Wrestlers start Olympic quest

The next Olympic Games aren't until 2012, but the long road to London begins today for many American amateur wrestlers competing in the U.S. National Wrestling Championships at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

There will be competition in men's freestyle and Greco-Roman and women's freestyle in the three-day meet. The top seven finishers in each weight class will qualify for the U.S. world team trials, May 30 and 31 at Council Bluffs, Iowa. The world championships will be Sept. 21 to 27 in Heming, Denmark.

Several 2008 Olympians are scheduled to compete, starting today with the women's freestyle. Clarissa Chun, who missed out on an Olympic bronze medal at 105.5 pounds but won the world championships in October in Japan, will compete here. So will Patricia Miranda, who won bronze at the 2004 Olympics in Athens but did not qualify for Beijing. She is competing at 112.25 pounds. The women's preliminaries will start at 9 a.m., with the finals scheduled for 5 p.m.

In the men's Greco-Roman tournament Friday, Spencer Mango (121 pounds), Jake Deitschler (163), T.C. Dentzier (185) and Dremiel Byers (264.5) have Olympic experience. The preliminaries will start at 10 a.m., with the finals scheduled for 6 p.m.

The showcase event will be Saturday's men's freestyle competition. Several weight classes figure to be hotly contested as veterans are pushed by young talent.

At 132 pounds, Olympian Mike Zadick will face a challenge from Shawn Bunch, whom he beat at the Olympic Trials, along with former NCAA champions Derek Moore, Coleman Scott and Matt Valenti.

At 145.5, Olympian Doug Schwab will have to contend with Trent Paulson, along with Brian Stith, Chris Bono, Brent Metcalf and Jared Frayer.

Saturday's preliminaries will begin at 10 a.m., and the finals will start at 5 p.m.

"It's as competitive throughout as I can remember," said Mitch Hull, USA Wrestling director of national teams. "We have some people not competing. There are some people not returning at certain weight classes. We have some young guys coming up. In several weight classes, we're looking at persons, not a single person, to win in Las Vegas."

One star who will not be competing this weekend is Henry Cejudo, who won the USA's only wrestling gold medal in Beijing, defeating Japan's Tomohiro Matsunaga at 121 pounds. Cejudo has not been on the mat since the Olympics and is taking a year off from wrestling.

"It's not only about the Olympics, it's about the world championships this year," Hull said. "History has shown that 75 percent or better of the wrestlers who win this go on and win spots on the world team. And that can ultimately lead to a spot in the Olympics, which, when you think about it, isn't that far away."

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@ reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913.