Two-time World silver medalist Patricia Miranda has had an iron grip on this weight division ever since she made to move down in weight a few seasons ago. She has dominated her U.S. competition, defeating most of her opponents by pin or technical fall. Miranda has also beaten many of the best wrestlers in the world here as well. Among her victories in recent seasons are gold medals at the Pan American Games and the World Cup. Her loss in the 2003 World Championships finals was to Ukraine's Irini Melnik, who boasts three World titles.    Miranda wrestles with power, speed and intensity. She is holding off going to Yale Law School to pursue her Olympic dreams this year. She has wrestled in many international events this year, hoping to gain the edge that could make her an Olympic champion. Her first step in achieving this dream is to win the first Olympic Trials featuring women wrestlers. Based on past performances against U.S. wrestlers, Miranda may be the biggest favorite to make the U.S. team in the women's field. However, making a U.S. team is one of the most pressure-packed and challenging tasks any wrestler must face, and Miranda has yet to experience this. It will be interesting to see how she competes under this kind of spotlight.    Ranked No. 2 is veteran Clarissa Chun, who has maintained her edge on the rest of the pack and become the top challenger to Miranda. Chun has some good throwing skills, and can pop a big move at unexpected times against many opponents. She has had difficulty figuring out how to take Miranda out of her game. Her international background is very solid. She represented the USA at the 2000 World Championships and has wrestled at age-group World competitions. The question is whether Chun has developed enough to win the Challenge Tournament at the Olympic Trials, then find a way to beat Miranda.    Also holding steady in recent seasons at No. 3 has been college wrestler Mary Kelly, who has been a top star all the way through USA Wrestling's age-group programs. She has won World medals on the Cadet and Junior levels, and has shown strong skills on the Senior level. Kelly has had some close battles with Chun in the past, but lost 9-2 to Chun at the U.S. Nationals semifinal round. For Kelly to advance, she will probably need to figure out how to beat Chun. Kelly won the University Nationals at 51 kg. She has a great wrestling pedigree, with a father who was an NCAA runner-up father and an uncle who won the NCAA title. She is technically skilled and physically tough. The question is whether this is her time, or whether her best chance is at the next Olympic Trials.    The unknown at this division is two-time U.S. Nationals champion Malinda Ripley, who is aiming to drop down from 112.25 pounds. Ripley has not made 48 kg for a number of years. With only four Olympic weight classes, athletes like Ripley will be choosing a new weight class for the Olympic Trials. Although Ripley was the University National champion at 121 pounds, it is the 105.5-pound class where she is expected to wrestle in Indianapolis. How Ripley will manage the weight change, and how well she will do against the existing 48 kg athletes, can only be speculated at this time. She has shown great skills and intensity and could really mix things up if she is wrestling well at the Olympic Trials.    College freshman Sara Fulp-Allen has had a very strong season. She wrestled well on the college circuit, competing for her father Lee Allen at Menlo College. She lost to Chun at the University Nationals, and lost to Miranda and Kelly at the U.S. Nationals. Fulp-Allen is tall for this division, has improved her skills and wrestles with confidence. However, Kelly scored a technical fall over her in the bronze-medal match in Las Vegas, so Fulp-Allen still has some work to do.    One of the surprises of the year has been the progress of Laura Felix, who placed a solid fifth at the U.S. Nationals. She has been entering the major competitions, and has shown improvement during the process. Taking sixth in Las Vegas was Katie Kunimoto, who has dropped to this division from 51 kg, where she has been a Team USA member. Kunimoto's losses at the Nationals were to Kelly, Fulp-Allen and Felix, so she will need to make some adjustments in her wrestling if she wishes to have a chance at taking the Challenge Tournament title.    The other two qualifiers from the U.S. Nationals were seventh-place Hana Askren and eighth-place Kristen Fujioka. Askren, who did her college wrestling in Canada, will be competing at the Trials for the second straight year. Fujioka is one of the top U.S. college wrestlers at this division, and has paid her dues on the Senior level.     The top veteran qualifying through the Regional Trials is Julie Gonzalez, the champion at the South Regional. Gonzalez has climbed as high as No. 2 on the U.S. ladder in the past, but it has been a number of years since she has been near the top of the heap. She has the experience to win matches at this level, and is seeking a strong showing at her first Olympic Trials.    The other Regional champions were Caitlyn Chase (West) and Miriam Jenkins (East). Chase is a high school student, one of the best age-group wrestlers in the nation. This year she became eligible for the Senior level. She had a tough day at the U.S. Nationals, dropping her two matches and missing a placement. Jenkins, who is a Marine, returns to the mat after missing a year due to military duty. She lost a one-point match to Fujioka in the wrestlebacks in Las Vegas to fall short of the medals. Jenkins has been among the top few athletes in this weight class in the past, so it will be interesting to see if she does better at the Olympic Trials with a few additional weeks of training.    Another possible contestant at this division is Elizabeth Torres, a college student who actually qualified by winning the South Regional Trials at 121 pounds. Torres wrestled well on the college level at 112.25 pounds all season. She got to 105.5 pounds for one of the Regionals, so she is expected to make the drop for the Olympic Trials. It is not expected that any other wrestlers will drop down from the non-Olympic weights.     When you talk 48 kg in the United States, you start with Miranda, who has proven herself as a world-class competitor. Her top challengers are expected to be Chun, Kelly and perhaps Ripley. The Challenge Tournament should be interesting, especially if a few wrestlers are able to reverse some earlier losses and climb higher than expected. Whoever wins the Challenge Tournament has a bigger challenge trying to take two out of three from Miranda. However, history in men's wrestling shows that the Olympic Trials can be unexpected, and we enter new ground with the women's division.    2004 U.S. OLYMPIC TEAM TRIALS QUALIFIERS IN WOMEN'S FREESTYLE AT 48 KG/105.5 POUNDS  U.S. Nationals Champion -  Patricia Miranda, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Dave Schultz WC)   U.S. Nationals, second place - Clarissa Chun, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Gator WC)  U.S. Nationals, third place - Mary Kelly, Mahomet, Ill. (New York AC)  U.S. Nationals, fourth place - Sara Fulp-Allen, El Granada, Calif. (Menlo College)  U.S. Nationals, fifth place - Laura Felix, Bakersfield, Calif. (Dave Schultz WC)  U.S. Nationals, sixth place - Katie Kunimoto, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Gator WC)  U.S. Nationals, seventh place - Hana Askren, Los Angeles, Calif. (Santa Monica Bay)  U.S. Nationals, eighth place - Kristen Fujioka,  Kaneohe, Hawaii (Team Hawaii)  University Nationals Champion  - Clarissa Chun, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Gator WC)  South Regional Trials Champion - Julie Gonzalez, Vallejo, Calif. (Dave Schultz WC)  West Regional Trials Champion - Caitlyn Chase, Hanover Park, Ill.  East Regional Trials Champion - Miriam Jenkins, Quantico, Va. (U.S. Marines)    NON-OLYMPIC WEIGHT CLASS QUALIFIERS (must compete at Olympic division at Olympic Team Trials)    51 kg/112.25 pounds  U.S. Nationals Champion - Malinda Ripley, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Sunkist Kids)  U.S. Nationals, second place - Debbi Sakai, Mililani, Hawaii (Missouri Valley)  U.S. Nationals, third place - Danielle Hobeika,