Experience, skill and the home field advantage are among the many reasons that hopes are high for the U.S. men's Greco-Roman wrestling team at the 2001 World Championships of Wrestling in New York City, Sept. 26-29.    The team features four past Olympic medalists and six Olympians. Only two team members have never wrestled at a World Championships or Olympic Games. Every member of the team has high hopes for a run at the medals.     2000 Olympic champion Rulon Gardner of the Sunkist Kids at 130 kg is the best-known member of this team. After his amazing and unexpected victory over three-time Olympic champion Alexander Kareline of Russia in the Olympic Games finals, Gardner became an overnight celebrity. In spite of his many commercial opportunities and media interviews, Gardner also remains a wrestler on a mission.    When others might have retired and lived off their fame, Rulon wants to continue to wrestle. His next mission is to win a World gold medal. His best previous performance at a World meet was fifth in 1997.    A pair of Olympic silver medalists are still mining for their first gold: Brandon Paulson of Minnesota Storm at 54 kg and Matt Lindland of the Sunkist Kids at 85 kg.    Paulson, a 1996 Olympic silver medalist, took a few years off from the sport after the Atlanta Games to finish college and start a career. His run for the 2000 Olympic team fell short, finishing second in the Olympic Team Trials. After some time away from wrestling, he has returned with a fresh approach and a new chance.    Paulson skipped the 2001 U.S. Nationals and put all of his focus on the World Team Trials. After claiming the spot on the team, he will be wrestling in his first World Championships event ever in New York.    Lindland, who was second in the 2000 Olympic Games, has moved up a weight class and continues a personal quest for a gold medal. Lindland has competed in the World Championships three other times, with his best finish a sixth place in 1998.    The change in weight class has not seemed to affect Lindland's abilities or desire. In the 2001 U.S. Nationals, he beat 2000 Olympian Quincey Clark in the finals. In the 2001 World Team Trials, he stopped 1992 and 1996 Olympian Dan Henderson for the title. Now he will have his first real shot at the international stars at his new weight class.    The Olympic bronze medalist on the team is Garrett Lowney of the Minnesota Storm at 97 kg. Lowney was a pleasant surprise on the 2000 Olympic team, winning a medal at the age of 20 on his first U.S. Senior-level team.    Lowney will no longer be a secret to the international opponents, who he defeated with great conditioning, strong pummelling skills and an amazing heart. He completed his freshman season at the University of Minnesota this past winter, placing third at heavyweight. His transition back to Greco-Roman has appeared seamless.    A pair of 2000 Olympians James Gruenwald of the Sunkist Kids at 58 kg and Kevin Bracken of the New York AC at 63 kg also made the U.S. team. Both wrestlers were sixth in the Sydney Games.    For the second straight year, Gruenwald defeated archrival Dennis Hall in the trials event to make the U.S. team, after placing behind Hall for many years. Hall, a three-time World-level medalist, ranks among America's best Greco-Roman stars ever. Now it's Gruenwald's job to claim a medal for the USA at this weight class, competing in his first World meet.    Bracken has been to a World Championships, competing in 1998 for the United States. His Olympic performance showed flashes of spectacular wrestling, and Bracken has dominated his American opponents in the following year. Like Gruenwald, Bracken will be seeking his first medal after years of experience on the international levels. His victory at a major event in Poland this summer shows that he is ready for a breakthrough.    The two athletes earning spots on their first U.S. teams were Marcel Cooper of the U.S. Marines at 69 kg and Keith Sieracki of the U.S. Army at 76 kg. Both are examples of the quality of wrestling in the U.S. military programs and their importance to the U.S. Greco-Roman effort.    Cooper will have a true home-court advantage, having grown up in nearby Nyack, N.Y., where he was a high school star. Cooper is expected to have a large group of fans cheering for him from his hometown. After many years on the national circuit, including earning a No. 2 ranking in previous seasons, Cooper gets his first shot at the international field.    Sieracki has also paid his dues for many years. He won U.S. National titles in 1996 and 2001, and just missed out on making the last two Olympic teams. Sieracki chose to remain in wrestling, after the disappointment of the 2000 year.    The last time that the USA hosted a Greco-Roman World Championships was in 1979 in San Diego, Calif. Led by three medalists, Team USA placed fourth in the standings, its best international performance to date.     However, winning medals has been elusive to U.S. Greco-Roman athletes at recent World Championships, especially after the number of weight classes was reduced to eight. In the three World meets between 1997-99, the USA brought home just one medal, a silver by Matt Ghaffari in 1998. This group of veteran U.S. Greco-Roman stars hopes to start off the new Olympic cycle in a positive way, by winning medals and placing among the elite teams.    2001 U.S. GRECO-ROMAN WORLD TEAM  Weight/Name/Residence/College/Club  54 kg - Brandon Paulson, Golden Valley, Minn., Minnesota. Anoka (Minn.), Minnesota Storm  58 kg - Jim Gruenwald, Colorado Springs, Colo., Maranatha Baptist Bible, Greendale (Wis.), Sunkist Kids  63 kg - Kevin Bracken, Colorado Springs, Colo., Illinois State, St. Laurence (Ill.), New York AC  69 kg - Marcel Cooper, Quantico, Va., n/a, Nyack (N.Y.), U.S. Marines  76 kg - Keith Sieracki, Colorado Springs, Colo., n/a, Richland Center (Wis.), U.S. Army  85 kg - Matt Lindland, Oregon City, Ore., Nebraska, Gladstone (Ore.), Sunkist Kids  97 kg - Garrett Lowney, Freedom, Wis., Minnesota, Freedom (Wis.), Minnesota Storm  130 kg - Rulon Gardner, Colorado Springs, Colo., Nebraska, Star Valley (Wyo.), Sunkist Kids  Head Coach - Joe DeMeo, Niskayuna, N.Y.  Assistant Coach - Andy Seras, Sandy Hook, Conn.  National Greco-Roman Coach - Steve Fraser, Colorado Springs, Colo.