Notes from the World Team Trials: Zadick receives delay; Montgomery moves up in weight

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Gary Abbott (USA Wrestling)
06/20/2002


Two top seeds change, as Zadick takes extension and Montgomery moves up…    Two of the top seeds for the 2002 World Team Trials changed at the weigh-in, as a pair of national champions caused adjustments to the draw.    Bill Zadick (Iowa City, Iowa/Hawkeye WC), as the top seed at 66 kg/145.5 lbs. in men's freestyle, exercised his right to extend his final series due to injury. U.S. Nationals runner-up Jamill Kelly moves up into the No. 1 spot at the weight class. Zadick has the right to challenge the winner of this weekend's event in a best-of-three Special Wrestle-off at a later date prior to the World Championships.     Toccara Montgomery (Cleveland, Ohio/Sunkist Kids), the U.S. Nationals champion at 67 kg/147.5 lbs. in women's wrestling, decided to move up in weight class to compete at the Olympic weight division of 72 kg/158.5 pounds. She gives up her position as the top seed, and was placed in the Challenge Tournament at her new weight division. Montgomery, a 2001 World silver medalist, received the No. 1 seed in the Challenge Tournament. She had indicated a week ago in an interview with TheMat.com that she intended to drop to 138.75 pounds, but chose to go up instead. When Montgomery vacated her top spot, U.S. Nationals runner-up Katie Downing (Pendleton, Ind./UM-Morris) assumed the No. 1 seed at her division.    Two wrestlers arrive late and miss weigh-in, eliminated from the draw…    A pair of freestyle wrestlers, Ramico Blackmon (Colorado Springs, Colo./Team Excel) and Celso DeAnda (Colorado Springs, Colo./Team Excel) arrived at the weigh-in area at the Radisson Hotel in Saint Paul after the end of the weigh-in time, and was unable to enter the event, eliminated from competition.    Blackmon placed third at 74 kg/163 lbs. at this year's U.S. Nationals, while DeAnda was eighth at the U.S. Nationals at 66 kg/145.5 lbs.    1996 Olympian Dave Zuniga to try his hand in freestyle, again    David Zuniga (New Brighton, Minn./Minnesota Storm) has entered the World Team Trials again, but has returned to freestyle wrestling for the first time in a dozen years.    Zuniga, a member of the 1996 U.S. Olympic Greco-Roman team, also competed on a number of U.S. World teams in the classic style. After a time away from the sport, he has decided to switch back to freestyle.    In 1990, Zuniga placed second to John Smith at the U.S. Freestyle Nationals. That same season, he was second in the NCAA Championships as a Minnesota Gopher to Tom Brands of Iowa. After recovering from a knee injury, Zuniga chose to pursue Greco-Roman on the international scene, becoming one of the nation's best for a decade.    World silver medalist Eggum gets No. 2 seed in Challenge Tournament    In spite of winning a silver medal at the 2001 World Championships, the best performance of any U.S. freestyle wrestler at the event, Brandon Eggum (Minneapolis, Minn./Minnesota Storm) received the No. 2 seed in the Challenge Tournament at 84 kg/185 lbs. In effect, the seeding committee of club coaches predicted that Eggum was the third best wrestler in the weight class in the United States, although he is right now considered No. 2 in the world.    Eggum was a replacement at the World Championships for Cael Sanderson, who missed the event when it was moved from New York and delayed until November due to college responsibilities. This year, Eggum did not compete at the U.S. Nationals due to injury, and Sanderson claimed the No. 1 spot there. Earning the top seed at the weight class is Lee Fullhart, the 2002 U.S. Nationals runner-up behind Sanderson. Without a doubt, this will be one of the most hotly contested divisions in the event.  Those who didn't come this year included…    … Matt Lindland, the 2000 Olympic silver medalist and 2001 World silver medalist, who has been concentrating on his career in mixed martial arts…    …Rulon Gardner, the World and Olympic champion who was severely injured with frostbite this winter, who has not yet recovered enough to compete this season…    …Brian Dolph, the 2000 Olympic Trials runner-up, who returned to the mats in April and placed sixth at the U.S. Nationals at 74 kg/163 lbs…