1995 World Champion Dennis Hall (Stevens Point, Wis./Sunkist Kids) and 1996 World Cup champion Rulon Gardner (Mesa, Ariz./Sunkist Kids) are undefeated and remain in contention for a gold medal at the 1997 Greco-Roman World Championships in Wroclaw, Poland 
 Hall won both of his matches Thursday at 58 kg/127.75 lbs. In the first match, Hall stopped Ruslan Hakimov of the Ukraine in a 2-0 overtime referee's decision. Hakimov placed fourth in the 1996 Olympics. 
 In the second round, Hall defeated Sinan Hanli of Germany. He has qualified for the quarterfinals on Friday, where he will face Djamel Ainaoui of France. 
 Hall won a silver medal at the 1996 Olympics and a bronze medal at the 1994 World Championships. 
 Gardner, competing in his first World Championships, won both of his bouts on Thursday at 130 kg/286 lbs. He opened with a disqualification victory over David Vola of the Czech Republic. Gardner was leading 3-0 at the time of disqualification. 
 In the second round, Gardner won a 0-0 overtime referee's decision over Saban Donat of Turkey. Gardner won the bout based upon fewer passivity penalties, with Donat having four and Gardner two. 
 He received a bye in the third round, which qualifies him for the semifinals on Friday. He will face three-time Olympic champion Alexander Karelin of Russia in the semifinals. Karelin has also won six World Championships gold medals, and has never lost an international wrestling match. 
 Two-time Olympian Dan Henderson (Huntington Beach, Calif./Dave Schultz WC) had a 2-1 record at 85 kg/187.25 lbs., and is still in contention for a bronze medal. 
 Henderson opened with a 2-0 overtime referee's decision over Martin Lidberg of Sweden in the first round. Lidberg had beaten Henderson in the second round of the 1996 Olympics. 
 In the second match, Henderson dropped a 3-1 decision to Ferenc Takacs of Hungary. He rebounded in his first consolation match with a 7-1 victory over Hidekazu Yokoyama of Japan. Henderson must win the rest of his matches in order to claim a bronze medal. 
 Three U.S. wrestlers were eliminated from competition on Thursday: Chris Saba (Colorado Springs, Colo./NYAC) at 69 kg/152 lbs., Matt Lindland (Lincoln, Neb./Sunkist Kids) at 76 kg/167.5 lbs. and Randy Couture (Corvallis, Ore./Sunkist Kids) at 97 kg/213.75 lbs. 
 Saba lost both of his matches on Thursday. He was defeated by Petr Bielesz of the Czech Republic, 3-2 in overtime in the first round. In his first consolation bout, Saba was pinned by Mecnum Guller of Turkey in 2:14. Saba, a U.S. Olympic Training Center resident athlete, was in his first World Championships. 
 Both Lindland and Couture entered Thursday's action with 2-1 records. They were eliminated with losses in the consolation rounds. 
 Lindland fell to three-time Olympic medalist Jozef Tracz of Poland, 5-0. It was the fourth straight time that Tracz had beaten Lindland.  
 Couture was defeated by Petre Sudureac of Romania in a 2-1 referee's decision in overtime. Couture was competing in his fourth career World Championships. 
 Two U.S. wrestlers were eliminated from competition on Wednesday: Broderick Lee (Portland, Ore./Peninsula WC) at 54 kg/119 lbs. and David Zuniga (New Brighton, Minn./Minnesota Storm) at 63 kg/138.75 lbs. 
 The U.S. team is led by head coach Dan Chandler of Minneapolis, Minn., assistant coach Rob Hermann of Pensacola, Fla., and National Greco-Roman Coach Steve Fraser of Colorado Springs, Colo. 
 The first set of gold medal finals will be held on Friday, and the competitors have been determined in each of the weight classes. 
 At 54 kg/119 lbs., Vahan Juharyan of Armenia will battle Ercan Yildiz of Turkey. At 63 kg/138.75 lbs., Nikolai Monov of Russia will face Seref Eroglu of Turkey. The 76 kg/167.5 lbs. final will feature Tamas Berzicza of Hungary and Marko Yli-Hannuksela of Finland. At 97 kg/213.75 lbs., the finalists are Gogui Kogouachvili of Russia and Anatoli Federenko of Belarus. 
 *Press Releases and tournament results are also available in the Recent Results area on the USA Wrestling website. The address is http://www.usawrestling.org 
  1997 Greco-Roman World Championships 
 at Wroclaw, Poland, Sept. 11 
 Group One Results 
 76 kg/167.5 lbs. - Matt Lindland, Lincoln, Neb. - lost dec. to Jozef Tracz, Poland, 5-0 
 97 kg/213.75 lbs. - Randy Couture, Corvallis, Ore. - lost by ref. dec. to Petre Sudureac, Romania, 2-1, ot, 8:00 
 Group Two Results 
 58 kg/127.75 lbs. - Dennis Hall, Stevens Point, Wis. - won by ref. dec. over Ruslan Hakimov, Ukraine, 2-0, ot, 8:00; dec. Sinan Hanli, Germany (score unavailable at press time) 
 69 kg/152 lbs. - Chris Saba, Colorado Springs, Colo. - lost dec. to Petr Bielesz, Czech Republic, 3-2, ot; lost by pin to Mecnum Guller, Turkey, 2:14 
 85 kg/187.25 lbs. - Dan Henderson, Huntington Beach, Calif. - won by ref. dec. over Martin Lidberg, Sweden, 2-0, ot, 8:00; lost dec. to Ferenc Takacs, Hungary, 3-1; dec. Hidekazu Yokoyama, Japan, 7-1 
 130 kg/286 lbs. - Rulon Gardner, Mesa, Ariz. - won by disq. over David Vola, Czech Republic; won by ref. dec. over Saban Donat, Turkey, 0-0, ot, 8:00