Bono and Williams advance to the quarterfinals at the first 2004 Olympic Qualification Tournament

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John Fuller (USA Wrestling)
01/31/2004


Bratislava, Slovakia - Chris Bono (Gilbert, Iowa/Sunkist Kids) and Joe Williams (Iowa City, Iowa/Sunkist Kids) have won their pools and advanced to the quarterfinals at the first 2004 Olympic Qualification Tournament.    Bono defeated Ahto Raska of Estonia 5-3 in his second pool match at 66 kg/145.5 lbs. to advance to the quarterfinals. Bono will face the winner of a qualification bout between Alireza Dabir of Iran and Ramesh Kumar of India.    Williams downed Eugen Preda of Romania 5-0 in his second pool match at 74 kg/163 lbs. In the quarterfinals, Williams will face Krystian Brzozowski of Poland.    Complete pool results are not yet available. Check back to TheMat.com for updates.    The U.S. still must qualify the 66 kg/145.5 lbs. and 74 kg/163 lbs. weight classes for the 2004 Olympic Games. Competing for the U.S. at the first qualification tournament are Chris Bono (Gilbert, Iowa/Sunkist Kids) at 66 kg/145.5 lbs. and Joe Williams (Iowa City, Iowa/Sunkist Kids) at 74 kg/163 lbs.    In order to qualify the weight class for the 2004 Olympic Games, wrestlers must place in the top five at their respective weight class.    Wrestlers qualifying for the Olympic Games only qualify their weight class for their nation. Olympic Team athlete selection varies by country. Positions on the 2004 U.S. Olympic Teams will be determined at the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team Trials-Wrestling in Indianapolis, Ind., May 21-23.    The Slovakian Wrestling Federation has set up a web page that has information on these championships. To follow the action, visit:  http://www.zapasenie.sk/olympic/main.htm    Men's Freestyle Olympic Qualification Tournament  at Bratislava, Slovakia  Jan. 31-Feb. 1, 2004  U.S. Results  66 kg/145.5 lbs. - Chris Bono, Gilbert, Iowa (Sunkist Kids)  WIN Sergei Demtchenko (Belarus), 4-1  WIN Ahto Raska, 5-3    74 kg/163 lbs. - Joe Williams, Iowa City, Iowa (Sunkist Kids)  WIN Habib Mohmed (Qatar), 3-2  WIN Eugen Preda (Romania), 5-0