The first major step to winning an Olympic medal is capturing the U.S. Olympic Team Trials, and there are two athletes in this division who have reached both of those achievements. Entering as the No. 1 seed after a victory at the U.S. Nationals is 1996 Olympic silver medalist Brandon Paulson, who has won the last three World Team Trials at this division. Paulson also boasts a 2001 World silver medal, and has been competing on the World-level since he burst onto the national scene as a high school wrestler. Early in his life, Paulson made a commitment to Greco-Roman, and he has reached almost every one of his goals, except a World-level gold medal.    Paulson showed that he can still compete with anybody in the world with his victory at the Olympic qualifying event in Serbia-Montenegro this winter, stringing six straight wins over tough international athletes. He has also shown the ability to defeat all of his American rivals, although his U.S. Nationals finals bout against Lindsey Durlacher was perhaps their closest battle in recent events. Paulson scored late in the match for the win, again showing the character necessary to win in difficult situations. He is a well-rounded competitor, able to score on both his feet and on the mat. The quest for gold kept Paulson in the game after his loss to Steven Mays in the 2000 Olympic Trials. Now is the time for him to cash in on the last four years of hard work.    We will return to Durlacher, who has continued to improve and has set high goals for himself.     The other Olympic medalist in this division is Dennis Hall, who captured a 1996 Olympic silver medal at 57 kg, and was also a 1992 Olympian. He also boasts a 1995 World gold medal and a 1994 World bronze medal, the only U.S. Greco-Roman wrestler to ever win all three World-level medals. Hall's last U.S. World Team was in 1999, and he dropped behind rival Jim Gruenwald and talented Glenn Nieradka at that division. Hall made the drop to this weight class twice this year, once on a winter tour where he had a 2 kg allowance and won a gold, and for the 2004 U.S. Nationals in Las Vegas at scratch weight. Hall won one match at the U.S. Nationals then had to pull out with injury when his leg did not respond to treatment. He qualifies as a past U.S. team member. It will be interesting to see how Hall is seeded in the Challenge Tournament. He is a fierce competitor, with experience and technical skills. Hall and Paulson are friends and have trained together. Some wrestling fans would love to see a Paulson vs. Hall finals, but the task of winning the Challenge Tournament is daunting. Hall provides more questions than answers at this point of the game.    Durlacher has earned his No. 2 spot in this division, reaching the finals of all the major domestic events against Paulson. Their battle in Las Vegas went down to the finals seconds, and should give Durlacher renewed confidence that he can finally break through and beat Paulson this time around. Obviously, he needs to keep his edge over the rest of the field and earn that shot at Paulson by winning the Challenge Tournament. Since he did not face Hall in Las Vegas, nobody can be sure what that battle would be like if they face each other in Indianapolis. Durlacher has paid his dues, training at the USOTC in Colorado Springs and competing in numerous international events. He is excited about the chance to make the U.S. team, and should be a force in Indianapolis.    Perhaps the most exciting young talent in Greco-Roman is Sam Hazewinkel, who placed third at the U.S. Nationals and also won the Central Regional Trials. Hazewinkel placed this high only a few weeks after taking third at the NCAA Championships as a freshman for the Univ. of Oklahoma. This isn't his first time taking third at the U.S. Nationals; he also reached that level while still a high school star in Florida. He has a tremendous wrestling pedigree, as his father and uncle were both Olympians in Greco-Roman. He lost a 4-2 match to Durlacher in the national semifinals, which shows that he is very close with the top stars. The question that lingers is whether he has done enough Greco-Roman this season, after a full college season of folkstyle. Many think it will be Hazewinkel's time for the 2008 Olympics, but clearly, anybody capable of third at U.S. Nationals is capable of winning it all right now.    This weight class has its share of tough collegians. Joe Espinoza and Joseph Betterman are with the USOEC University Greco-Roman program at Northern Michigan. They do not compete in folkstyle at the NCAA level. This program is a full-time Greco-Roman training environment. Espinoza was fourth and Betterman was sixth at the U.S. Nationals. Of the two, Espinoza has more experience and more high placements at the major events. Betterman hs really come on strong this season, showing great progress. Espinoza won a gold medal at the Sunkist Kids INternational this year.    The other collegian of note is Luke Smith, who is pursuing an Olympic redshirt year this season from Central Michigan Univ. Smith has also been competing Greco-Roman full-time this season. He placed a strong fifth at the U.S. Nationals and also captured the North Regional Olympic Trials. Smith has been a Greco specialist going back to his high school days in Wisconsin. Of the Olympic redshirt hopefuls, Smith has had one of the better performances.    The other tough talent at this division is Anthony Gibbons, who was disappointed with his seventh place finish at the U.S. Nationals. Gibbons finished at No. 3 at last year's World Team Trials, qualifying for Greco-Roman Team USA. His losses in Las Vegas were to Betterman and Smith. Gibbons is looking for a stronger performance in Indianapolis, where he has the potential to be a Challenge Tournament finalist once again. Gibbons won a gold medal at the Armed Forces Championship, which also qualified him for the Trials.     There is a possibility that veteran Duane Martin might make the drop down to 55 kg, where he has been a true contender. Martin was fifth at 60 kg in Las Vegas, and the rules allow an athlete to change weight classes for the Olympic Trials. He has made a number of Greco-Roman National Teams in the past, and is one of the most experienced Greco-Roman athletes in the nation. He was at 55 kg for the Dave Schultz Memorial, where he lost a bout to Durlacher. He should not be overlooked in the Challenge Tournament, where his experience and size makes him a true threat to win.    The final qualifier for the Olympic Trials through the competition at U.S. Nationals was Anthony Brooker who placed eighth. Brooker has no major achievements on the Senior level, so he should be considered a longshot at best. Of the Regional Olympic Trials winners, Neal Rodak has the best chance to make an impact. Rodak has been ranked as high as No. 3 in this division in the past and has paid his dues in terms of training and competition. He was defeated in Las Vegas by Paulson and Smith. If he gets on a roll early in the Challenge Tournament, Rodak could do some damage.    The other two qualifiers through the Regionals are not expected to be serious threats, Zac Enoch (West Regional) and Ramie Mohlman (South Regional). Mohlman has a great human interest story. At 42 years old, he may be the oldest competitor in the field. He has been wrestling on the Veterans level. His wrestling career ended abruptly in his early 20's, when he had congenital heart disease and had open heart surgery. After about two decades off the mat, he returned for Veterans competition in Greco-Roman, his favorite style. He is a coach in Florida, and his "Rocky" quest has been reported in the media there. He will have many supporters among the Veterans wrestlers who are excited about him. Mohlman went 0-2 and Enoch was 1-2 at the U.S. Nationals this year, which is a good indication of their chances in Indianapolis. Enoch did lose an 11-4 match to Gibbons, so he may be a bit more competitive in this field.    This weight division has a number of star athletes, with Paulson, Hall and Durlacher standing out as the top contenders. Paulson holds a distinct edge by winning the U.