Novi Sad, Serbia-Montenegro - All four U.S. Greco-Roman wrestlers advanced out of their pools on Saturday at the first Olympic Qualification Tournament. 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. Advancing to the quarterfinal round is 1996 Olympic and 2001 World silver medalist Brandon Paulson (Coon Rapids, Minn./Minnesota Storm) at 55 kg/121 lbs. Paulson defeated Andre Berge of Norway, 3-0, two-time Pan American Championships medalist Jorge Cardoso of Venezuela, 5-0 in overtime, and Hamou Oubrick of France, 5-0, to win his pool and move into the quarterfinals. He will face Kamol Kholmatov of Uzbekistan in the quarterfinals. Kholmatov placed fifth in the 2003 CISM Military World Championships. The winner of that match will automatically secure a birth in the Olympic Games for their respective country. "We're wrestling pretty well," Paulson said of the U.S. team. "We had a good day to get our confidence up." Moving into the qualification round, the round before the quarterfinals, are 2000 Olympian Kevin Bracken (Colorado Springs, Colo./New York AC) at 66 kg/145.5 lbs., two-time U.S. National Team member Darryl Christian (Colorado Springs, Colo./New York AC) at 74 kg/163 lbs. and 2000 Olympic bronze medalist Garrett Lowney (Freedom, Wis./Minnesota Storm) at 96 kg/211.5 lbs. Bracken downed Philippe Bendjoudi of France 6-0 before coming away with a thrilling 7-6 overtime win against Ari Haerkaenen of Finland to advance out of his pool. Against Haerkaenen, Bracken trailed 6-4 with less than one minute remaining in the match. Bracken scored a point on an arm drag for a takedown and the tying point on exposure. In overtime, Haerkaenen attempted a front headlock, but Bracken slipped through it and came out behind for the winning takedown. The action was reviewed by officials, but the point was awarded to Bracken. Bracken will next face Fabio Spano of Italy in a qualification match. Christian won his pool with victories over Dragan Markovich of Bosnia-Herzegovina, by fall, and Artur Stankevic of Lithuania, 3-3 referee's decision. Against Stankevic, Christian scored a two-point gut wrench for a 2-0 lead. Later in the match, he lifted Stankevic for three points, but the mat judge ruled that he was too low on the legs during the throw, negating the points. Stankevic was called for more passivities throughout the match than Christian, giving the American the win. "It was a good mental match for me, because from here on out, all of the rounds are going to be tough," stated Christian, who was called for passivity once, compared to Stankevic's two passivity calls. "I'm wrestling very well. I feel ready. I've beaten guys this season that are the same type of wrestler as my next opponent," he stated, speaking of three-time Olympian Valeri Nikitin of Estonia, whom Christian will meet in the qualification round. Nikitin placed fourth in the 2000 Olympic Games. Lowney defeated 2001 World Cup bronze medalist Cedric Theval of France 3-0 before dropping Sasa Dukai of Serbia-Montenegro 3-0 to advance ouf of his pool. Lowney will face Andrei Batoura of Belarus in the qualification round. "Overall, we are happy with the way we wrestled today," USA Wrestling National Greco-Roman Coach Steve Fraser stated. "Tomorrow is going to be tough. Everybody has tough guys that they have to beat out. This is a very competitive tournament. It's like a World Championships, but we're ready and up for the challenge," he added. The remainder of the competition will take place on Sunday, Feb. 29. Paulson doesn't feel that the cluster of matches on the second day of competition will affect the U.S. team at all. "The more matches in a day for us, the better. We are in better condition. We like to grind. We practice that way. We're prepared for that. I'm prepared for that." 2002 World silver medalist Badri Khasaia of Georgia did not advance out of his pool. Khasaia defaulted from his final pool match, giving the pool to Iraq's Ahmad Weali. TheMat.com will continue to provide updates of the first Greco-Roman Olympic Qualification Tournament. Fans may also visit www.wrestling.org.yu/qogans2004/index.html, the official tournament web site. Greco-Roman Olympic Qualification Tournament I at Novi Sad, Serbia-Montenegro, Feb. 28-29 U.S. Results 55 kg/121 lbs. - Brandon Paulson, Coon Rapids, Minn. (Minnesota Storm) WIN Andre Berge (Norway), 3-0 WIN Jorge Cardoso (Venezuela), 5-0, ot, 6:03 WIN Hamou Oubrick (France), 5-0 advances out of pool 66 kg/145.5 lbs. - Kevin Bracken, Colorado Springs, Colo. (New York AC) WIN Philippe Bendjoudi (France), 6-0 WIN Ari Haerkaenen (Finland), 7-6, ot, 7:07 advances out of pool 74 kg/163 lbs. - Darryl Christian, Colorado Springs, Colo. (New York AC) WIN Dragan Markovich (Bosnia-Herzegovina), pin, 2:47 WIN Artur Stankevic (Lithuania), 3-3, ot, 9:00 advances out of pool 96 kg/211.5 lbs. - Garrett Lowney, Freedom, Wis. (Minnesota Storm) WIN Cedric Theval (France), 3-0 WIN Sasa Dukai (Serbia-Montenegro), 3-0 advances out of pool