Saturday morning's competition featured Challenge Tournament action for freestyle at 55 kg, 60 kg, and 96 kg, and Greco-Roman at 66 kg, 74 kg, 96 kg, and 120 kg. This event determines which wrestlers will represent the U.S. at the 2006 World Wrestling Championships in Guangzhou, China, Sept. 26-Oct. 1.
Freestyle:
Two of the three 2006 U.S. Nationals champions competing on Saturday advanced to tonight's Challenge Tournament finals: Henry Cejudo of the Sunkist Kids at 55 kg and Daniel Cormier of the Gator WC at 96 kg.
Cejudo, who sent shock waves through the wrestling community last month when he became the first high school competitor in USA Wrestling's history to win a U.S. Nationals title, reached the finals with wins over Franklin Gomez of the Michigan WC, 0-1, 2-1, 3-1, and former NCAA runner-up Luke Eustice of the Hawkeye WC, 2-4, 3-2, 2-2.
Cejudo, who lives and trains at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, will now get the biggest test of his young career when he faces Olympic silver medalist and world champion Sammie Henson of the Sunkist Kids WC in the finals. Henson, who sat out U.S. Nationals, entered the event as the No. 3 seed.
Sammie Henson (Photo/John Sachs)"No, I'm too old to worry about stuff like that," joked Henson, who cruised through to the finals with wins over Mark McKnight of the New York AC and Matt Azevedo of the Sunkist Kids WC. "If I was 25 it might be different, but I'm 35, so I don't care. Seed me whatever you want to seed me."
Henson has never faced the 19-year-old Cejudo in competition, but is very familiar with his older brother, Angel, who competes at 60 kg.
"(Angel and Henry) are two totally different wrestlers," said Henson. "Angel's more upper body, but Henry can throw, too. Henry is slicker and faster. He's a tough, tough wrestler. He has a lot of tools. I think it's going to be a good match."
Daniel Cormier (Photo/John Sachs)Zach Roberson of the Sunkist Kids WC was the lone U.S. Nationals champion in freestyle who failed to reach the finals. Mike Zadick of the Hawkeye WC avenged a U.S Nationals loss to Roberson, 0-1, 1-0, 2-0, to reach the finals.
Despite the win, Zadick wasn't overly satisfied with his performance.
"I wasn't as dominating as I would have liked to have been, but there's still more to go" said Zadick.
So what was the difference this time against Roberson as opposed to the match last month in Las Vegas?
"Just being relentless on him this time," said Zadick, who placed third at this event last year. "I didn't stand in front of him and I moved him more. There were certain positions that could have gone either way … and I just happened to be the better guy in those positions."
Zadick will now battle U.S. World Team member Michael Lightner of the Sunkist Kids in the finals.
Greco-Roman:
All four U.S. Nationals Greco-Roman champions competing on Saturday qualified for the finals: Marcel Cooper of the U.S. Army at 66 kg, T.C. Dantzler of the New York AC at 74 kg, Justin Ruiz of the New York AC at 96 kg, and Dremiel Byers of the U.S. Army at 120 kg.
Cooper, a two-time U.S. Nationals champion and former U.S. World Team member, defeated U.S. Army teammate Glenn Garrison in the semifinals, 2-0, 1-2, 1-1 to reach the finals. He will now face a tough test in the finals against U.S. World Team member Harry Lester of the USOEC and Gator WC, who sat out of the recent U.S. Nationals due to injury.
Dantzler, who captured his first U.S. Nationals title last month, reached the finals with wins over Kevin Lazano of the Gator WC, 3-1, 4-0, and Jess Hargrave of the U.S. Army, 2-1, 3-1. Dantzler will now face Brandon McNab of the U.S. Army, who scored a 3-0, 1-1 upset victory over four-time U.S. Nationals champion and teammate Keith Sieracki.
Ruiz, a 2005 world bronze medalist who recently won a U.S. Nationals title, was the lone wrestler in Saturday's competition who did not have to wrestle in the morning session and advanced directly into the finals. Only 2006 U.S. Nationals champions who are returning world medalists in freestyle or returning top five world finishers in Greco-Roman receive automatic berths into the finals. Ruiz will face Phil Johnston of the U.S. Army in the finals. In the semifinals, Johnston scored a 2-1, 1-1 upset victory over Adam Wheeler of the USOEC/Gator WC.
Byers, who is one of only four U.S. Greco-Roman world champions ever (2002), shutout his first two opponents, Everette McDaniel of the U.S. Army, 5-0, 5-0, and Brandon Ruiz of the Sunkist Kids WC, 6-0, 3-0. He will now face a very familiar opponent in the finals in Russ Davie of the New York AC, who he has met and defeated several times throughout his career, including in the finals of last month's U.S. Nationals in Las Vegas.
Davie, who placed 10th at the 2005 World University Games, believes the match will be won or lost in the par terre position.
"If I can stop him in par terre defense, I think I'm right there," said Davie. "I'm comfortable wrestling on the feet with him."
There are four sets of brothers competing this weekend:
-- Trent Paulson (Freestyle/74 kg) and Travis Paulson (Freestyle/74 kg)
-- Keith Sieracki (Greco-Roman/74 kg) and Aaron Sieracki (Greco-Roman/84 kg)
-- Nick Gallick (Freestyle/60 kg) and Nate Gallick (Freestyle/60 kg)
-- Mike Zadick (Freestyle/60 kg) and Bill Zadick (Freestyle/66 kg)
Saturday's best-of-three finals are set to begin at 4:00 p.m.
Complete Brackets
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