Trenge upsets Morrison; Rial stops Dantzler; Lamb beats Tomeo after first day at 2004 Olympic Team T

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Jason Bryant (USA Wrestling)
05/21/2004


The second session of the U.S. Olympic Team Trials at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis gave the 6,388 fans in attendance a lot more to cheer about. The upset of the tournament so far was at 96kg in men's freestyle.  Jon Trenge of the New York k AC, took a redshirt this year in an attempt to make the U.S. Olympic team, used a two-point first period gut-wrench and from the clinch, forced Challenge Tournament No. 1 seed Dean Morrison into a fleeing the mat caution and one point to earn a 3-0 victory.    Morrison, also of the New York AC, has been Daniel Cormier's toughest competition in the last year, was knocked out of contention for an Olympic berth.    Trenge will face Tommy Rowlands in the semifinals. Rowlands beat Damion Hahn 4-0 in overtime to secure a semifinal berth. Rowlands used two one-point takedowns, and led 2-0 at the end of regulation. Rowlands immediately tried a head-throw off the whistle and in a flurry, came out with a two-point back exposure and the victory.    In Men's freestyle, top seeds Sammie Henson (55kg), Mike Zadick (60kg), Joe Heskett (74kg), Cael Sanderson (84kg) and Steve Mocco (120kg) all advanced.    Sunkist Kids' Tony Davis took Heskett into overtime before Heskett garnered the winning point on Davis' broken lock in the clinch. Seconds later on an adjacent mat, Aaron Simpson of Sunkist knocked off second-seeded Brandon Eggum of the Minnesota Storm 3-2 with a caution and one point fleeing the mat call in the clinch in overtime.    Zadick was also pushed to near elimination by Tony DeAnda of Team Excel. Tied 1-1, DeAnda went ahead with a takedown with just under two minutes remaining. Zadick evened the score at two apiece with the tying takedown with 35 seconds left in regulation. DeAnda responded, getting in deep on a shot and nearly scored the go-ahead takedown when he tried to sneak from underneath Zadick, but a flurry ensued and Zadick ended up on top as time expired. After the officials viewed the video, the takedown was scored in regulation.    Mark Rial stayed hot, the 10th seed earned his second straight upset victory at 66kg in Greco-Roman. Rial beat former U.S. world team member Marcel Cooper in the first session, kept rolling into the semifinals, earning a pin over T.C. Dantzler in a tightly contested bout up until the fall time. Dantzler and Rial traded throws, but after the bout, Dantzler was diagnosed a torn left hip abductor, ending his season.    "I hurt it four weeks ago. This time I just felt it come off," Dantzler said.    Ethan Bosch, who finished second at the 2000 Olympic Trials, was upset in the quarterfinals by Kenny Owens of the U.S. Army in a 2-2 referee's decision at 84kg.   Kevin Bracken and Harry Lester will meet in the semis at 66 kg after Bracken trounced Mike Ellsworth 10-0 and Lester beat 2000 Olympian Heath Sims 2-1.    Dantzler was the only wrestler seeded first or second that lost in Greco-Roman. The same wasn't true for third seeds. Other than Bosch, Phillip Johnson of the Air Force beat Jason Loukides of the U.S. Army 4-0 at 120 kg, while Glenn Garrison topped Brandon McNab 3-0 at 66kg.     The women's freestyle tournament wasn't bitten much by the upset bug either, as Clarissa Chun (48kg), Tela O'Donnell (55kg), Sally Roberts (63k) and Stephany Lee (72kg) all advanced to the semifinals.    Third-seeded Erin Tomeo dropped a 4-1 decision to Lauren Lamb at 55kg in the women's only loss of a seed third or higher. Lamb, a six-time World Team member, dropped to 55 kg after competing at 59 kg or higher during past seasons.     High school junior Stefanie Shaw beat another high school wrestler, Vanessa Oswalt, in the quarterfinals at 63kg to reach Saturday morning's semis. Nina Vernon topped former world medallist Iris Smith at 72kg in overtime. Vernon used a two-point exposure from the clinch to earn the victory in front of a small, but loud contingent of Gator wrestling fans.     Seven time world medallist Kristie Marano isn't suffering too much after moving up from 63kg, as she earned a technical fall over Elena Mena at 72 kg; she'll face Katie Downing, a two-time world team member, in Saturday's semifinals.     Top semifinal match-ups include Chun, who beat high school sophomore Caitlyn Chase in the quarterfinals, vs. Laura Felix at 48kg; collegians Sara Fulp-Allen vs. Mary Kelly at 48kg; and Stephanie Murata squares off against O'Donnell at 55 kg..