It was the night before the 2002 Western Junior Regionals in Las Vegas. At about 10 o'clock in the evening there were still 20 wrestlers on the staged wrestling mat getting personalized instruction from USA Wrestling Developmental Coach Ike Anderson and University of Pennsylvania Assistant Coach Mike Duroe.      As the wrestlers refined their technique in par terre defense, it was clear that they were trying to gain that little extra edge on their opponents. The group, mainly comprised of young wrestlers from the state of Hawaii, had their goal proudly displayed on the back of the t-shirts they wore.     An outline of the islands of Hawaii was displayed distantly from the outline of the continental United States. Linking the islands to the mainland was a graphic of a wrestler in a high back-arching throw.  Above the map and toss was the phrase, "Bridging the Gap."    Hawaii's ascension to the top wrestling states is by no means complete.  There is much work to be done, but clearly there is a committed and growing USA Wrestling organization in Hawaii that is offering wrestlers and coaches the opportunity to get deeply involved in the sport of wrestling.     To take a team from Hawaii to a mainland wrestling tournament many hours of legwork has to be completed months in advance.  Hawaii's Women's Director John Kerley, notes, "We start in December to organize a trip like this. It really is a five or six month process."    Kids from Hawaii that want to wrestle mainland competition must also commit to raising the resources to cover the costs themselves.  The wrestlers fundraise tenaciously with car washes, candy sales, and coupon books. "It's an expensive proposition but in many ways the small state of Hawaii is on course to accomplish big things in the wrestling world," said Kerley.    At last summer's Junior Nationals,  Hawaii's Travis Lee stormed through the Greco-Roman field and won Hawaii's first Junior National Title. Lee then astounded the mainland wrestlers by following up his Greco-Roman  gold with a freestyle gold as well. The scene was a picture of elation, as the Hawaii delegation celebrated Lee's success.    Billy Wood, a dedicated wrestling coach from Hawaii, states, "We are really trying to catch up with the mainland in the wrestling scene. These are the kids who are widening the path that Travis Lee blazed for us last year. We use his (Travis') video from Fargo as an inspirational tool. He really made believers out of all us here in Hawaii."    Lee didn't disappoint his home state this year in Albany, N.Y. at the NCAA Championships. He turned in a spectacular performance by earning All-American status as a true freshman for Cornell at the 125-pound weight class. While Lee will forever be remembered as the founding father of success from the state, women's wrestling is on the brink of achieving history as well for Hawaii.      Hawaii already has a strong contingent of women wrestlers that are also gunning to win the first Women's Junior National Team Title this July in Fargo at the inaugural Junior Women's tournament. Hawaii has a deep field of talent in the women's division.  Seven women wrestlers made the trip to Las Vegas in April.  Hawaii, one of only two states that offers an official state tournament for girls, is also looking to field a full team of women in Fargo.      "We'll see how many girls that we can convince that this will be history in the making and they need to be a part of it," says Wood. "If we get the girls to go, we have enough girls to dominate over there."    With the success that many Hawaii wrestlers are having in freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling many more wrestlers from the state are joining the USA Wrestling ranks to hone their skills in the spring and summer tourneys.      John Kerley says that Travis Lee's high school coach (Todd Losbanos) credits the USA Wrestling schedule with his successful transition to the NCAAs. "It has inspired all Hawaii wrestlers," states Kerley.      As more Hawaii youth want to participate in the international styles, many more high school coaches are also getting involved with these traveling teams. "Coaches want to keep up with their wrestlers.  They see a commitment in the kids and feel the duty to be a coach for more than just the high school season," cites Wood.    The teams from Hawaii that travel to mainland are exposed to a whole other level of wrestling than they were used to.  For the many wrestlers that traveled to Vegas for the Western Regionals, the weekend was not filled with medal performances.    Only Laura Obuhanych placed by earning eighth at the 51 kg class in the Senior Women's Nationals. Her placing though qualified her for the next big step on the path to excellence - the World Team Trials in Saint Paul, Minn., June 21-23. Obuhanych plans to take advantage of her qualification and wrestle in the tournament that determines the next Women's Team USA.    The wrestlers were impressed with the level of competition. They also enjoyed how easy it was to meet the many heroes of the sport that were in town for the U.S. Nationals. The Hawaii team sought out autographs from Olympic Medalists and World Champions, while they battled for victories in the Junior tournament.     Billy Wood related the story of the team sitting silently in the van after they had been eliminated from the tournament. The wrestlers had learned about the highest level of competition and had taken some lumps doing it.  Shawn Tsutsum, one of Hawaii's 119 pounders, broke the silence by saying, "Wow, these guys are serious!"    It has been a learning process for the wrestling community from Hawaii. But, the sights for Hawaii's wrestlers are set very high. With the growing exposure of wrestling in the state, more and more kids are determined to raise their level of performance and "Bridge the Gap"  to their mainland counterparts.      John Kerley reflects the feelings of the wrestling community, which is optimistic about Hawaii's wrestling future. "I fully expect an Olympic team member to be from Hawaii," he said.    The goals, the organization, the commitment and the determination seem to be coming together for the wrestling community in Hawaii.