2001 FILA Junior Freestyle World Championships to Take Place Aug. 9-13

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Jason Owens (USA Wrestling)
08/08/2001


   The 2001 FILA Junior World Championships of freestyle Wrestling take place in Tashkent, Uzbekistan Aug. 9-13 and will feature nine of America's best young wrestlers as they take on the world in search of gold.     The tournament will pit the world's best wrestlers ages 17-20 against each other. The nine American representatives earned spots on the team at the World Team Trials at the Bob Devaney Sports Center in Lincoln, Neb., May 20 and will be coached by Mark Schwab and Donnie McPherson.     The American team is highlighted by the top wrestlers from both the college and high school ranks, with some of them fresh off of top performances at the Junior Nationals in Fargo, N.D. July 21-28.      Jason Powell (54 kg) of the Dave Schultz WC is the only wrestler from the 2000 FILA World team returning to compete this year. Eric Stevenson (50 kg) of the Treehouse AC is coming off of an All-American performance in freestyle at the Junior Nationals, while Steven Mocco (130 kg) of the New York AC just won his third consecutive Junior National title.      Other team members include Eric Stevenson (50 kg) of Newberg High School in Oregon, Matt Shankey (58 kg) of the Hawkeye WC, Jason Mester (63 kg) of the Sunkist Kids, James Woodall (69 kg) of the Penn State WC, Tyler Nixt (76 kg) of the Hawkeye WC, Russell Vanderheyden (85 kg) of the Sunkist Kids and Jon Trenge (97 kg) of the Lehigh WC.     Woodall chose to wrestle freestyle after placing in the finals of the team trials against his brother Jason in both freestyle and Greco-Roman. The two didn't wrestle in either of the finals and decided to each take a spot on the team at one style, with Jason wrestling in the Greco-Roman championships.     The Woodall brothers, along with the rest of the team members, have been training hard every chance they get in preparation for the tournament.