* 2003 Las Vegas United States Wrestling Championships to be held May 7-10 in Hall N1-2    LAS VEGAS--Prominent prep wrestlers Matt Conte, Chris Gifford, T.J. Geick and Chase Pami head a list of 24 Southern Nevada wrestlers who have received free entries into next month's Western Junior Regionals at the Las VegasConvention Center.    By virtue of placing in the top three at Nevada State 4A Wrestling Championships in March, the local wrestlers are eligible to receive complimentary entry into the largest regional tournament in the country, courtesy of the Las Vegas Sports Committee (LVSC).    Featuring Olympic-style wrestling, the Western Junior Regionals are part of the 2003 Las Vegas United States National Wrestling Championships, to be held on May 7-10.    The massive tournament, with over 2,000 athletes expected to compete, will include the U.S. Freestyle Nationals, the U.S. Greco-Roman Nationals, the U.S. Women's Nationals, the U.S. Veteran's Nationals and the Western Junior Regionals. The FOX Sports Network will televise a 90 minute broadcast of the finals on a delayed basis in late spring.    Being co-produced for the 14th time by USA Wrestling and the Las Vegas Sports Committee (LVSC), the 2003 Las Vegas United States National Wrestling Championships, presented by Knickerbocker, will be held in the Hall N1-2 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.    Conte, from Green Valley High School, won the Nevada gold at 135 pounds enroute to compiling an unblemished 52-0 record during this past season. Gifford, a junior at Las Vegas HS, won the 189-pound title for his second straight state crown. Gifford, the youngest of three of the all-time best prep wrestlers in Nevada history, finished the season with a 47-1 overall record, including 43 via pins.    Helping lead Cimarron-Memorial to the state championship, Geick won the 160-pound crown while Pami, just a sophomore, finished second at 145 pounds with a 43-3 season record. In last year's Western Junior Regionals, Pami, then just a freshman, went 6-2 to finish an impressive 6th at 145 lbs.    Besides Conte, Gifford and Geick, the other Southern Nevadans who captured gold at the Nevada State championships in Reno were three wrestlers from state champion Cimarron-Memorial--Randel Aleman (103 lbs.), Ronnie Kearney (119), and Justin Orians (130) along with Durango's Joe Thompson (171).    Southern Nevada athletes also captured 10 silver and seven bronze medals at this year's state tournament.    "Local athletes deserve these types of opportunities, especially in a sport like wrestling, which is not as high-profile as some of the other sports," said Larry Barnson, LVSC President who was head wrestling coach at Chaparral High School for 20 years and an educator in Southern Nevada for over 30 years. "Anything we can do to help our young people keep their athletic programs going, we will do. This event has helped developed better local wrestlers while also give the sport of wrestling considerable more exposure,not only in Southern Nevada, but across the country."    In Las Vegas, America's finest wrestlers will be starting the road to the World Championships. National Championships will be decided in the seven international weight categories for senior men and senior women competitors.    For men, the weight divisions are: 121 lbs. (55 kilograms), 132 lbs. (60 kg), 145.5 lbs. (66 kg), 163 lbs. (74 kg), 185 lbs. (84 kg), 211.5 lbs. (96 kg) and 264.5 lbs. (120 kg).    The seven women's weight divisions are: 105.5 lbs. (48 kg), 112 lbs. (51 kg), 121 lbs. (55 kg), 130 lbs. (59 kg), 138.75 lbs. (63 kg), 147.5 lbs. (67 kg) and 158.5 lbs. (72 kg).    There will be six weight categories for the veteran's divisions, split into five divisions based on ages. Competition this year will include Greco-Roman for the first time in addition to Freestyle.    Titles in 15 weight divisions will be decided in the Western Junior Regionals. Any qualified junior wrestler may compete in one of seven regional championships held annually by USA Wrestling across the country.    The top seven place winners in each weight class in men's freestyle and men's Greco-Roman along with the top eight women's place winners in each weight class will qualify for the U.S. World Team Trials to be held June 20-22 in Indianapolis.    The top three finishers in each weight class in the Western Junior Regionals qualifying for the respective State teams for the Junior Nationals this summer.    Las Vegas has hosted and the LVSC and USA Wrestling have worked together to hold 13 previous Nationals in the Southern Nevada area, including the past two years. It will be the 11th time the event will be held at the Las Vegas Convention Center.    Officially, the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority is title sponsor of the event and presenting sponsor is Knickerbocker, L.L.C., of Gladstone, N.J. The championships are being sanctioned by USA Wrestling, the national governing body for the sport and is being co-produced by the Las Vegas Sports Committee and USAW.    Action on 20 mats will run from 11 a.m. - 10 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday, May 7-8, and 9 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday, May 9. On Saturday, May 10, the morning session will run from 9 a.m. - 3 p.m., followed by the national championship finals in Freestyle, Greco-Roman and Women's Freestyle starting at 6 p.m.    Advance VIP, Preferred and General Admission All-Event tickets are on sale through the LVSC ticket office at 866.418.0372 or locally at 702.360.3739. With admission for all four days, VIP All-Event packages are $150 each, Preferred All-Event tickets are $65 each and General Admission All-Event tickets are on sale for $45 for adults and $20 for students (6 to 17 years old).    Preferred and General Admission daily tickets will be available at the door only. Preferred daily tickets will be $35 while General Admission daily tickets will be $25 for adults and $15 for students.    Tickets to the finals only (to be held at 6 p.m. on Saturday, May 10) will be available on the day of the event at the door. Preferred tickets will be $25 while General Admission tickets for the finals will be $20 for adults and $10 for students.    Volunteer meal sponsors this year include: Jason's Deli, Memphis BBQ, Ricardos and Port of Subs.    For 18 years, the LVSC, a non-profit organization benefitting the youth of Las Vegas, has been producing special events in the Las Vegas area. Other major wrestling events produced by the LVSC include the 1997 USA Wrestling Freestyle World Team Trials, the 1998 NAIA National Wrestling Championships and the 1998 Junior World Freestyle Wrestling Championships. In July of 1999, the LVSC presented the U.S. Taekwondo Junior Olympics with over 5,000 participants.To date, the LVSC has contributed nearly $300,000 to local youth programs.    Additional information is available from the LVSC offices at 361.5017 or on the organization's website at www.lvsports.org