1998 World Champion Sammie Henson (West Point, N.Y./Sunkist Kids) won his first match in a year, competing in first-day action at the Takhti Cup in Tehran, Iran, Feb. 19.    Henson returned to the city where he won his World title, as he claimed the gold medal when the 1998 World Championships were held in Tehran, Iran. Henson was also a 2000 Olympic silver medalist.  Henson last competed in February 2003, choosing not to enter the U.S. Nationals or World Team Trials last season.    In his first match at 55 kg/121 lbs., Henson defeated R. Hajizadeh of Iran with a first-period 12-2 technical fall. He will battle R. Demit of Turkey in his second match.    "He took him down with a single leg and turned him several times with guts," said U.S. coach John Peterson (Comstock, Wis.).    Also competing at 55 kg/121 lbs. is Mike Mena (Bloomington, Ind./New York AC). Mena pinned Y. Sharbati of Iran to open the tournament. He has a second-round bye.    "He won by a fall in the second period with a front head," said Peterson. "He scored in the first period with an offensive leg attack and with a front head lock.     Ramico Blackmon (Colorado Springs, Colo./Team Excel) dropped his first match of the day, losing in overtime at 74 kg/163 lbs. to D. Aliev of Russia.    "The score was 1-0 after the first period. Ramico was taken down with a low leg attack on the edge of the mat," said Peterson. "The score after two periods was 1-0, Ramico had two passivity calls against him. The Russian scored on the clinch bring Ramico to his back off the mat."    Two U.S. wrestlers received byes in the first session, and will begin their competition in the second session: Yero Washington (Colorado Springs, Colo./Sunkist Kids) at 60 kg/132 lbs.  and Joe Heskett (Grover Beach, Calif./Gator WC)  at 74 kg/163 lbs.    More results will be posted when available.    This is the fifth time that USA Wrestling has participated in the Takhti Cup, with U.S. teams participating in 1998, 2000, 2001 and 2003. The United States wrestling team was the first U.S. sports team to compete in Iran after the Iranian revolution when the team competed in the 1998 Takhti Cup. The U.S. also competed in the 1998 World Freestyle Championships held in Iran.    Teams from Iran have also competed in the United States on numerous occasions during the last decade. These sports competitions have been held even though there are no diplomatic relations between the two countries.    Coach John Peterson was the assistant coach of the 1994 U.S. World Team, and has coached a number of U.S. Senior teams on international tours. He was an Olympic gold medalist in 1976, an Olympic silver medalist in 1972 and a two-time World medalist.    Serving as the U.S. team leader is Amir Bashiri (Atlanta, Ga.), who served as a team leader for Iran at the 2003 Freestyle World Championships. Bashiri is an Iranian-American who is an active volunteer within USA Wrestling    Takhti Cup  at Tehran, Iran, Feb. 19-20  First Day results , to date   55 kg/121 lbs. - Sammie Henson, West Point, N.Y. (Sunkist Kids) - tech. fall over R. Hajizadeh (Iran), 12-1; vs. R. Demit (Turkey)    55 kg/121 lbs. - Mike Mena, Bloomington, Ind. (New York AC) - pin Y. Sharbati (Iran), bye    60 kg/132 lbs. - Yero Washington, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Sunkist Kids) - Bye; vs. A Ismilov (Azerbaijan); vs. M. Akoundi (Iran)    74 kg/163 lbs. - Ramico Blackmon, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Team Excel) - lost dec. to D. Aliev (Russia), 4-0, ot; vs. B. Wissam (Iraq)    74 kg/163 lbs. - Joe Heskett, Grover Beach, Calif. (Gator WC) - Bye, vs. M Amini (Iran); vs. name not reported (Afghanistan)