Las Vegas Wrestling Notebook for Thursday, April 28
Gary Abbott/USA Wrestling
NEW AND DIFFERENT THINGS IN VEGAS
The U.S. National Championships has been held in Las Vegas, Nev. almost every year for two decades, becoming a tradition within wrestling on the annual event schedule. Those who are attending the competition this week will be seeing some new things, as well as some different things than the past.
The new rules of international wrestling are already on display, as the FILA Junior National Championships are utilizing the regulations. The FILA Junior Greco-Roman tournament is being held today. These new rules will be used on Friday and Saturday for the first time at the U.S. Senior Nationals.
Matches are six minutes long. A wrestler must win two of three periods. You can win a period with a six-point lead, or by hitting a five-point throw, or by hitting two three-point throws. An athlete can’t step out of bounds, or he/she loses a point. On the Senior level, each weight class competition lasts just one day.
Pairing officials and USA Wrestling staff are working on how to best report the results from the event in a way that is understood. There is a new computer program being used by event staff and pairings officials for the new rules. Follow TheMat.com for these updates all weekend.
The FILA Junior Nationals, for the nation’s best 17-20 year olds, has been added to the schedule this year. It is the first time since 1988 at this age group has held its nationals alongside the Senior Nationals. In addition to seeing the top Olympic-level wrestlers, fans will see talented college and high school wrestlers battling for spots in the FILA Junior World Team Trials. Many of these athletes are expected to be challengers for future Olympic teams.
With the Western Junior Regionals going on, fans are seeing the new rules and old rules side by side. In some cases, they are seeing freestyle and Greco-Roman at the same time as well. This morning, there was the FILA Junior Greco-Roman tournament, using the new rules, on the mats at the same time as the Western Junior Freestyle championships, using the old rules.
This is also the first year that USA Wrestling did a pre-seed for the U.S. Nationals, with a series of conference calls held on Tuesday with a five-member committee in each styles. These seeds can change if an athlete does not make weight or does not show up, or if there is a two-thirds vote of coaches at the seeding meeting for each style. Watch TheMat.com for any changes to the seeds, starting this evening.
BROTHER/SISTER NATIONAL CHAMPIONS
Elijah Hutchison of Soldotna, Alaska won a gold medal at the FILA Junior Greco-Roman Nationals today, winning the 60 kg/132 lbs. title with a 1-3, 4-0, 1-0 decision over Travis Lang of Minnesota.
He became the second family member to win a USA Wrestling age-group national title this spring. His younger sister Michaela Hutchison was a champion at the Body Bar FILA Cadet Nationals in San Diego, Calif. earlier this month.
The Hutchison family also had a rare feat on the state level this year. Elijah and Michaela became the first brother/sister combination to compete in a high school state finals side-by-side. At the Alaska High School state meet, Elijah was the champion and Michaela was a runner-up this year. No girl has ever won a high school state title competing against boys, so Michaela matched the best finish ever for a high school girl.
The Hutchison kids are coached by their dad, Mike, who is also the USA Wrestling state chairperson in Alaska. They have an older sister Melina, who was also a nationally ranked wrestler for many years.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, IT’S A WONDERFUL TOWN
A group of 26 athletes from New York City are in Las Vegas for the Western Junior Regionals, as part of the “Beat the Streets program” developed by the Metropolitan Wrestling Association, an allied member of USA Wrestling.
This group of athletes are competing with intensity and skill, as the sport of wrestling is getting a foothold in one of the world’s largest cities.
In the Greco-Roman division, three of the New York City kids were placewinners. Peter Morales was sixth at 98 pounds, Jonathon Soto was sixth at 105 pounds and Michael Stanley was fourth at 275 pounds. So far on Thursday, the New York kids are winning many matches in the freestyle division.
Larry Cantor, the PSAL wrestling commissioner, is leading the group of wrestlers. He has been pleased with their wrestling, as well as the experience of bringing the inner city kids to Las Vegas to experience a national event.
MIXED DAY OF ALL LEVELS
Thursday is the mixed up day at Las Vegas. The Junior Regionals is going on, with many of the best high school wrestlers in the nation in action. The FILA Junior Nationals has begun, with top young college wrestlers and high school stars in battle. The U.S. Senior Nationals begins tonight, with weigh-ins for half of the weight classes.
Milling around, walking among the athletes and coaches, are people involved in wrestling at all levels, from age-group programs through college and on to the Olympic level.
An example is Tom Brands, the head coach at Virginia Tech. He was here on Wednesday, watching some of his talented high school recruits who will join his team in the fall. He also has an athlete competing in the FILA Junior tournament from his college team. And as a club coach, Brands will be working with some of the Senior athletes who will be competing in the U.S. Freestyle Nationals. Brands was an Olympic Coach in 2004, working with our successful freestyle team in Athens, Greece.
There are numerous past World and Olympic medallists at the event, many coaching younger athletes or Senior level wrestlers. Others are here just to enjoy the action and spend time with their peers.
No event brings together all levels of wrestling like this one, except maybe the ASICS Junior/Cadet Nationals in Fargo, N.D. where many college coaches go to recruit.
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