Olympic wrestling hopes take trail through Las Vegas

Wednesday, April 7, 2004 | 9:39 a.m.

In that this is an Olympic year, Greece is the word for the country's best amateur wrestlers.

That's why the U.S. Senior Nationals and Western Junior Regionals, which begin today and run through Saturday at the Las Vegas Convention Center, are even more significant than usual.

The road to Athens begins in Las Vegas, as this week's winners in each of the Olympic weight divisions will receive a bye to the best-of-3 wrestle-offs at the conclusion of the Olympic Trials at Indianapolis in May.

In other words, the long and winding road to the Olympic dream will get a little shorter for those who win here.

"It's definitely important to win this tournament to get into the finals of the trials," said Brad Vering of Nebraska, the reigning champion at 185 pounds in the men's Greco-Roman division.

"Whoever has to win that mini-tournament (at the trials) is going to be a little beat up and you (the national champions who receive byes) are going to be fresh. So it's definitely an advantage to win this tournament."

Vering is right.

In 2000, the last year the nationals took place in conjunction with the Olympics, only four members of the U.S. team did not win his class in the nationals.

The top eight placers at each Olympic weight in each of the three senior divisions -- men's freestyle and Greco-Roman and women's freestyle, an Olympic event for the first time this year, move on to the trials at Indy.

In addition to paving the road to Athens, the nationals will afford wrestlers a chance to work on technique and new moves that might come in handy against the world's best wrestlers this summer.

"It's important for me to open up when I wrestle, to explore other limits and things that I've been working on that I'm going to need in the Olympics that might be a little more risky, instead of just locking up (being conservative) and winning," said Patricia Miranda of California, the defending champion and favorite in the women's 105.5-pound class.

Miranda, who is planning to begin law school at Yale in the fall, said that's why a loss here wouldn't be the end of the world in her case.

"It's definitely important and it would be nice," she said of winning another national title. "But at the same time, it's not the end-all. My goal is to make the (Olympic) team and win the gold so even if it costs me a national title, I don't think it will hurt me overall."

Others, such as 185-pound national champion Cael Sanderson, perhaps the best known of the competitors vying for Olympic gold, owing to Sports Illustrated terming his 157-0 record at Iowa State the No. 2 collegiate athletic achievement of all-time, are simply itching to get back on the mat.

"I'm real excited about this tournament," said Sanderson, who this winter in Russia scored a victory against 2000 Olympic gold medalist Adam Saitiev.

"It's been a long time coming and like everybody else, this is something I've been thinking about for a long time.

"This is the first step to making the Olympics, and that's something we all love and have all been thinking about since we were little kids."

In addition to the U.S. Nationals, the Western Junior Regionals, featuring many of the nation's top high school wrestlers, and the popular Veterans Nationals will share the mats with the nation's best freestylers and Greco-Roman hopefuls.

It will be a big weekend for the Gifford brothers of Las Vegas, as Eddie and Greg Gifford, who wrestle at Fresno State, will compete in the senior division while kid brother Chris, a three-time state champion at Las Vegas High, will wrestle in the junior nationals.

More than 2,000 wrestlers are expected to compete in the five divisions.

"Having the National Championships here in Las Vegas and having the chance to compete in the Western Regionals is a huge opportunity for our local wrestlers," said Larry Barnson, the longtime wrestling coach at Las Vegas' Chaparral High and president of the Las Vegas Sports Committee, the organization responsible for bringing the event to town.

"They will have the chance not only to see some of the best wrestlers in the nation but in the world, as several of the competitors that will be here will go on to win Olympic and world championships."