2003 Armed Forces Championships to be held April 12-13 in Mountain Home, Idaho

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John Fuller (USA Wrestling)
04/11/2003


The 2003 Armed Forces Championships are set to be held April 12-13 in Mountain Home, Idaho at Mountain Home High School. This event will feature the top men's freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestlers who are currently active in the U.S. Armed Forces.    The event is run in a dual-meet format, similar to the World Cup. Each military squad will face each other once with individual medal winners being decided by overall record and classification points.    "We are fortunate to have this amount of talent come to our area," said Rick Holmes, 366 Service Squadron's fitness center director. "This is a great chance for the public to come out, support our troops and see some of the best wrestling around."    Last year, the U.S. Army team came away with a 3-0 record in both the men's freestyle and Greco-Roman competitions and had three individual gold medalists in each style.    Leading the U.S. Air Force squad will be 2002 U.S. Greco-Roman World Team Trials runner-up Corey Farkas (Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Air Force) at 120 kg/264.5 lbs. and 2003 Dave Schultz Memorial International runner-up Aaron Sieracki (Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Air Force) at 84 kg/185 lbs.    The squad will be coached by Rich Estrella (Colorado Springs, Colo.) and R.J. Scott.    The U.S. Army team will be led by 2002 Greco-Roman World Champion Dremiel Byers (Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Army) at 120 kg/264.5 lbs. Byers also recently won the Pan American Championships title. He will be joined by 2002 U.S. National Freestyle Team member Jason Kutz (Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Army) at 60 kg/132 lbs.    The team will be coached by Shon Lewis (Colorado Springs, Colo.) and Craig Cooper (Fort Benning, Ga.).    The U.S. Navy team will be coached by 1996 Olympic coach Rob Hermann (Pensacola, Fla.) and will be led by Neal Rodak (San Diego, Calif./U.S. Navy) at 55 kg/121 lbs. Rodak placed third at the 2002 Greco-Roman World Cup and fourth at the 2003 Concord Cup.    Marcel Cooper (Quantico, Va./U.S. Marine Corps) will lead the U.S. Marine Corps team at 66 kg/145.5 lbs. Cooper was a member of the 2001 U.S. Greco-Roman World Team and placed second at the 2002 Greco-Roman World Cup.    The U.S. Marine Corps team will be coached by Jay Antonelli (Quantico, Va.) and 1984 Olympic silver medalist Greg Gibson (Quantico, Va.).    Security considerations have prompted the event staff to hold the tournament at Mountain Home High School, 300 S. 11th E., Mountain Home, Idaho as opposed to the original plan to hold the event in the Fitness Center on Mountain Home Air Force Base.    For more information on this event, contact tournament director Rich Estrella at 719-573-4651. Admission is free to the public for both days.    2003 Armed Forces Championships  Mountain Home, Idaho  Schedule  Saturday, April 12  9:00 a.m. - Opening Ceremonies  9:30 a.m. - Greco-Roman Session 1  11:30 a.m. - Greco-Roman Session 2  2:30 p.m. - Greco-Roman Session 3    Sunday, April 13  9:30 a.m. - Freestyle Session 1  11:30 a.m. - Freestyle Session 2  2:30 p.m. - Freestyle Session 3  4:30 p.m. - Awards Ceremony    U.S. Air Force Team based in Peterson Air Force Base, Colo.  55 kg/121 lbs. - Chris Lape, Jay Field, Ricardo Osorio  60 kg/132 lbs. - Jacob Hey, Jared Moreland  66 kg/145.5 lbs. - Steve Woods, Jeremiah Jolliff  74 kg/163 lbs. - Royce Johnson, Ricky Silvis  84 kg/185 lbs. - Aaron Sieracki, Dave Spangler  96 kg/211.5 lbs. - John Groundwater, Curtis Krenzke  120 kg/264.5 lbs. - Corey Farkas, Jerry Ready  Coaches: Rich Estrella and R.J. Scott    U.S. Army Team based in Fort Carson, Colo.  55 kg/121 lbs. - Eric Albarracin, Anthony Gibbons, Michel Santos  60 kg/132 lbs. - Jason Kutz, Glenn Nieradka  66 kg/145.5 lbs. - Oscar Wood, Glenn Garrison  74 kg/163 lbs. - Max Shingara, Keith Sieracki  84 kg/185 lbs. - Charles Daniels, Kenneth Owens  96 kg/211.5 lbs. - Franklin Lashley, Jason Loukides  120 kg/264.5 lbs. - Dominic Black, Dremiel Byers  Coaches: Shon Lewis and Craig Cooper    U.S. Marine Corps Team based in Quantico, Va.  55 kg/121 lbs. - Duaine Martin, Justin Cannon  60 kg/132 lbs. - Jesse Clark  66 kg/145.5 lbs. - Marcel Cooper, Carson Bernard  74 kg/163 lbs. - Robert McKenney, Jess Hargrave  84 kg/185 lbs. - Kevin Ahearn, Jake Clark  96 kg/211.5 lbs. - Mike Bigrigg, Deon Hicks  120 kg/264.5 lbs. - David Workman, Ray Mendoza  Coaches: Jay Antonelli and Greg Gibson    U.S. Navy Team based in Pensacola, Fla.  55 kg/121 lbs. - Neal Rodak, Michael Wendelken  60 kg/132 lbs. - Chris Winter, Mark Gaskill  66 kg/145.5 lbs. - Anthony Doerr, Joseph Hernan  74 kg/163 lbs. - Nicholas Flach  84 kg/185 lbs. - Joseph Axioits, Christopher Cologgi  96 kg/211.5 lbs. - Adam Wheeler  120 kg/264.5 lbs. - Josh Feldman  Coach: Rob Hermann