Lee, Mocco steal the show at Asics Junior Freestyle Finals

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Jason Owens (USA Wrestling)
07/28/2001


There must be some kind of magic in those red singlets.      Out of 12 matches in the Freestyle Junior National Championships in Fargo, N.D., 10 wrestlers wearing red ended up at the top of the medal stand. No victory was more dramatic than the 123-pound final between Travis Lee of Honolulu, Hawaii and Nick Simmons of Williamston, Mich.      The thrill of victory and agony of defeat best describe the spectrum of emotion flowing through the wrestlers on the mat and through the FargoDome crowd as fan favorite Lee brought Simmons' dynasty crashing to an end with a 3-1 victory in the 123-pound finals.    In winning a double championship, Lee denied Simmons a record-tying fourth Junior National Freestyle title, leaving Simmons crouching on his knees in tears on the center mat after he tossed his head gear across the stage. Meanwhile, team Hawaii fans draped in leis jumped into each other's arms, celebrating their new found hero.     The other star of the night was Steven Mocco of North Bergen, N.J. as he continued his dominance of the tournament, pinning Cain Velasquez of Yuma, Ariz. in the second round to keep his amazing record of three consecutive years at the Junior Nationals without allowing a point. His performance earned him Outstanding Wrestler honors.    Other performances weren't overshadowed by Lee and Mocco, though, as several  other wrestlers shone throughout the night.    Sam Hazewinkel of Pensacola, Fla. opened the first period of the 114.5-pound finals with a high-arcing five-point throw of Mark Moos of Lorain, Ohio. Moos didn't falter though, fighting back to take an 8-6 lead with two minutes left in the final period. The match continued to go back and forth with Moos prevailing for a 13-12 victory in the end.       Gabriel Mooney of Greenbush, Minn. opened up a 5-0 lead that Paul Donahoe of Davison, Mich. never overcame, to take the 98-pound championship 8-6 and win the double championship.     Asics All-American First Team member Teyon Ware of Edmond, Okla. lived up to his honor in winning the 132-pound final 9-4 over David Hoffman of Spring City, Pa., winning his second consecutive title.      Derek Zinck of Pennsburg, Pa. showed Asics Tiger All-American first team member Zach Esposito that he was no slouch either, breaking a 4-4 tie open in the final round to win the 154-pound final 7-4.    Hetag Pliev of West Chester, Ohio opened a 4-0 lead in the 178-pound finals that Willie Parks of Garden Grove, Calif. battled back from in the final minute, but couldn't quite overcome as Pliev walked off the mat with a 4-2 win and the championship.    In a battle of Ohio teammates, Jeff Clemens of Bellbrook edged Andy Rios of Strongsville 6-5 to win the 191.5-pound final.      In other matches, Johnny Hendricks of Edmond, Okla. made quick work of Matt Herrington of Cambridge, N.Y., winning by a 10-0 technical fall with 20 seconds left in the opening period of the 165-pound finals; Mack Reiter of Jesup, Iowa dominated Michael Goslicky of Finleyville, Pa. with at 12-2 technical fall with six seconds left in the first period; and Ron Tarquino of McDonald, Pa. held on to a slim lead in the final seconds to defeat Ben Cherrington of Granby, Colo. for the 143-pound title.     The finals brought to an end the largest wrestling tournament in the world. In all, there were 3,585 entries wrestling in 7,118 matches in both styles at the Cadet and Junior levels.