WORLD CHAMPION WRESTLERS SAMMIE HENSON AND TRICIA SAUNDERS AMONG 22 NOMINEES FOR 1998 JAMES E. SULLIVAN AWARD 
 A pair of 1998 World Champion wrestlers, men's freestyle World Champion Sammie Henson (Cedar Falls, Iowa/Sunkist Kids), and women's freestyle World Champion Tricia Saunders (Phoenix, Ariz./Sunkist Kids) were among the 22 initial nominees for the 69th Annual AAU James E. Sullivan Memorial Award. 
 Considered the "Oscar" of the sports award, the AAU James E. Sullivan Award has been presented to prominent athletes of our time including last year's recipient Peyton Manning. The AAU Sullivan Award recognizes athletes who have achieved athletic excellence, exhibit leadership, character, sportsmanship and the ideals of amateurism. It has been presented annually by the AAU since 1930 as a salute to founder and past president of the AAU, and a pioneer in amateur sports, James E. Sullivan. 
 In the last eight years, two Olympic champion wrestlers have won the James E. Sullivan Award: John Smith (1990) and Bruce Baumgartner (1995). 
 Henson and Saunders achieved the highest level of success for their sport during the 1998 season, winning a gold medal at their respective World Championships. 
 Henson was the 1998 World Champion in freestyle wrestling at 119 pounds, the top U.S. wrestling performance in 1998. His victory led the United States to a third place finish in the tournament. 
 He defeated 1996 Olympic silver medalist Namik Abdullayev of Azerbaijan in the gold-medal finals, 3-1. He won five matches on the way to gold medal. The victory was impressive, as Henson was competing in his first World Championships. 
 The World Championships were held in Tehran, Iran, in September, and during his medal ceremony, the U.S. national anthem was played in that nation for the first time in almost 20 years. For his performance, Henson was named USOC Male Athlete of the Month for September 1998. 
 Henson had a successful international season, claiming silver medals at the prestigious 1998 Goodwill Games in New York City in July and the 1998 World Cup in Stillwater, Okla in April. These tournaments featured star athletes from the world's best international wrestling teams. 
 Henson won his first career U.S. Nationals freestyle title, with a victory in Orlando, Fla. in April. It was his second career national title on the Senior level, to go along with his 1990 Greco-Roman championship. He also claimed his first World Team Trials victory in Waterloo, Iowa in June. 
 Henson competes for the Sunkist Kids club. He was a two-time NCAA champion for Clemson Univ., and was an All-American at the Univ. of Missouri before transferring to Clemson. He was a three-time state champion for Francis Howell High School in Missouri. He currently works as an assistant wrestling coach at the Univ. of Northern Iowa. 
 Saunders won the World gold medal at 101.25 pounds, the top U.S. performance in at the 1998 Women's World Championships in Poznan, Poland in October. She defeated three-time World Champion Miyu Yamamoto of Japan in the gold medal finals, by a 1-1 referee's decision. 
 It was Saunders' third career World Championships gold medal. She is the only U.S. athlete to win the Women's World Wrestling Championships. It was her fourth career World medal, tieing the U.S. record set by Shannon Williams. 
 Saunders won four matches on the way to the title, and led the U.S. team to a third place finish. Her 3-2 victory over Mettie Barlie of Norway in the semifinals was a key victory. For her achievement, Saunders was named USOC Female Athlete of the Month for October 1998. 
 She claimed a gold medal at the 1998 U.S. Nationals Championships in Orlando, Fla. in April, her eighth career nationals title, a U.S. record. She also won the title at the 1998 Women's World Team Trials in St. Paul, Minn., qualifying for her eighth U.S. World team. Saunders ended the year with a perfect 10-0 record. 
 In April, Saunders received the 1997 USA Wrestling Woman of the Year Award, the first recipient of this new major honor. This award, which recognizes contributions to the sport by a woman, was a testament to her life-long contributions to wrestling. 
 Saunders missed the entire 1997 season with a knee injury, and the birth of her second child. She is married to 1996 Olympic silver medalist freestyle wrestler Townsend Saunders. She is a member of the Sunkist Kids club, and attended the Univ. of Wisconsin. Originally from Ann Arbor, Mich., Saunders was active in wrestling programs there as a youth. 
 The other 20 nominees for the 1998 James E. Sullivan Award include: Angelo Taylor (track & field), Angie Trostel (diving), Antawn Jamison (basketball), Chamique Holdsclaw (basketball), Chris Drury (hockey), Dat Nguyen (football), Daunte Culpepper (football), Elton Brand (basketball), Janet Dykman (archery), Jenny Chuasiriporn (golf), Kristina Lum (synchronized swimming), Lynda Norry (bowling), Mark Ruiz (diving), Matt Kuchar (golf), Pat Burrell (baseball), Ricky Williams (football), Rhoni Barton (water skiing), Sharon Crawford (ski orienteering), Tim Couch (football), Torry Holt (football). 
 The list of nominees will be narrowed to 10 finalists by the middle of December. The final award presentation will be made in late February. A wrestler has been named as a top 10 finalist for the award 24 of the last 28 years. In 1987, two wrestlers were named among the top 10 finalists, World champions John Smith and Mark Schultz.