Local coaches Kenny, Massey to assist Brands at World Freestyle Dual meet in Sioux City, Iowa, April
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Tim Tushla (Siouxland Wrestling)
04/03/2002
SIOUX CITY, IA, April 2, 2002 - Bob Kenny and Keith Massey - both highly successful area high school wrestling coaches - have been chosen to assist World and Olympic Champion Tom Brands at the annual Two Worlds - One Mat dual wrestling meet, on Tuesday, April 9. Also just announced, 2000 Olympic silver medalist Moon Eui-Jae heads the list of athletes from South Korea who will compete against the U.S. in the dual which will be held at the Newman Flanagan Center on the campus of Briar Cliff University in Sioux City, IA, beginning at 7:00 p.m. The meet is one of just a handful of international duals to be held in the U.S. this year. Coach Kenny led his Emmetsburg/Armstrong/Ringsted team to the Iowa State Team title this year. It was the school's fourth state title during Kenny's tenure, including one state Dual Team title. Originally from Osage, Iowa, Kenny was a national wrestling qualifier for Buena Vista College. He coached for one year in Arizona before returning to Iowa and making stops at Maquoketa Valley and Estherville before taking over in Emmetsburg. He has coached seven individual state champions during his career. Massey recently resigned as wrestling coach at his alma mater, Council Bluffs Lewis Central, after eight seasons. His teams won consecutive Iowa State Individual Team and Iowa Dual Team titles in 200 and 2001. Massey returned to coach in Council Bluffs after being a two-time national qualifier for the University of Northern Iowa Panthers. Brands will lead the U.S. team against the same South Korean national team that will compete at the 2002 World Cup of Freestyle Wrestling, April 5-6, in Spokane, WA. Olympic silver medalist to compete For the Koreans, Moon will compete at 185 pounds, up from 167.5 pounds where he won his Olympic medal. He also placed second in the 2001 World Championships, to go along with another World silver medal won in 1998. He will face former Northern Iowa All-American Randy Pugh. Pugh, now a coach at his alma mater, is the 2001 Sunkist Open champion and 2002 Northern Plains Regional champion. He finished fourth in the 2000 NCAA Div. I National Championships at 174 pounds. Filling out the U.S. roster are two former national collegiate champions, Casey Cunningham and Eric Juergens. Cunningham, who took third in his division at the 2002 Dave Schultz Memorial International tournament, will take on 1999 Junior World Champion Choi Kwon-Sub. Cunningham was a 157-pound national champion at Central Michigan in 1999 and is currently an assistant coach at the school. Juergens, a two-time national champion at the University of Iowa, faces Hwang Hyan-Wung at 132 pounds. Juergens, a native of Maquoketa, Iowa, also finished third at this year's Dave Schultz and lives and trains in Iowa City. Hwang attends Kwan Dong University The other finalized match-ups include: At 121 pounds - Jody Strittmatter vs. Kim Jong-Dae. Strittmatter placed second at this year's Dave Schultz, losing a close bout to 2001 World Champion Herman Kantoev of Bulgaria. He was a two-time All-American for the University of Iowa, placing second last year and third in 2000. Kim is also a student at Kwan Dong University. At 145.5 pounds - Tony DeAnda vs. Baek Jim-Kuk. DeAnda is a South Sioux City, NE native and local favorite. He placed second at the 2002 Dave Schultz and third in the same tournament in 1997. Baek also qualified for the 1999 World Championships in Ankara, Turkey. At 211.5 pounds - Chad Lamer vs. Kang Dong-Guk. Lamer is a 2002 Dave Schultz Memorial Invitational champion and National Team member. He will be competing in the 2002 World Cup in Spokane before coming to Sioux City. Lamer is the 2001 US National runner-up, two-time Manitoba Open Champion and was champion of the University Worlds in 2000. Kang qualified for the 2001 World Championships and won a silver medal at the 2000 World University Championships. At 264.5 pounds - Tolly Thompson vs. Jung Chun-Mo. Thompson has won three recent events; the 2002 Pan American Championships, the 2002 Dave Schultz and the 2001 Sunkist Open. He was also the 1998 U.S. Nationals champion. Jung wrestled in the 2001 World Championships but did not place. Fellow team members Kang Dong-Guk (211.5 pounds) and Jung Chun-Mo (264.5 pounds) also competed in last year's World Championships but failed to place, although 1999 Junior World Champion Choi Kwon-Sub will wrestle at 163 pounds. Tom Brands will present a kids and coaches clinic held prior to the dual, beginning at 5:30 p.m. Admission to the clinic is free with a paid admission to the event. Tickets for the event are $10 and will only be available at the door. All seats are general admission