and won four World gold medals (1987, 1989, 1990, 1991). His six straight World-level titles is unprecedented. He also won titles at the Pan American Games, Goodwill Games and World Cup. Smith was a two-time NCAA champion for Oklahoma State, and originally hails from Del City, Okla.   
 Strobel served as the assistant coach of the 1996 U.S. Olympic team, which claimed five medals, including three individual champions. He was the head coach of the 1994 U.S. Goodwill Games team, which featured two individual gold medalists. He was a co-coach of the 1997 U.S. World Cup team that won the team title and made history by winning every bout in the gold-medal match against Russia. He was assistant coach of the 1995 U.S. World team, which claimed the World team title and featured four champions. Strobel also served as head coach for the 1997 U.S. Junior World team.   
 He is currently the head coach at Lehigh Univ., one of the traditional Eastern wrestling powers. He worked as the head coach of the national champion Team Foxcatcher club for a number of years. He served nine years as National Teams Director for USA Wrestling. Strobel was also an assistant coach at Oregon State Univ. He was a talented freestyle wrestler, and won two NCAA titles for Oregon State. Strobel originally hails from Scapoose, Ore. 
  For more information, contact Gary Abbott of USA Wrestling at 719-598-8181.