Novi Sad, Serbia-Montenegro - The United States has qualified three more weight classes for the 2004 Olympic Games in Greco-Roman wrestling following the first Olympic Qualification Tournament on Feb. 28-29. The U.S. has now qualified six weight classes in Greco-Roman, all seven men's freestyle and all four women's freestyle weight classes for the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece.    In order to qualify the weight class for the 2004 Olympic Games, wrestlers must place in the top five at their respective weight class.    1996 Olympic and 2001 World silver medalist Brandon Paulson (Coon Rapids, Minn./Minnesota Storm) won a gold medal at 55 kg/121 lbs. Placing fifth in the tournament were 2000 Olympian Kevin Bracken (Colorado Springs, Colo./New York AC) at 66 kg/145.5 lbs. and 2000 Olympic bronze medalist Garrett Lowney (Freedom, Wis./Minnesota Storm) at 96 kg/211.5 lbs.    Two-time U.S. National Team member Darryl Christian (Colorado Springs, Colo./New York AC) lost in the qualification round, the round before the quarterfinals, at 74 kg/163 lbs., leaving that weight class to still be qualified by the U.S.    In the championship match, Paulson defeated 2000 Olympian Erkin Yildiz of Turkey, 1-1 on a referee's decision. Both wrestlers had the same number of passivity calls against them during the match, two, sending the decision to the officials to declare the winner.    Paulson defeated Kamol Kholmatov of Uzbekistan, fifth in the 2003 CISM Military World Championships, 3-2 in overtime to move into the semifinals. With the match tied at 2-2 heading into overtime, Paulson scored the winning point from the clinch, earning his second win of that variety in the tournament.    In the semifinals, Paulson dominated Irakli Chochua of Georgia, 13-3. Chochua won a bronze medal at the 2003 World Cup.    "Brandon has done a great job this entire tournament of preparing for his matches," USA Wrestling National Greco-Roman Coach Steve Fraser stated. "He wrestled a very good and a very smart tournament. We are hoping he can use this momentum for the rest of this year."    Bracken defeated Fabio Spano of Italy 14-2 in the qualification round before dropping a 3-1 decision to Nikolay Gergov of Bulgaria, seventh in the 2002 World Championships, in the quarterfinals.    In this tournament format, quarterfinal losers compete in a repechage to determine the fifth-place winner. In the repechage, Bracken defeated Kanatabek Begaliev of Kyrgyzstan, 5-4 in overtime, and Nicolae Monov of Moldova, 5-3.    Lowney also lost in the quarterfinals, dropping a 3-1 overtime decision to three-time CISM Military World Championships bronze medalist Mandaugas Ezerskis of Lithuania. Lowney led the match 1-0 heading into an overtime clinch. The two wrestlers went out of bounds, and the mat official and table official awarded Lowney one point, but the judge called for a review. Following the review, officials awarded Ezerskis the point to tie the match at 1-1. Ezerskis then scored on a two-point gut wrench to close out the match.    Lowney defeated Andrei Batoura of Belarus, 4-2, in the qualification round. In the repechage for fifth place, he defeated Igor Kostins of Latvia, 4-0, and Robert Petrosyan of Armenia, a 2001 Junior World silver medalist, 3-0.    "Both Bracken and Garrett Lowney, for these guys to lose in the quarterfinals, says tons about their heart," Fraser said. "In Bracken's match against Kyrgyzstan, both of the wrestlers were physically exhausted and fought as hard as they could. It was just a great example of two guys giving their best effort."    Christian lost to three-time Olympian Valeri Nikitin of Estonia, 4-2. Nikitin took a 4-0 advantage in the match with a reversal, a takedown and a two-point gut wrench.    "The Estonian had a nose bleed, and the officials literally stopped the match every 30 seconds. The guy took at least 10 blood timeouts," Fraser said. "Darryl could never get into the match or use his conditioning to his advantage."    The second Olympic Qualification Tournament for Greco-Roman will be held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, March 13-14.    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.    Fans may also visit www.wrestling.org.yu/qogans2004/index.html, the official tournament web site for more details on the tournament.    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) - 1st  WIN Andre Berge (Norway), 3-0  WIN Jorge Cardoso (Venezuela), 5-0, ot, 6:03  WIN Hamou Oubrick (France), 5-0  WIN Kamol Kholmatov (Uzbekistan), 3-2, ot, 6:23  WIN Irakli Chochua (Georgia), 13-3, 4:34  WIN Erkin Yildiz (Turkey), 1-1, ot, 9:00    66 kg/145.5 lbs. - Kevin Bracken, Colorado Springs, Colo. (New York AC) - 5th  WIN Philippe Bendjoudi (France), 6-0  WIN Ari Haerkaenen (Finland), 7-6, ot, 7:07  WIN Fabio Spano (Italy), 14-2, 2:12  LOSS Nikolay Gergov (Bulgaria), 3-1  WIN Kanatabek Begaliev (Kyrgyzstan), 5-4, ot, 6:54  WIN Nicolae Monov (Moldova), 5-3    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  LOSS Valeri Nikitin (Estonia), 4-2    96 kg/211.5 lbs. - Garrett Lowney, Freedom, Wis. (Minnesota Storm) - 5th  WIN Cedric Theval (France), 3-0  WIN Sasa Dukai (Serbia-Montenegro), 3-0  WIN Andrei Batoura (Belarus), 4-2  LOSS Mindaugas Ezerskis (Lithuania), 3-1, ot  WIN Igor Kostins (Latvia), 4-0  WIN Robert Petrosyan (Armenia), 3-0