FOUR U.S. WRESTLERS QUALIFY FOR FINALS AT PAN AMERICAN FREESTYLE WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPS IN SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICOFour U.S. wrestlers qualified for the gold-medal finals at the 1997 Pan American Freestyle Wrestling Championships at the Pedrin Zorrilla Coliseum in San Juan, Puerto Rico, May 24.
The tournament will feature the top wrestling athletes from nations in North, South and Central America. This event is held three out of every four years, and is not held the year that the Pan American Games are hosted.
The U.S. finalists include Eric Albarracin (Scottsdale, Ariz./Sunkist Kids) at 119 pounds, Scott Schatzman (Chesterfield, Mo./Wildcat) at 138.75 pounds, Aaron Simpson (Wellton, Ariz./Sunkist Kids) at 187.25 pounds and Ryan Tobin (Brandon, S.D./Husker) at 213.75 pounds. All will compete for the gold medal on Sunday.
Albarracin won two matches, including a 9-0 decision over Jose M. Restrepo of Colombia in the semifinals. He will face two-time World Champion Alexis Vila of Cuba in the finals.
Schatzman won three straight matches in dominant fashion, scoring technical falls in his first two bouts and a pin over Eduardo Avila of Mexico in 2:09 in the semifinals. He will battle Carlos Ortiz of Cuba in the gold-medal match. Schatzman attends Northwestern Univ.
Simpson, a student at Arizona State, won both of this matches by nine points, stopping Jose Diaz of Venezuela, 10-1 and Juan Delgado of Mexico, 11-2. His finals opponent will be Ariel Ramos of Cuba.
Tobin, who is taking a redshirt year from the Univ. of Nebraska, had on bout, scoring a 10-0 technical fall over Arnulfo Hernandez of Colombia. He will wrestle against Josue Garcia of Puerto Rico in the gold-medal finals.
The other four U.S. team members all dropped a match, but battled back to qualify for the bronze-medal match on Sunday. They include Dwight Hinson (Lawton, Okla./Cyclone) at 127.75 pounds, Chris Bono (Ponte Vedre Beach, Fla./Cyclone) at 152 pounds, Charles Burton (Boise, Idaho/Cyclone) at 167.5 pounds and Billy Pierce (Minneapolis, Minn./Minnesota Storm) at 275.75 pounds.
Hinson and Bono are students at Iowa State Univ. Hinson will battle David Ortiz of Venezuela in the third-place match and Bono will wrestle Alex Coriano of Puerto Rico in the bronze-medal bout.
Burton, a former star at Boise State, will face Olgeri Sabuan of the Dominican Republic for third place, and Pierce, a graduate of the Univ. of Minnesota, will battle Alfredo Far of Panama in the bronze-medal match.
All eight members of the 1997 U.S. Pan American Championships freestyle team were champions at the 1997 University Nationals, which features the best U.S. athletes who are 24 years old and below. None of the U.S. freestyle wrestlers have competed in a previous Pan American Championships.
The U.S. team is coached by Keith Mourlam of Blacksburg, Va. and Mike Duroe of Deerfield, Ill.
Cuba entered wrestlers in seven of the eight weight classes, and all seven qualified for the gold medal match. The only weight class that Cuba did not enter an athlete was at 213.75 pounds
PAN AMERICAN FREESTYLE WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPS at San Juan, Puerto Rico, May 24
U.S. performances
54 kg/119 lbs. - Eric Albarracin, Scottsdale, Ariz. - dec. Abel Contreras, Ecuador, 10-0; dec. Jose M. Restrepo, Colombia, 9-0
58 kg/127.75 lbs. - Dwight Hinson, Lawton, Okla. - dec. Luis Cortez, Colombia, 5-4; dec. Javier Sanchez, Mexico, 4-0; lost dec. to Yoendris Albear, Cuba, 6-1; dec. Frustino Ozuna, Dominican Republic, 3-1; dec. Fazal Anwar, Canada, 10-1
63 kg/138.75 lbs. - Scott Schatzman, Chesterfield, Mo. - won by tech. fall over Christian Cortez, Chile, 11-0; won by tech. fall over Daniel Vargas, Puerto Rico, 13-2; pin Eduardo Avila, Mexico, 2:09
69 kg/152 lbs. - Chris Bono, Pontre Vedre Beach, Fla. - won by tech. fall over Angelo Brea, Dominican Republic, 13-2; dec. Alex Coriano, Puerto Rico, 9-2; lost dec. to Yosmany Sanchez, Cuba, 4-3, ot; won by tech. fall over Fernando Navarro, Ecuador, 10-0; dec. Leonardo Gonzales, Panama, 5-0
76 kg/167.5 lbs. - Charles Burton, Boise, Idaho - won by tech. fall over Sebastian Ruiz, Ecuador, 10-0; lost dec. to Manuel Garcia, Puerto Rico, 3-1; dec. Felipe Guzman, Mexico, 8-7
85 kg/187.25 lbs. - Aaron Simpson, Wellton, Ariz. - dec. Jose Diaz, Venezuela, 10-1; dec. Juan Delgado, Mexico, 11-2
97 kg/213.75 lbs. - Ryan Tobin, Brandon, S.D. - won by tech. fall over Arnulfo Hernandez, Colombia, 10-0
125 kg/275.5 lbs. - Billy Pierce, Minneapolis, Minn. - dec. Alfredo Far, Panama, 10-1; lost dec. to Alexis Rodriguez, Cuba, 3-1; pin Edwin Millet, Puerto Rico, 1:10