Wrestling championships set for LV

Tuesday, April 23, 2002 | 8:37 a.m.

Wrestlers, from U.S. Olympians to would-be international stars, will be in Las Vegas this week for the 2002 Las Vegas United States National Wrestling Championships. More than 2,000 entries from across the country will be competing Wednesday through Saturday at the expanded Las Vegas Convention Center.

ESPN2 will televise the event on a delayed basis. The women's freestyle finals will be shown on the Oxygen Network, also on a delayed basis.

Action on 20 mats in the Western Junior Regionals will run from 12:30-10 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday and 9 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday. The other divisions all start on Friday.

On Saturday, the semifinals and 3rd-5th-7th place medal matches will run from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m., followed by the championship finals in senior freestyle, senior Greco-Roman and senior women's freestyle starting at 6 p.m.

More than 40 entries from Nevada are expected. Leading the Nevada contingent will be Las Vegas brothers Eddie, Greg and Chris Gifford, Josh and Jared Medina, Mesquite's Skyler and Scott Woods, along with Las Vegas' Eugene Harris and Matt Azevedo. Eddie Gifford, Josh Medina, Skyler Woods, Harris and Azevedo will wrestle in senior freestyle while the others will all compete in junior freestyle.

Advance VIP, preferred and general admission all-event tickets are on sale through Tuesday at the LVSC ticket office at 838-4091. With admission for all four days, VIP All-Event packages are $150 each, preferred all-event tickets are $65 each and general admission all-event tickets are on sale for $45 for adults and $20 for students.

Preferred and general admission daily tickets will be available at the door only. Preferred daily tickets will be $35 while general admission daily tickets will be $25 for adults and $15 for students.