KOLAT WINS MINI-TOURNAMENT AT FREESTYLE WORLD TEAM TRIALS IN WATERLOO, IOWA1997 World silver medalist Cary Kolat (Lock Haven, Pa./Dave Schultz WC) won the Mini-Tournament at 138.75 pounds, leading the field of competitors on the first day at the Freestyle World Team Trials at Young Arena in Waterloo, Iowa, June 12.
The Mini-Tournament featured all of the event qualifiers at each weight class except the 1998 U.S. Nationals champion. The Mini-Tournament champion at each weight earned the right to advance to the Championship finals series against the 1998 U.S. Nationals champion on Saturday Kolat defeated T.J. Jaworsky (Chapel Hill, N.C./Sunkist Kids) in the finals match, 4-0. Kolat will face 1998 U.S. Nationals champion Shawn Charles (Mt. Pleasant, Mich./Sunkist Kids) in the best-of-three championship series on Saturday.
Kolat was unable to compete in the U.S. Nationals, the qualifying event for the World Team Trials, due to an knee injury suffered while competing at the Freestyle World Cup in Stillwater, Okla. in April. Kolat was added to the Mini-Tournament field through a petition process.
Another athlete who petitioned into the event won the Mini-Tournament at his weight class: Rob Koll (Ithaca, N.Y./Team Excel) at 167.5 pounds. Koll defeated Dan St. John (Tulsa, Okla./Sunkist Kids) in the finals match, 5-4. In 1997, St. John defeated Koll in two straight bouts in a Special Wrestle-off to qualify for the U.S. World Team. Koll will face 1998 U.S. Nationals champion Steve Marianetti (Urbana, Ill./New York AC) in the finals series on Saturday.
One of the matches was determined in the closing seconds, when Chris Bono (Ames, Iowa/Sunkist Kids) defeated Pat Santoro (Bethlehem, Pa./New York AC) in a 2-2 overtime referee+s decision. Santoro led, 2-1, with time running out, but Bono received a point and a caution for Santoro fleeing the mat. The caution was the difference in the tie-breaking procedures.
Bono will battle 1998 U.S. Nationals champion Lincoln McIlravy (Iowa City, Iowa/Gateway) in the championship series. McIlravy and Bono have a long rivalry, going back to their days in college when McIlravy competed for the Univ. of Iowa and Bono wrestled for Iowa State Univ.
The Mini-Tournament champion at 187.25 pounds was Barry Weldon (Ames, Iowa/Sunkist Kids), who defeated Derek Jones (Minneapolis, Minn./Minn. Storm), 7-3 in the finals. Jones upset 1992 Olympic Champion Kevin Jackson (Gilbert, Ariz./Team Excel) in the semifinals, 8-3, to qualify for the finals. Weldon will face 1997 World Champion Les Gutches (Corvallis, Ore./Sunkist Kids) in the finals series on Saturday.
At 119 pounds, Eric Akin (Iowa City, Iowa/Hawkeye) scored a technical fall over Sheldon Thomas (Clarion, Pa./Dave Schultz WC), 13-3 at 4:22 in the finals. Akin will battle 1998 U.S. Nationals champion Sam Henson (Norman, Okla./Sunkist Kids) in the finals on Saturday.
At 127.75 pounds, Yero Washington (Fresno, Calif./Sunkist Kids) won the Mini-Tournament with a 4-2 decision over Eric Guerrero (San Jose, Calif./Cowboy). Washington will battle 1998 U.S. Nationals champion Tony Purler (Norman, Okla./Sunkist Kids) in the championship series.
At 213.75 pounds, J.J. McGrew (Stillwater, Okla./Sunkist Kids) stopped Rex Holman (Blacklick, Ohio/Sunkist Kids) by referee+s decision, 2-0, in overtime. McGrew will wrestle national champion Melvin Douglas (Mesa, Ariz./Sunkist Kids) in the finals series. Last year, Douglas defeated McGrew in two straight bouts in the World Team Trials finals.
The 286-pound Mini-Tournament winner was Kerry McCoy (State College, Pa./NYAC) beat Airron Richardson (Ann Arbor, Mich./Cliff Keen), 9-0 in the finals. McCoy will battle 1998 U.S. Nationals runner-up Tom Erikson (W. Lafayette, Ind./Sunkist Kids) in the best-of-three series on Saturday. The 1998 U.S. Nationals champion, Tolly Thompson (Lincoln, Neb./Sunkist Kids) was unable to compete in the World Team Trials due to a knee injury.
The winners at each weight class from the World Team Trials will qualify for the U.S. team at the 1998 World Freestyle Championships in Tehran, Iran, Sept. 8-11. In addition, the champions will also compete on the U.S. team at the 1998 Goodwill Games in New York, N.Y., July 25-26.
The top three placewinners in each weight class qualify for the 1998-99 Freestyle Team USA, and are eligible for training and subsistence funds.
Complete results posted seperately on this web page