Biographies of the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team Coaches in women's freestyle wrestling

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Gary Abbott (USA Wrestling)
12/22/2003


Tricia Saunders of Phoenix, Ariz.    Saunders served as head coach of the historic 2003 Pan American Games women's team, the first time that women's wrestling was included on the program. The U.S. swept all gold medals in the women's wrestling division, with Patricia Miranda, Tina George, Sara McMann and Toccara Montgomery claiming titles.    Saunders has been a member of the U.S. Women's World Team coaching staff in 2001, 2002 and 2003. She is a club coach with the Sunkist Kids. The women wrestlers for the Sunkist Kids won the 2002 and 2003 U.S. Nationals team title.    She was one of the most successful women's wrestler in history, winning four World Championships gold medals (1992, 1996, 1998 and 1999), as well as the 1993 World silver medal. Saunders was the first U.S. woman to win a World wrestling title. She completed her international competitive career in 2001, never having lost to a U.S. competitor. She won a record 11 U.S. Nationals titles in women's wrestling and won the World Team Trials 12 times. She was the Outstanding Wrestler at the 1992 World Championships.    Saunders is considered a pioneer in the development of women's wrestling in the nation. She was given the 1997 USA Wrestling Woman of the Year award, the first recipient of this award. She was also the USA Wrestling Women's Wrestler of the Year twice and the USOC Women's Wrestler of the Year three times.    She is married to Townsend Saunders, 1996 Olympic silver medalist in men's freestyle, and also head coach of the 2003 U.S. Women's World team. A graduate of the Univ. of Wisconsin, Saunders is originally from Ann Arbor, Mich., where she competed on a national level in the youth wrestling programs. One of her youth club teammates was Olympic medallist Zeke Jones, who is one of the Olympic Coaches in men's freestyle wrestling in 2004.    Townsend Saunders of Phoenix, Ariz.    Saunders served as head coach of the 2003 U.S. Women's World Team, which competed in New York City, N.Y. The team placed strong second in the standings, with seven medalists and individual champion Kristie Marano. The U.S. did not lose a match during the first two days of competition.    Saunders serves as a club coach for the Sunkist Kids, the nation's most successful wrestling club, since his competitive career ended in 1997. He is also the club's Executive Director. He has also been the assistant wrestling coach at Arizona State Univ., a Div. I wrestling power.    He is married to Tricia Saunders, a four-time Women's World Champion and one of America's most successful female wrestlers. Townsend helped coach Tricia throughout her career. He has attended seven previous Women's World Championships, assisting the U.S. coaching staff at each of these events.    Saunders won a silver medal in freestyle wrestling at 149.5 pounds at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Ga. He was also a member of the 1992 U.S. Olympic team, placing seventh at the Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain.    Saunders competed in the four World Championships events. He was fourth in the 1993 World Championships and eighth in the 1995 World Championships. He also competed in the 1991 and 1994 World Championships. Among his other major honors were gold medals at the 1991 and 1995 Pan American Games and a gold medal at the 1994 Goodwill Games. He also won two U.S. Nationals freestyle titles.    He began his college career at Cal-State Bakersfield, where he was a 1987 Div. II national champion. He transfered to Arizona State Univ., placing second in the 1989 NCAA Div. I Championships and third in the 1990 NCAA Div. I Championships.  He was a 1985 high school state runner-up for Torrance High School in California.    National Women's Coach Terry Steiner of Colorado Springs, Colo.    Steiner was named USA Wrestling's full-time National Women's Coach in April 2002.  He is responsible for the training of America's elite women freestyle wrestlers, as well as coaching women wrestlers who are involved in the U.S. Olympic Training Center resident athlete program. He also plays an important role in the development of women's wrestling in the United States.    Since becoming USA Wrestling's National Women's Coach, U.S. teams on international tours have turned in many outstanding performances. The United States placed second at the 2003 World Championships, with seven individual medalists, one in each weight class. Team USA upset Japan to win the 2003 Women's World Cup, as the world's top dual meet team. The USA swept all four gold medals at the 2003 Pan American Games, the first time that women's wrestling was contested.    Steiner completed his sixth season as an assistant wrestling coach at the Univ. of Wisconsin, working with head coach Barry Davis. He has helped develop a number of successful Div. I wrestlers, including two-time NCAA champion Donny Pritzlaff.    Steiner spent two seasons as an assistant coach at Oregon State. He was also a coach with the Hawkeye Wrestling Club in Iowa City, Iowa after his college career ended.    Since 1997, he served as one of the coaches for Wisconsin's USA Wrestling Cadet National Team. Along with his twin brother Troy, he directed a kids wrestling club in Iowa City in 1993-94.    As an athlete, Steiner claimed second in the 1998 U.S. Nationals in freestyle and placed at the National Championships eight times. He placed fourth in the 1996 Olympic Trials and fifth in the 2000 Olympic Trials. He won a gold medal at the 1996 Pan American Championships.     He was a 1993 NCAA Div. I champion for Univ. of Iowa, coached by the legendary Dan Gable. He won three All-American honors and compiled a career record of 124-27-2. He was also voted the Outstanding Wrestler at the 1993 NCAA Championships. Originally from Bismarck, N.D., Steiner won two state titles for Century High School. Steiner earned a bachelor's degree in social work from Iowa in 1993.