HALL BEATS GRUENWALD FOR SPOT ON U.S. WORLD GRECO-ROMAN TEAM AT SPECIAL WRESTLE-OFF AT FORT CARSON, COLO., SATURDAY, AUGUST 1 
  
 1996 Olympic silver medalist Dennis Hall (Plover, Wis./Sunkist Kids) won a Special Wrestle-off to earn the 58 kg/127.75 lbs. position on the 1998 U.S. World Greco-Roman wrestling team on Saturday, August 1 at Garcia Gym on the U.S. Army base at Fort Carson, Colo. 
   
 Hall won the best-of-three series over Jim Gruenwald (Colorado Springs, Colo./Sunkist Kids) two matches to one. Hall will represent the United States at the 1998 World Greco-Roman Championships in Gavle, Sweden, Aug. 27-30. 
  
 Midway through the first match, Gruenwald scored a two-point high gutwrench turn for a 2-0 lead. Gruenwald led 2-0 when the five-minute regulation period ended, but had not scored the mandatory three points for victory. Just 30 seconds into overtime, Hall struck suddenly, hitting a one-point takedown and a two-point gutwrench turn for the 3-2 victory at 5:30. 
  
 In the second bout, Hall jumped to a 2-0 lead on a gutwrench, but Gruenwald tied the bout at 2-2 with 35 seconds left on a high gutwrench. In overtime, Gruenwald won by match by a 3-2 margin on a caution and one-point penalty against Hall for fleeing the mat at the 6:15 mark. The win tied the series at one match each. 
  
 In the third and deciding match, Hall opened the scoring with a gutwrench just 1:45 into the bout. Midway through the bout, Hall scored a takedown and turned Gruenwald twice for exposure points to win the match, 8-0. 
  
 The Special Wrestle-off became necessary when Hall, the 1998 U.S. Nationals champion in his weight class, was injured and unable to participate in the Greco-Roman World Team Trials in New Orleans, La., June 26-27. According to USA Wrestling procedures, only the U.S. Nationals champion is able to delay the final series to a later date due to injury. 
  
 Gruenwald won the competition at 58 kg/127.75 pounds at the Greco-Roman World Team Trials, to earn the right to face Hall in the Special Wrestle-off. 
  
 Hall defeated Gruenwald in the finals of the U.S. Nationals the last two years, and also beat Gruenwald in the finals of the 1997 Greco-Roman World Team Trials. 
  
 Hall won a gold medal at the 1995 Greco-Roman World Championships, one of only two U.S. wrestlers to win a Greco-Roman World title. He also was a bronze medalist at the 1994 World Championships. 
  
 He also placed eighth in the 1992 Olympic Games. Hall has won seven straight career U.S. Nationals titles. Hall is a student at the Univ. of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, where he is an assistant wrestling coach. He is originally from Hartford, Wis. 
  
 Gruenwald is a U.S. Olympic Training Center resident athlete. This season, he won gold medals at the 1998 Pan American Championships, the 1998 Concord Cup and the 1998 Sweden Cup Grand Prix. Gruenwald attended Maranatha Baptist Bible College in Wisconsin, and is originally from Greendale, Wis. 
  
 GRECO-ROMAN SPECIAL WRESTLE-OFF at Fort Carson, Colo., Aug 1 
  
 127.75 lbs. - Dennis Hall, Plover, Wis. (Sunkist Kids) dec. Jim Gruenwald, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Sunkist Kids), won 3-2, ot, 5:30, lost 3-2, ot, 6:15 and won 8-0. (Hall wins series, 2 matches to 1) 
  
 ATHLETE QUOTES 
  
 Dennis Hall - ³I had to get the job done. The first match was close, which was OK. I like to get the first match out of the way. In the second match, he didn¹t have any legitimate scoring attempts. Not taking anything away from Jim; he was playing his strategy well. I guess, whenever I wrestle him, I have to beat the heck out of him and get into a dogfight.² 
   
 ³For me, this is just part of the process of getting to the World Championships and winning the gold medal. It is hard to focus on this wrestle-off when you are training to beat the top 10 wrestlers in the world. I had to come out here to wrestle at altitude. Bring him to Wisconsin where I am training and it would be different. This is also where his training site is. He is getting better.² 
  
 ³I have to put the hammer down and come back with the World title. I want to thank Sentry Insurance for this, for making it all possible. I am going to win the World gold for them. Without Sentry, I would not be wrestling anymore. I¹d say that physically I am at 80% right now, but I plan to be at 100% for the Worlds.² 
  
 Jim Gruenwald - ³I made a mistake in the third match. I expected him to be mad and come out strong at the beginning. He came out a little slower than I expected and I never got my engines going. He took me out of my game plan. Against a wrestler of his caliber, if you get down big early, you are going to lose. I made mistakes in the third match, something I didn¹t do in the first two matches.² 
  
 ³I think from how I wrestled him this year, and my international performances this season, that I am making progress. This tournament showed me that I¹ve made the improvements I needed to make, and that I can score on him and I can beat him. He is an outstanding wrestler. If I want it, I have to take it from him.²