1999 GRECO-ROMAN WRESTLING WORLD TEAM/PAN AMERICAN GAMES TRIALS TO BE HELD IN TAMPA, FLA., JUNE 26-27 
 The best Greco-Roman wrestlers in the United States will travel to Tampa, Fla. to compete in the 1999 Greco-Roman World Team/Pan American Games Trials, June 26-27, at the Tampa Convention Center. 
 The competition will determine which athletes will represent the United States as the 1999 Greco-Roman World Championships in Athens, Greece, Sept. 23-26. 
 Greco-Roman wrestling is one of the two styles of wrestling contested in the Olympic Games. In Greco-Roman, athletes may not touch or use their legs while executing holds. 
 The local organizing committee will include the Tampa Bay Sports Commission as well as the Florida Amateur Wrestling Association (FAWA), which is the USA Wrestling state association.  
 "USA Wrestling looks forward to bringing the Greco-Roman World Team Trials to the people of Tampa," said James E. Scherr, USA Wrestling's Executive Director. "We are confident that the local organizers will present a first-class competition, and that the action will be very exciting." 
 "Our goal is to show the world that Tampa can host marquee events like the World Team Trials," said Liz Willyoung, Executive Director of the Tampa Sports Commission. "Wrestling is a cornerstone sport for our efforts in bringing the Olympics to Central Florida." 
 "We are excited to be this year's host of such a prestigious event," said Bob Walker of Seminole, Fla., State Chairperson of the FAWA. "I know that the competition will be tremendous." 
 Athletes are required to qualify in order to compete in the Greco-Roman World Team Trials. The top eight place winners in each weight class from the U.S. Greco-Roman Championships in Las Vegas, Nev., April 23-24, will qualify to compete in Tampa. The individual champions at the 1999 Armed Forces Championships and the 1999 University National Championships will also qualify. 
 The first day of the competition is called the "Mini-Tournament," and will feature all of the qualifiers except the 1999 U.S. Nationals champion in each weight class. Only the winner of the Mini-Tournament in each weight division will qualify to advance to the second day of the event. 
 The final day of competition will feature a championship series between the 1999 U.S. Nationals champion and the Mini-Tournament champion. The wrestlers will battle in a best-of-three series, with the winner earning the right to compete in the World Championships (as well as the 1998 Pan American Games in Winnipeg, Canada, with approval from the U.S. Olympic Committee). 
 Among the athletes who may participate are 1996 Olympic silver medalists Brandon Paulson (Minneapolis, Minn./Minn. Storm) at 119 pounds, Dennis Hall (Plover, Wis./Sunkist Kids) at 127.75 pounds and Matt Ghaffari (Avon Lake, Ohio/Sunkist Kids) at 286 pounds.  
 The last major USA Wrestling competitions held in Tampa were the 1990 and 1991 U.S. Open International Freestyle Championships. 
 For more information on the Greco-Roman World Team Trials, contact Liz Willyoung of the Tampa Bay Sports Commission at 813-350-6557 or Bob Walker of the FAWA at 727-392-3600.