USA Wrestling and the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) are excited to announce the creation of the first U.S. Olympic Training Center (USOTC) Women's Wrestling Resident Athlete Program.     This exciting new program, a cooperative effort between USA Wrestling and the USOC,  provides a full-time training opportunity for elite women freestyle wrestlers at the U.S. Olympic Training Center (USOTC) in Colorado Springs, Colo., and officially begins Aug. 19, 2002.    The initial resident athletes will feature many of the nation's best women wrestlers, including five of the seven No. 1 ranked women in the country.  Terry Steiner, who joined USA Wrestling full-time as the Women's National Team Coach in the beginning of August, will oversee the training and conditioning of the women athletes.     Currently, both men's Greco-Roman and freestyle wrestling maintain resident programs at the U.S. Olympic Training Center (USOTC) in Colorado.  Greco-Roman began its resident program in 1993, while freestyle started its program in the fall of 1997.  Over the years, both programs have grown in size and quality and have been successful in developing a number of athletes into World and Olympic medalists.  In addition, the quality of competition and depth of the national program has improved in both styles.     The establishment of the resident athlete program should help continue to pace the growth of women's wrestling as an Olympic sport, as well as the performance of the U.S. team.    "The resident program is a huge step for us," said National Women's Coach Terry Steiner.  "To have a training environment where the women can train with other top women wrestlers and concentrate solely on freestyle wrestling should be a great asset to their development."      Steiner, a three-time All-American and 1993 NCAA Champion at the University of Iowa, accepted the position of USA Wrestling's National Women's Coach in April.  Some of his previous coaching experiences include six years as an assistant coach at Wisconsin and two years as an assistant coach at Oregon State.  Steiner has helped to develop many of the top college wrestlers in the nation such as two-time NCAA Champion Donny Pritzlaff.      USOTC residents live in a dormitory-type setting on the Training Center complex, and enjoy full use of the USOC's training, medical, and food facilities.  The USOC also provides distinguished sports psychologists, bio-mechanists, and strength and conditioning coaches for its resident athletes to help maximize each athlete's potential.    Another advantage of having a resident athlete program is the opportunity to hold joint training camps with foreign nations.  Wrestlers from across the world can come to train and compete with the residents, providing additional international experience for the U.S. wrestlers.    Providing an outstanding training environment conducive to high-intensity training, all of the resident programs are designed to help the United States remain as one of the dominant wrestling nations in the world, and continue to win Olympic medals for the United States.    National Freestyle Developmental Coach Dave Bennett and other USA Wrestling coaching staff members will be working with the women alongside Steiner.  They all have high expectations and aspirations for the U. S. Women's National Team in the upcoming years.    "We are excited and confident that the resident program will be the cornerstone about which our women's success at the 2004 Olympic Games will be based," said Rich Bender, USA Wrestling Executive Director.      Beginning in August, the USOTC will begin to welcome 18 of the nation's most talented women wrestlers who have been chosen to make the move to Colorado Springs.  They will bring with them lifelong dreams and strong anticipation of helping establish U.S. women's wrestling as a force to be reckoned with in its inaugural appearance at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. Most of the residents accepted will begin right away in August, while a number of others will join full-time later in the year.    The No. 1 ranked wrestlers who will help form the first women's resident team are Patricia Miranda (Stanford, Calif./Dave Schultz WC) at 48 kg/105.5 lbs., Jenny Wong (Stillwater, Minn./Sunkist Kids) at 51 kg/112 lbs., Tina George-Wilson (Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Army) at 55 kg/121 lbs., Sara McMann (Lock Haven, Pa./Sunkist Kids) at 63 kg/138.5 lbs., and Katie Downing (Pendleton, Ind. /UM-Morris) at 67 kg/147.5 lbs.  Miranda, Wong and George-Wilson are scheduled to start in the program in August, while McMann and Downing will join this winter.    The No. 2 ranked wrestlers who have joined the program are Clarissa Chun (Kapolei, Hawaii/Wilson's Angels) at 48 kg/105.5 lbs., Katie Kunimoto (Kaneohe, Hawaii/Pacific) at 51 kg/112 lbs., Stephanie Murata (Minden, Nev./Sunkist Kids) at 55 kg/121 lbs., and Iris Smith (Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Army) at 72 kg/158.5 lbs.  Most of the resident athletes will be on the USOTC campus, while some will live off campus but have full access to the training resources.    The past year has seen many milestones for women in wrestling.  The women's resident program is just one of many examples of the progression of women in the sport.  Since the International Olympic Committee announced in September 2001 that women's freestyle will be added to the official program at the 2004 Olympic Games, the opportunities and the promotion of women's wrestling have greatly increased.      In May 2002, a two-month training camp for women was held at USOTC, marking the first time that top women wrestlers were brought together for an organized training camp other than for the World Championships.  The camp proved to be beneficial as the participants showed significant improvement and were provided experience of what a resident athlete program would feature.    To help promote the development of the sport in younger girls, the first USA Wrestling National Women's Developmental Camp was held in Colorado Springs July 1-7. The coaching staff consisted of experienced women's coaches and accomplished current women's wrestlers, with over 40 campers involved.    For the first time in history, women's freestyle wrestling was featured at the ASICS Junior National Championships in Fargo, N.D., July 20-27 2002.  The best female high school wrestlers in the nation competed for national titles and All-American awards in the tournament, which is considered the largest and most prestigious youth wrestling event in the world.    2002-2003 USOTC WOMENS FREESTYLE RESIDENT ATHLETES  as of 8/5/02    48 kg/105.5 lbs. *  Clarissa Chun, Kapolei, Hawaii   Patricia Miranda, Stanford, Calif.   Malinda Ripley, Antioch, Calif.     51 kg/112 lbs.  Katie Kunimoto, Kaneohe, Hawaii   Jenny Wong, Stillwater, Minn.     55 kg/121 lbs. *  Tina George-Wilson, Colorado Springs, Colo.  Stephanie Murata, Minden, Nev.   Tela O'Donnell, Homer, Alaska     59 kg/130 lbs.  Erin Tomeo, Volant, Pa.     63 kg/138.5 lbs. *  Tori Adams, Amarillo, Texas  Sara McMann, Lock Haven, Pa.   Sally Roberts, Federal Way, Wash.    67 kg/147.5 lbs.  Katie Downing, Pendleton, Ind.     72 kg/158.5 lbs.*  Samantha Branka, Lincoln Park, Mich.   Rachel Glogowski, Mechanicsburg, Pa.   Kaci Lyle, Eureka, Calif.   Iris Smith, Colorado Springs, Colo.   Satrinina Vernon, Rodeo, Calif.     * = Olympic weight class