ZAJAC WINS BRONZE MEDAL, ABAS AND TIRAPELLE PLACE FIFTH,  AT 1997 WORLD JUNIOR FREESTYLE CHAMPIONSHIPS IN FINLAND; PLIENIS AND GUERRERO IN CONTENTION FOR BRONZE IN SECOND GROUP 
   Shane Zajac (Mokena, Ill./Oregon State Univ.), won a bronze medal, competing in third day of action at the 1997 Junior World Freestyle Wrestling Championships in Helsinki, Finland, August 9. 
   The Junior World Championships feature the best wrestlers in the world between 17-20 years of age. 
   In the bronze medal match, Zajac defeated Niko Begashvili of Georgia, 4-0. He had a 4-1 record over the three-day tournament. 
   Zajac was a 1996 Junior Nationals double champion and won the 1997 Espoir Nationals in freestyle. 
   Two U.S. wrestlers placed fifth in their weight classes: Stephen Abas (Hayward, Calif./Sunkist Kids) at 123.25 pounds and Adam Tirapelle (Clovis, Calif./Dave Schultz WC) at 143 pounds. 
   Abas lost to Victor Bilokoptui of Ukraine, 8-6 in the consolation semifinals. He claimed fifth place by injury default over Mais Ibadov of Uzbekistan. Abas had 5-2 record over the three days. 
   Abas, who attends Fresno State, was sixth in the U.S. Nationals this year on the Senior level. 
   Tirapelle lost in the consolation semifinals to Naoiki Kurio of Japan, 8-0. He rebounded in the fifth place match with a 7-2 win over Vladislav Sutormin of Kazakhstan. Tirapelle had a 3-2 record in the tournament. 
   Tirapelle competed for Stanford, but has transferred to the Univ. of Illinois. 
   T.J. Hill (Farmington, Mo./MAWA), who did not compete on Saturday, placed eighth at 108 pounds. This was based upon the points that he scored in his competition on Thursday and Friday. 
   A second group of wrestlers completed their second day of action, and two U.S. wrestlers remain in contention for the bronze medal: Eric Guerrero (San Jose, Calif./Sunkist Kids) at 132 pounds and J.R. Plienis (Edgemere, Md./Husker WC) at 253 pounds. 
   Guerrero, who was a 1997 NCAA champion for Oklahoma State, won three consolation round matches on Saturday. He scored technical falls over Marat Yerdenov of Kazakhstan and Themistoklis Iakovidi of Greece, and also beat Kiyofumi Kanabuchi of Japan, 6-0. His next opponent is yet to be determined. 
   Plienis, who competes for the Univ. of Nebraska, lost by technical fall to Pan American champion Alexis Rodriguez of Cuba, 12-2 at 3:05. After receiving a bye in the consolation rounds, he stopped Maxim Chevtchenko of Belarus, 5-2. Plienis will face Artem Achigev of Russia in the consolation semifinals Sunday morning. 
   Three U.S. wrestlers were defeated on Saturday and eliminated from medal contention: Jeff Ragan (Engelwood, Fla./Sunkist Kids) at 114.5 pounds, T.J. Williams (Markham, Ill./Quicksilver) at 154 pounds and Joe Degain (Clarkston, Mich./Cliff Keen) at 182.5 pounds. 
   Ragan, who attends Oklahoma State, and Williams, who is from Lassen College, lost two bouts, while Degain, who attends the Univ. of Michigan, lost once. 
   The athletes qualified for the World Team by winning the 1997 Espoir Nationals at Purdue University, May 16-17. 
   The head coach of the Junior Freestyle World Team is Greg Strobel of Bethlehem, Pa. and the assistant coach is Ron Jones of Bradenton, Fla. Strobel was the assistant coach of the 1996 U.S. Olympic Team and is the head coach at Lehigh Univ.  
   Complete results of this tournament can be located on the internet at http://www.kolumbus.fi/jwc97/wrestling/ 
    1997 FILA JUNIOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS at Helsinki, Finland, Aug. 9, 1997 
  Final results for Group One 
   49 kg/108 lbs. - 1st - Mohamad Rezaie (Iran) dec. Suhrab Hisiev (Russia), 6-3; 3rd - Samir Achmedov (Azerbaijan) dec. Raim Kibar (Ukraine), 3-0, ot, 6:06; 5th - Shenadie Tulbea (Moldova) pin Erhan Yurdakul (Turkey), 3:03; 7th - Delong Chen (China); 8th - T.J. Hill (United States); 9th - Yessen Sarybaev (Kazakhstan); 10th - Dae-Woo Choi (Korea) 
   56 kg/123.25 lbs. - 1st - Alireza Dabear (Iran) dec. Belikto Geargalov (Russia), 6-5; 3rd - Octavian Cuciuc (Moldova) dec. Victor Bilokopytui (Ukraine), 6-5; 5th - Stephen Abas (United States) won by inj. dft. over Mais Ibadov (Uzbekistan); 7th - Toyokazu Shimamura (Japan); 8th - Suemencoul Taabaldi (Kyrgyzstan); 9th - Aharon Hakobyan (Armenia); 10th - Adrian Stratu (Romania) 
   65 kg/143 lbs. - 1st - Dmitry Kirillov (Russia) dec. Konstantin Opalnyk (Ukraine), 4-3; 3rd - Maoki Kurio (Japan) dec. Marian Luca (Moldova), 4-0, ot, 7:19; 5th - Adam Tirapelle (United States) dec. Vladislav Sutormin (Kazakhstan), 7-2; 7th - Marek Zielezinski (Poland); 8th - Yong-Pan Koo (Korea); 9th - Jalal Lotfie (Iran); 10th - Namhaidorz Ochirhuyag (Mongolia) 
   76 kg/167.25 lbs. - 1st - Majid Khodaie (Iran) won by ref. dec. over Alik Muzayev (Ukraine), 2-1, ot, 8:00; 3rd - Chamil Aliev (Russia) won by ref. dec. over Felix Polianidis (Greece), 2-0, ot, 8:00; 5th - Tamaz Lobzhanize (Georgia) dec. Vladimir Raitouzov (Ukraine), 4-1, 5:17; 7th - Tamas Kiss (Hungary); 8th - Bartlomiej Szmigiel (Poland); 9th - Sherlot Abduvaliev (Uzbekistan); 10th - Vahan Danielyan (Armenia) 
   90 kg/198 lbs. - 1st - Sermest Bulut (Turkey) won by ref. dec. over Ruicai Li (China), 2-0, ot, 8:00; 3rd - Shane Zajac (United States) dec. Niko Begashvili (Georgia), 4-0; 5th - Aliaskhab Ismailov (Russia) dec. Arpad Hasko (Hungary), 3-0; 7th - Dan Karabin (Czech Republic); 8th - Rene Tanner (Switzerland); 9th - Martin Lazarov (Bulgaria); 10th - Vasiliy Tismenetsky (Ukraine) 
  U.S. results for Group One 
   56 kg/123.25 lbs. - Stephen Abas, Hayward, Calif. - lost dec. to Victor Bilokoptui (Ukraine), 8-6; won by inj. dft over Mais Ibadov (Uzbekistan) 
   65 kg/143 lbs. - Adam Tirapelle, Clovis, Calif. - lost dec. to Naoiki Kurio (Japan), 8-0; dec. Vladislav Sutormin (Kazakhstan), 7-2 
   90 kg/198 lbs. - Shane Zajac, Mokena, Ill. - dec. Niko Begashvili (Georgia), 4-0 
  U.S. results for Group Two 
   52 kg/114.5 lbs. - Jeff Ragan, Engelwood, Fla. - lost by tech. fall to Dmitri Zakhartchenko (Belarus), 10-0, 3:57; lost dec. to Kripa Shankar Patel (India), 10-1 
   60 kg/132 lbs. - Eric Guerrero, San Jose, Calif. - won by tech. fall over Marat Yerdenov (Kazakhstan), 11-1. 3:07; dec. Kiyofumi Kanabuchi (Japan), 6-0; won by tech. fall over Themistoklis Iakovidi (Greece), 10-0, 4:16 
   70 kg/154 lbs. - T.J. Williams, Markham, Ill. - lost dec. to Mosoad Jamshide (Iran), 4-0; lost dec. to Gokhan Yavaser (Turkey), 3-1 
   83 kg/182.5 lbs. - Joe DeGain, Clarkston, Mich. - lost by tech. fall to Tamazi Gegeshidze (Georgia), 16-5, 4:29 
   115 kg/253 lbs. - Ron Plienis, Edgemere, Md. - lost by tech. fall to Alexis Rodriguez (Cuba), 12-2, 3:05; bye; dec. Maxim Chevtchenko (Belarus), 5-2 
  Sunday pairings for Group Two 
   60 kg/132 lbs. - Eric Guerrero, San Jose, Calif. - bye 
   115 kg/253 lbs. - Ron Plienis, Edgemere, Md. - vs. Artem Achigev (Russia)