U.S. WRESTLERS HILL, ABAS, THOMPSON QUALIFY FOR SEMIFINALS AT JUNIOR WORLD FREESTYLE CHAMPIONSHIPS IN PRIMM, NEV. 
 Three  U.S. wrestlers have qualified for the semifinals in their weight class during the first day of competition at the 1998 Junior World Freestyle Championships at the Star of the Desert Arena in Primm, Nev. 
 This major international competition features athletes from 17-20 years old, representing  34 nations. Many of the competitors in this event are expected to be medal hopefuls for the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia. 
 The U.S. semifinalists are T. J. Hill of Farmington, Mo. (Dave Schultz WC) at 108 pounds, Stephen Abas of Fresno, Calif. (Sunkist Kids) at 123.25 pounds and Zachary Thompson of Cleveland, Ohio (Cyclone WC) at 198.25 pounds. 
 Hill won his first match in exciting fashion, defeating Raim Kibar of Ukraine, 3-2 in overtime at 6:44. The bout was tied at 2-2 in regulation, and Hill scored the winning takedown after 1:44 of overtime. Hill qualified for the semifinals against Samir Akmedov of Azerbaijan. 
 Hill, who graduated from high school this year, placed eighth in the 1997 Junior World Championships. He is one of the most successful age-group wrestlers in U.S. history, with 10 career age-group titles. He will attend Hofstra University in the fall. 
 Abas opened with a pair of technical falls, beating  Oswaldo Tangaryfe of Colombia, 13-3 in 2:51 and Ozkan Kockar of Turkey, 12-0 in 3:44. In an exciting quarterfinals match, he beat Mehdi Nickmanesh of Iran, 3-2, in overtime at 5:25. With the score tied 2-2, Abas scored the winning takedown 25 seconds into overtime.  
 Abas placed fifth in the 1997 Junior World Championships. As a freshman at Fresno State Univ. this year, he placed fourth in the NCAA Championships. Abas is nationally ranked on Senior level, placing fifth in the Freestyle World Team Trials. He was a 1998 University Nationals champion. 
 Thompson opened with a solid 5-1 win over Paul Beauparlant of Canada. In the quarterfinals, he stopped Christian Pribil of Germany, 3-0, in overtime, at 5:42. 
 Thompson is a starter on the Iowa State team, and placed eighth at the 1997 U.S. Senior Nationals. 
 Still alive in the consolation rounds with one loss is U.S. wrestler Reggie Wright of Maywood, Ill. (Cougar WC) at 143.25 pounds. Wright opened with two victories, beating Andriy Shyika of Ukraine, 7-4 and Dauren Saikhanov of Kazakhstan, 5-0. In the quarterfinals, he was defeated by Zaur Bataev of Russia, 9-2. In his first consolation bout, Wright won by forfeit over Kim-Jussi Nurmela of Finland. 
 Wright was a junior college star at Lassen College, and will wrestle for Oklahoma State next year. 
 Ty Wilcox of Fountain Valley, Calif. (Cowboy WC) lost his first two bouts and was eliminated at 167.5 pounds. In his first match, he lost to Petar Kasabov of Bulgaria, 5-4. In the consolation round, he was defeated by Bagirov Mourshud of Azerbaijan, 13-5. Wilcox competes for  Oklahoma State University 
 The U.S. team is led by head coach Jesse Reyes of W. Lafayette, Ind., and assistant coach John Leone of Penfield, N.Y. Reyes is the head wrestling coach at Purdue Univ. and a former NCAA champion. Leone, a respected high school coach, was named USA Wrestling Developmental Coach of the Year in 1997. 
 The five top teams from the 1997 Junior World Championships, which were held in Helsinki, Finland,  are in the tournament: Russia, Iran, Turkey, Ukraine and the United States. A total of nine medalists from the 1997 Junior World Championships have registered to compete this year. 
 JUNIOR WORLD FREESTYLE WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPS at Primm, Nev., USA, August 7, 1998 
 U.S. Group One first day results 
 49 kg/108 lbs. - T.J. Hill, Farmington, Mo. - dec. Raim Kibor (Ukraine), 3-2, ot, 6:44 
 56 kg/123.25 lbs.  - Stephen Abas, Fresno, Calif. - won by tech. fall over Oswaldo Tangaryfe (Colombia), 13-3, 2:51; won by tech. fall over Ozkan Kockar (Turkey), 12-0, 3:44; dec. Mehdi Nickmanesh (Iran), 3-2, ot, 5:25 
 65 kg/143.25 lbs. - Reggie Wright, Maywood, Ill. - dec. Andriy Shyika (Ukraine), 7-4; dec. Dauren Saikhanov (Kazakhstan), 5-0; lost dec. to Zaur Bataev (Russia), 9-2; won by forfeit over Kim-Jussi Nurmela (Finland) 
 76 kg/167.5 lbs. -  Ty Wilcox, Fountain Valley, Calif. - lost dec. to Petar Kasabov (Bulgaria), 5-4; lost dec. to Bagirov Mourshud (Azerbaijan), 13-5 
 90 kg/198.25 lbs. -  Zachary Thompson, Cleveland, Ohio - dec. Paul Beauparlant (Canada), 5-1; dec. Christian Pribil (Germany), 3-0, ot, 5:42 
 SECOND GROUP OF U.S. WRESTLERS WEIGH-IN FOR JUNIOR WORLD FREESTYLE CHAMPIONSHIPS 
 The second group of five U.S. wrestlers have weighed in and will begin their competition at the 1998 Junior World Freestyle Championships in Primm, Nev., and will start competition on Saturday, August 8. 
 Leading this group of athletes is J.R. Plienis of Edgemere, Md. (Husker WC) at 253.5 pounds. Plienis placed fifth at the 1997 Junior World Championships. He qualified for the 1998 NCAA Tournament, competing for the Univ. of Nebraska. Plienis has won freestyle and Greco-Roman national titles on the Junior and Espoir levels. 
 Another athlete from the Univ. of Nebraska, Todd Beckerman of Crofton, Md. (Husker WC) will compete at 132.25 pounds. 
 Don Pritzlaff of Lyndhurst, N.J. (Team Wisconson), who wrestles for the Univ. of Wisconsin, will wrestle at 154.25 pounds. Mark Munoz of Vallejo, Calif. (Cowboy WC), an Oklahoma State wrestler, will compete at 182.75 pounds. Rounding out the U.S. team is high school student Chris Fleeger of Trout Run, Pa. (Pin Patrol), a four-time Cadet National champion who competes at 114.5 pounds. 
 U.S. Group Two pairings for Saturday 
 52 kg/114.5 lbs. - Chris Fleeger, Trout Run, Pa.  vs.Shokender Tomar (India) 
 60 kg/132.25 lbs. - Todd Beckerman, Crofton, Md. vs. Nobiuki Konuso (Japan) 
 70 kg/154.25 lbs. - Don Pritzlaff, Lyndhurst, N.J. vs. Toru Metoki (Japan) 
 83 kg/182.75 lbs. -  Mark Munoz, Vallejo, Calif. vs. Ismal Askhabov (Azerbaijan) 
 115 kg/253.5 lbs. - J.R. Plienis, Edgemere, Md. vs. Justin Beauparlant (Canada) 
 SEMIFINALISTS DETERMINED IN FIVE WEIGHT CLASSES AT JUNIOR WORLD FREESTYLE CHAMPIONSHIPS 
 The quarterfinals were contested in the first five weight classes at the weight divisions at the 1998 Junior World Freestyle Wrestling Championships in Primm, Nev. The pairings for Saturday's semifinals have been determined in those weight classes. 
 Among the semifinalists is Majid Khodaie of Iran, who is the defending 1997 Junior World Champion at 167.5 pounds. Two nations have three semifinalists: the United States and Russia. 
 Junior World Freestyle Championships semifinal matches 
 49 kg/108 lbs. - Darman Amantayev (Kazakhstan) vs. Ali Reza Darvishi (Iran); T.J. Hill, Farmington, Mo. (United States).vs. Samir Akhmedov (Azerbaijan) 
 56 kg/123.25 lbs.  - Stephen Abas, Fresno, Calif. (United States) vs. Vasil Fedorishin (Ukraine); Mais Ibadov (Uzbekistan) vs. Safet Pherad (Bulgaria) 
 65 kg/143.25 lbs. - Zaur Bataev (Russia) vs. Mirazev Zahid (Azerbaijan); Phal Ram (India) vs. David Lezhava (Georgia) 
 76 kg/167.5 lbs. -  Ramzan Murtazaliev (Kazakhstan) vs. Majid Khodaie (Iran); Alik Muzayev (Ukraine) vs. Shamil Aliev (Russia) 
 90 kg/198.25 lbs. - Zachary Thompson, Cleveland, Ohio (United States) vs. Ruicai Li (China); Taskin Ozkale (Turkey) vs. Georgi Gogehelidz (Russia) 
 Complete results for this competition can be found on the Junior World Championships web page at http://www.usawrestling.org/jrworlds98