Gary Abbott/USA Wrestling
He’s baaaaaaack. That’s right, 1998 World Champion and 2000 Olympic silver medalist Sammie Henson of the Sunkist Kids has returned to the top spot in his weight class, five years after his Olympic experience at the 2000 Sydney Games. He has been wrestling with dominance and power all season, beating top foreign stars, then tearing through the field at the 2005 U.S. Nationals. The new rules of wrestling seem to work well with Henson’s style, and the fact that he is considered a bit old in the lightest division does not seem to matter to Henson at all.
During the last Olympic cycle, Stephen Abas of the Sunkist Kids ruled this weight class. Abas won a silver medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics, and decided to move up to 60 kg this season. But Abas was beaten at the new division at the U.S. Nationals, a bit of a surprise after he beat Cuba’s Olympic champion Quintana on a tour this winter. Abas is expected to stay up, but his opponents need to remember he did stay down at 55 kg for the World Cup this year, where he dominated all of his opponents. If Abas gets down to weight at 55 kg, there could be an amazing battle with Henson, who Abas defeated in the 2004 Olympic Trials finals.
Emerging as the top challenger to Henson at this division is the exciting Matt Azevedo of the Sunkist Kids, who lost in the U.S. Nationals finals for his best finish ever on the national level. Azevedo won the Dave Schultz Memorial this season, and has seemed to take a step ahead of the others with his performance so far this season. Henson did not allow Azevedo to score a point during their championship match in Las Vegas, something Azevedo will have to change if he wishes to be on the U.S. World Team this year.
College star Nick Simmons of the Michigan WC placed a strong third at this division at the U.S. Nationals. He took a redshirt year from Michigan State last season to try out for the Olympic team, and in the process improved his freestyle skills tremendously. Placing fourth in Las Vegas was past NCAA champion Jason Powell of the Sunkist Kids, who also had a number of strong age-group performances prior to making his run on the Senior level. Both Simmons and Powell have great potential to be future U.S. team members, but will have to make rapid progress this year in order to move up any higher in the standings.
Coming onto the freestyle scene with a strong season this year is Luke Eustice of the Hawkeye WC, who finished fifth at the U.S. Nationals. Eustice continues to expand his experience on the Senior level, and has established himself as a force in this division for the future.
Although he is small in stature, T.J. Hill has tremendous skills and a huge heart whenever he competes. He actually beat Eustice in the U.S. Nationals quarterfinals, before losing to Henson in the semifinals, then dropping his final bouts by injury default. Hill was a Junior World champion down at 110 pounds, and would be perfect if FILA ever brought back that division. However, he gives up size to all of his opponents at this division, and wins matches on tenacity and technique.
The final qualifier from the U.S. Nationals was seventh-place Collin Cudd of Wisconsin, who is still establishing himself on the college level for the Univ. of Wisconsin. Cudd would be a longshot to win any bouts in Ames.
Eric Albarracin of the U.S. Army qualified for the Challenge Tounament by winning the Northern Plains Regionals. He also placed third at the U.S. Nationals in Greco-Roman, his first true effort in the other style. He has qualified to compete in both styles at the World Team Trials, and it will be interesting to see what his final decision is, to pick one style or compete in both. The other Regional champion to earn a spot in the field is Jess Zobeck of the Hawkeye WC, who was the Northern Plains champion.
Eligible to enter the field are two stars from last year’s Olympic Team Trials who have not wrestled this year on the Senior level, Teague Moore of the Gator WC and Mike Mena of the New York AC. Both won a medal at an international event overseas in 2004, one of the qualifying standards. If either entered the World Team Trials, they would be serious threats to win the Challenge Tournament.
The NCAA finalists at 125 pounds earn an automatic spot in the Challenge Tournament. A surprise winner at the NCAA meet this year was Joe Dubuque of Indiana, who trains with Indiana assistant coach Mike Mena, a freestyle talent. The runner-up was Kyle Ott of the Univ. of Illinois. Although both are talented, neither have experience or success in freestyle wrestling on the Senior level. If they enter the World Team Trials, it will be a good learning experience and a way to make a name on the international level.
As things stand, Sammie Henson is the man at this weight class. However, if Stephen Abas chose to drop down, all bets are off. Matt Azevedo has earned to right to be called the top challenger among those who have been competing well this season. This will be an interesting field for the Challenge Tournament, which will give one wrestler the right to battle Henson for the team spot.
2005 U.S. NATIONALS RESULTS AT 55 KG/121 LBS.
1st “Sammie Henson, St. Louis, Mo. (Sunkist Kids) dec. Matt Azevedo, San Luis Obispo, Calif. (Sunkist Kids), 2-0, 5-0
3rd “Nick Simmons, Williamston, Mich. (Michigan WC) inj. dft. over Jason Powell, Lincoln, Neb. (Gator WC)
5th “Luke Eustice, Iowa City, Iowa (Hawkeye WC) inj. dft. over T.J. Hill, Farmington, Mo. (unattached)
7th – Collin Cudd, River Falls, Wis., (Wisconsin WC) dec. Roger Stewart, Dumfries, Va. (Gunston WC), 6-0, 7-0
QUALIFIERS FOR 2005 WORLD TEAM TRIALS AT 55 KG/121 LBS.
U.S. Nationals Champion “Sammie Henson, St. Louis, Mo. (Sunkist Kids)
U.S. Nationals, second place – Matt Azevedo, San Luis Obispo, Calif. (Sunkist Kids)
U.S. Nationals, third place “Nick Simmons, Williamston, Mich. (Michigan WC)
U.S. Nationals, fourth place “Jason Powell, Lincoln, Neb. (Gator WC)
U.S. Nationals, fifth place “Luke Eustice, Iowa City, Iowa (Hawkeye WC)
U.S. Nationals, sixth place “T.J. Hill, Farmington, Mo. (unattached)
U.S. Nationals, seventh place “Collin Cudd, River Falls, Wisc. (Wisconsin)
Rocky Mountain Regional Champion “Eric Albaracin, Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Army)
Northern Plains Regional Champion “Jess Zobeck, Elma, Iowa (Hawkeye)
Olympic Team member “Stephen Abas, Fresno, Calif. (Sunkist Kids)
Olympic Team member “Sammie Henson, St. Louis, Mo. (Sunkist Kids)
’04 Sunkist Kids International champion “Matt Azevedo, San Luis Obispo, Calif. (Sunkist Kids)
’04 NYAC Christmas Open champion “None, foreign champion
’05 Dave Schultz Memorial champion “Matt Azevedo, San Luis Obispo, Calif. (Sunkist Kids)
International Tour medalist (within 2 yrs) “
*’04 Boutiatyr Grand Prix silver medalist “Teague Moore, Cambridge, Mass. (Gator WC)
*’04 Acropolis Tournament silver medalist “Mike Mena, Bloomington, Ind. (New York AC);
*’05 Ivan Yarygan Memorial bronze medalist – Sammie Henson, St. Louis, Mo. (Sunkist Kids)
*’05 Cerrro Pelado Tournament gold medalist – Sammie Henson, St. Louis, Mo. (Sunkist Kids)
’05 NCAA Champion “Joe Dubuque, Bloomfield, N.J. (Indiana)
’05 NCAA runner-up – Kyle Ott, Huber Height, Ohio (Illinois)
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