Gary Abbott/USA Wrestling
The Las Vegas/ASICS United States National Wrestling Championships will be broadcast nationally on ESPN2 on Monday, June 6 at 5:00 p.m. Eastern time.
It will be a one-hour broadcast, on a tape-delayed basis, with championship bouts and highlights from the U.S. National finals in men’s freestyle, men’s Greco-Roman and women’s freestyle wrestling.
The nation’s best international wrestlers will compete at the Las Vegas/ASICS United States National Wrestling Championships in all three styles, battling for national titles and All-American honors. This tournament is scheduled to be held April 29-30 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
Serving as the broadcast team for this event will be veteran play-by-play announcer Van Stokes, color commentator Randy Couture and wrestling broadcaster Joe Miller. Couture was a U.S. World team member in Greco-Roman, before becoming a mixed-martial arts champion in the Ultimate Fighting Championships (UFC).
The competition will be one of the first broadcasts in the nation to show the new rules of international wrestling, which were implemented after the 2004 Olympic Games. The show will allow wrestling fans to see for themselves how the new rules have changed the sport.
Champions from the U.S. Nationals earn the No. 1 seed at the World Team Trials in Ames, Iowa, June 18-19, which will determine the 2005 U.S. World Championships teams. Winning a gold medal at the U.S. Nationals is very important in the quest for a World Team berth.
Action at the U.S. National Championships is always wide open and exciting the first year after an Olympic Games. Some “big-name” wrestlers either retire or take a year off from competition. There will be young athletes making their first serious run for international wrestling glory, trying to make a name for themselves. There will be talented veteran wrestlers who want to establish themselves as the top athlete during a new four-year Olympic cycle. It is often a big battle between the new and the old, and is very hard to predict.
Mark your calendars for June 6th, and tune in to ESPN2 for the best of international wrestling. Check your local listings for time and station in your area.
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