Sammie Henson (Norman, Okla./Sunkist Kids) at 54 kg/119 pounds qualified for the gold medal finals with victories in the semifinal round at the evening session of  the Olympic freestyle wrestling competition at the Sydney Exhibition Centre on September 28.    Henson qualified for the gold-medal match, after stopping German Kontoev of Belarus, 3-0. Henson scored all three points in the first period, turning Kontoev with a two-point gut wrench, then holding him for five seconds for point number three. There was no scoring in the second period.     The opponent for Henson in the gold-medal finals will be Namik Abdullayev of Azerbaijan, who Henson beat in the 1998 World finals in Tehran, Iran. Henson is competing in his first Olympic Games.    Slay earned his spot in the finals with a solid 3-1 victory over Adem Bereket of Turkey in the semifinals. There was no scoring in the first period, and in the clinch, Slay broke his hands executing a throw attempt and was hit with a caution and one point penalty. He tied the match quickly on a reversal at 3:48 at 1-1. At the 4:00 mark, Slay scored a two-point gutwrench for a 3-1 lead, which he held until the final whistle. Turkey protested the match, but the protest was denied.    His opponent will be Alexander Leipold of Germany, 1994 World champion and multiple World medalist.     Two other U.S. wrestlers opened their Olympic competition with victories: Terry Brands (Lincoln, Neb./Sunkist Kids) at 57 kg/127.75 pounds and Charles Burton (Bloomington, Ind./New York AC) at 187.25 pounds.    Brands dominated his first opponent, Abil Ibragimov of Kazakhstan, pinning him in 2:51. Brands scored two takedowns and received a point on a fleeing the mat call for a 3-0 lead. Then he turned Ibragimov with a gut wrench and pressed him to the mat for a fall.    Burton opened his Olympic experience with a solid shutout victory over Alione Diouf of Senegal. Burton scored his first point in the opening period, and opened things up in the second period, winning 4-0.     Two U.S. wrestlers who won their morning matches had byes in the evening session and did not compete: Lincoln McIlravy (Iowa City, Iowa/Gateway WC) at 69 kg/152 lbs. and Kerry McCoy (Bethlehem, Pa./New York AC) at 130 kg/286 lbs.    Freestyle Wrestling, September 29, 5:00 p.m. session    54 kg - Sammie Henson, Norman, Okla. (Sunkist Kids)    Semifinals - dec. German Kontoev (Belarus), 3-0    58 kg - Terry Brands, Lincoln, Neb. (Hawkeye WC)    pin Abil Ibragimov (Kazakhstan), 2:51    69 kg - Lincoln McIlravy, Iowa City, Iowa (Gateway WC)    No matches this session    76 kg - Brandon Slay, Amarillo, Texas (Dave Schultz WC)    Semifinals - dec. Adem Bereket (Turkey), 3-1    85 kg - Charles Burton, Bloomington, Ind. (New York AC)    vs. Alioune Diouf (Senegal), 4-0    130 kg - Kerry McCoy, Bethlehem, Pa. (New York AC)    No matches this session