Moscow, Russia - Brandon Paulson (Anoka, Minn./Minnesota Storm), Kevin Bracken (Colorado Springs, Colo./New York AC) and Brad Vering (Colorado Springs, Colo./Sunkist Kids) all won their first bouts of the morning session at the 2002 Greco-Roman World Championships in Moscow, Russia.    Paulson, favored by some to win a gold medal this year at 55 kg/121 lbs., was sharp in his first match of the day, defeating Pasi Huntala (Finland), 4-0. Paulson scored all four points in the first minute of the first period, earning two takedowns and two more points on a gut wrench.    Paulson will next wrestle Hamou Oubrick (France), who lost to Huntala 8-2 in the first round.    At 66 kg/145.5 lbs., Bracken, who is competing in his third World Championships, held off a late rally against Ondrei Jaros (Czech Republic) to win his first match 8-5. Bracken took a quick 5-0 lead after scoring an escape, a takedown and three exposure points, but Jaros was also able to score exposure points. While on top late in the match, Jaros lifted Bracken, but was only able to score one exposure point for a hand-to-hand roll.    Bracken will face Farid Mansurov (Azerbaijan) in the evening session. Mansurov defeated Jaros 4-0 in the second round, meaning Bracken must win to advance from his pool.    Vering, competing at 84 kg/185 lbs., won his first match 4-0 over Tarvi Thomberg (Estonia). Vering took a 2-0 lead into the second period after a takedown and a fleeing the mat call against Thomberg. In the second period, Vering sealed the win with a takedown with only 30 seconds left.    Vering will now square off with Minguzzi Andreas (Italy), who lost to Thomberg 7-0 in the second round.    "I am excited about all of this," Vering said after posting his first major international win. "The jitters are all gone now, so it is time to just go out and wrestle. I know what I need to do to win my next match, just like I had mapped out my first match as well. Hopefully I can come away with a win and advance out of my pool."    2001 World Champions Hassan Rangraz (Iran), Vaghinak Galustyan (Armenia) and Aleksandr Menshikov (Russia) also finished the morning session undefeated.    Rangraz, who defeated Paulson in the gold medal match last year, won by a 12-1 technical superiority at 55 kg/121 lbs. Galustyan, who moved into the 66 kg/145.5 lbs. weight class this year, won his only match of the day.    Two-time Olympic champion Hamza Yerlikaya (Turkey) also advanced out of his pool at 84 kg/185 lbs. Yerlikaya, who captured Olympic gold in 1996 and 2000, won 3-0 in the first round before pinning his opponent in the second round.    1998 World gold medalist Aleksandr Menshikov (Russia), wrestling at 84 kg/185 lbs., advanced out of his pool after posting wins of 4-0 and 6-0.    The next session of pool competition and the quarterfinals will begin at 6:00 p.m. Moscow time, which is 8 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time (EST).    U.S. RESULTS  55 kg/121 lbs. - Brandon Paulson (Anoka, Minn./Minnesota Storm)  dec. Pasi Huntala (Finland), 4-0    66 kg/145.5 lbs. - Kevin Bracken (Colorado Springs, Colo./New York AC)  dec. Ondrei Jaros (Czech Republic), 8-5    84 kg/185 lbs. - Brad Vering (Colorado Springs, Colo./Sunkist Kids)  dec. Tarvi Thomberg (Estonia), 4-0