USA WRESTLING NAMES SEATTLE AS HOST CITY FOR 1999 FREESTYLE WORLD TEAM AND PAN AMERICAN GAMES TRIALS 
  USA Wrestling, the national governing body for amateur wrestling in the United States, has named Seattle as the host city for the 1999 Freestyle World Team and Pan American Games Trials. 
   The competition will be held on June 18-19 at the Seattle Center in Mercer Arena, which seats approximately 4,500 for wrestling events. The event will be organized by the Sports and Events Council of Seattle/King County, in partnership with USA Wrestling. 
   The best freestyle wrestlers in the United States will participate in the competition, which is considered one of the most important domestic events of the year.  
   The champions at each of the eight international weight classes will qualify to represent the United States at the 1999 World Freestyle Championships in Ankara, Turkey, October 8-11. The winners will also qualify for the U.S. team at the 1999 Pan American Games in Winnipeg, Canada, July 24-Aug. 8. 
   In addition, the top three place finishers at each weight class qualify for the 1999-2000 Freestyle Team USA, the U.S. national team, and will receive training and subsistence funding. 
   "USA Wrestling is pleased to be taking a premier event to Seattle and the Pacific Northwest," said Jim Scherr, Executive Director of USA Wrestling. "We are confident that Michael Campbell and the Sports and Events Council, as well as the entire city of Seattle, will prove to be great hosts for the event. The level of competition at this tournament should be spectacular." 
   "There is a great following for wrestling all over the state of Washington," said Michael Campbell, President of the Sports and Events Council of Seattle/King County. "Seattle has hosted a number of outstanding sports events in the past, and we anticipate that this event will continue in that tradition. It will be great to have world-class wrestlers back in Seattle; they have not competed here since 1990 during the Goodwill Games." 
   Only the best freestyle wrestlers in the nation will be eligible to compete in Seattle. Only the top six placewinners in each weight class from the 1999 U.S. Freestyle National Championships in Las Vegas, Nev. on April 23-24 will qualify for the Seattle event. 
   Freestyle wrestling has been very popular with fans in Washington state. At the 1990 Goodwill Games, the gold-medal finals of the wrestling event drew a sell-out crowd of over 7,000 fans at the Hec Edmonson Arena at the Univ. of Washingtion in Seattle. The 1996 Final Freestyle Olympic Team Trials, held in Spokane, Wash., broke attendance records, with over 24,000 fans including more than 9,000 for the championship finals. 
   Wrestling is a very popular sport in Washington, with over 8,000 participants in the state's high school programs. The Mat Classic, the state high school championships hosted by the WIAA, draws over 30,000 fans each year at the Tacoma Dome. USA Wrestling's state association in Washington is among the most active in the nation. 
   The United States is among the best freestyle wrestling nations in the world. The United States placed third in the 1998 World Freestyle Championships in Tehran, Iran, led by World Champion Sammie Henson at 119 pounds, and World bronze medalists Cary Kolat at 138.75 pounds and Lincoln McIlravy at 152 pounds. In addition, Pacific Northwest star Les Gutches, a 1997 World Champion who is from nearby Oregon, has also been a successful member of recent U.S. teams.