Our Goal Was:  Minimum of 5 Individual Medals and 1st Place Team Finish    We fell a bit short of the goal, winning only 3 medals and placing 3rd in the team race. But, we are moving forward. This 3rd place finish was a first for our U.S. Greco squad. Never before in our Greco history have we placed in the top 3 in a World Championship. Last year, we did place 3rd in the Sydney Olympics, which was our best performance to date in Olympic competition.    Cuba won the tournament this year with 54 points. Our friends from Cuba wrestled extremely well placing a man at every weight class (4 medals). Russia took 2nd place with 38 points (3 medals). For Russia, this was the first time since 1950 that they have not won the World tournament.  Needless to say, they were not smiling too much. And we took 3rd with 33 points.    Our Boys wrestled like mad men. They did not let the September 11th tragedy get them down.  The events of September 11th may have altered the date and place of the Championship, but it did not deter our dedicated Greco team from adjusting their training plan/schedule appropriately to prepare for this event. This was not an easy thing to do. There was no complaining, no negativity, no hesitation from the guys regarding going to Patras, Greece on December 6-9 and it paid off in their performance.    Here is a short blurb on each of our guys.    Brandon Paulson was unbelievable in his performance in Patras, Greece. Winning the Silver Medal was truly remarkable. Each match was very intense. Brandon's focus and relentless intensity was tremendous. He won close match after close match. He stuck to his game plan and it proved to be successful. For Brandon, this was his third major World event. He won Silver in the Junior Worlds and Silver at the Atlanta Olympics and now a Silver in the 2001 Greco World Championships. Three International World events and 3 World Medals --- not too shabby.     Jim Gruenwald is one great leader. He fell short of his goal of winning the Gold Medal by ending up in 10th place at 58 kg, but as usual,  he wrestled his heart out. Not only did he represent our country proudly and honorably, but he helped us accomplish our 3rd place team finish. His contribution to our squad as one of our veterans shines very brightly. His great attitude, positive thinking, hard work, friendly and fun attributes all helped to create a winning atmosphere throughout our training and preparation. This lent enormously to our team's performance. Jim is a wonderful leader of men and a great person to boot.    Kevin Bracken placed 7th in one of the toughest weight classes in the World. He wrestled extremely well. Kevin is one of the most explosive, quick, technical wrestlers in the World. His dedication to improving his skills the past few years has been very obvious and impressive.  He destroyed his first three opponents by a combined score of 30 to 2.  Then in his 4th match against Israel  (the eventual Bronze Medallist), Kevin was up 2-0 with 15 seconds to go in regulation, when off of Kevin's arm drag the Israeli, hit a half-hearted, desperation throw and the official awarded a controversial 1 point, making the score 2-1. At the end of regulation, they went to the clinch where Kevin threw the Israeli and in a hair splitting exposure situation, Kevin exposed his back before coming up on top to score himself. But the two-point exposure against him ended the match 3-2 in favor of the Israeli. Truly, one of the most heart-breaking losses I've ever experienced. Kevin is another great example of what it takes to be the best.    Marcel Cooper had a tough draw facing the 1999 World Champion from Korea his first match. Marcel went out ahead of the Korean but lost a hard fought, close match. He is very talented and very close to being able to beat them all worldwide. Marcel has a great attitude and with a little more work, he will beat them all, worldwide.    Keith Sieracki ended up 11th with a 2-1 record. Keith has a European type style of wrestling where he is very strong on his feet and has a great lift from the mat. This was Keith's first World Championships and with more experience and focus in a couple of areas, he can be the best. He is also a great person to have on the squad. A real team player.    Matt Lindland won his second consecutive Silver Medal in World/Olympic competition and he did it up a weight class at 85 kg. This accomplishment is truly remarkable for him as well as our team. This is the first time in the history of U.S. Greco-Roman wrestling that we have won a medal in World/Olympic competition at this weight category. And we have had some great U.S. wrestlers at this weight.      Matt had a tough draw beating Yugoslavia, Israel and Uzbekistan, and in his 4th match, in the semi-finals against former World Champion Menshikov of Russia, Matt truly outdid himself. With the Russian Team title on the line, Matt went out and wrestled one of the best matches I've seen him wrestle and with 10 to 15 seconds to go in regulation with a score of 2-2, Matt lifted the Russian Champion with his patented Matt Lindland back lift. It was a crushing, explosive throw scoring 4 points securing the tremendous victory. In the finals, Matt wrestled against Vakhrangrdze of Georgia, where he had a heart breaking 2-1 loss.  Matt is a fine example of what American wrestlers can do with hard work and determination. He is one tough, mean individual and has the mental attitude of a gladiator. Matt is one of the best competitors I've ever had the pleasure to work with.    Jason Loukides was the 1st alternate at 97 kg.  for the U.S. when Garrett Lowney (our Sydney Bronze Medallist) of the University of Minnesota opted not to wrestle at the Worlds due to academic and college schedule issues. Jason Loukides represented our team admirably considering that he was suffering from a pretty severe back ailment during the World event. He had a tough draw losing both his pool matches. He is a tough kid with a great attitude that with continued improvement and experience can make his mark in the future.    Rulon Gardner is truly the heavyweight champion of the World! This man, and I mean man, is for real. Rulon had by far the most difficult draw of anybody in any weight class. He wrestled Israel, Ukraine, Russia, Bulgaria, and Hungary. I would consider every one of those guys to be in the top 5 or 6 in the World. The highlight for me was the match Rulon had against the "new" Russian Machine" in the quarterfinals, Patrikeev, a spectacular looking heavyweight that has beaten Rulon twice previously. Last year, in the Podoubny Tournament finals in Moscow, Rulon lost to Patrikeev when Rulon got caught in a throw and pinned. This Russian is extremely powerful.      So the stage was set. The Russians were going to get their revenge for Rulon upsetting their Russian hero Alexander Karelin at the Sydney Olympic Games. The atmosphere was electric. Everyone in the arena was anticipating this match. The President of FILA, Milan Ercegan, was in his traditional seat at the head table, front and center, much like Caesar in the days of the Roman Empire.     The match was tremendous. Both Champions scraping and fighting for position.  Some close scores, but no points went up on the board. At the end of the first period, it is 0-0. The infamous clinch will be called to begin the second period.     Rulon wins the toss, which means the onus is on him to score within the first minute. They clinch and at 30 seconds, the Russian circles around in a forceful manner and Rulon breaks his grip as they go out of bounds. One point is awarded to the Russian and Rulon goes down in par terre.     For the second time in the match, the Russian explodes with his powerful gut wrench attempts one way and then the other. But Rulon fights and does not go over. They go back to their feet where Rulon starts to pick up the pace. He locks his arms around Patrikeev in a bodylock/clinch position. Rulon then bears down on Patrikeev exploding into a bodylock throw. The action takes them out of bounds where Rulon ends up on his back. The ref scores no points but the chairman wants to review the action on th