World Champions Gutches, Douglas to headline 1998 U.S. Goodwill Games freestyle wrestling team

A pair of World Champions will headline a talented young team of U.S. freestyle wrestlers that will compete in the 1998 Goodwill Games in New York City, July 25-26.

The team will be led by 1997 World Champion Les Gutches (Corvallis, Ore./Sunkist Kids) at 187.25 pounds and 1993 World Champion Melvin Douglas (Mesa, Ariz./Sunkist Kids) at 213.75 pounds.

Gutches was seventh at the 1996 Olympic Games. He has won the U.S. Nationals three straight years, and was third in the 1998 World Cup.  Gutches, 25, was a two-time NCAA champion for Oregon State Univ.

Douglas has won four career World medals and was seventh in the 1996 Olympic Games. He is the only member of the U.S. team who has previous Goodwill Games experience, winning a silver medal at 198 pounds in the 1994 Goodwill Games in St. Petersburg, Russia. Douglas, 31, won two NCAA titles for the Univ. of Oklahoma.

The U.S. team was determined at the 1998 Freestyle World Team Trials held at Young Arena in Waterloo, Iowa, June 12-13.

Another top U.S. athlete will be 1997 World silver medalist Cary Kolat (Lock Haven, Pa./Dave Schultz WC) at 138.75 pounds. Kolat won the 1998 World Team Trials after missing the U.S. Nationals with an injury. He won a gold medal at the 1998 World Cup. Kolat, 25, was a two-time NCAA champion for Lock Haven Univ.

1998 World Cup champion Lincoln McIlravy (Iowa City, Iowa/Gateway) will compete at 152 pounds. McIlravy has won two straight U.S. Nationals titles, and is undefeated in 1998. McIlravy, 23, was a three-time NCAA champion for the Univ. of Iowa.

Tony Purler (Norman, Okla./Sunkist Kids), who placed 10th in the 1997 World Championships, will compete at 127.75 pounds. He was the 1998 U.S. Nationals champion. Purler, 28, was an NCAA champion for the Univ. of Nebraska.

Three wrestlers who reached No. 1 rankings for the first time will also wrestle, Sam Henson (Norman, Okla./Sunkist Kids) at 119 pounds, Steve Marianetti (Urbana, Ill./New York AC) at 167.5 pounds and Kerry McCoy (State College, Pa./New York AC) at 286 pounds.

Henson, 27, was the 1998 U.S. Nationals champion, and won two NCAA titles for Clemson Univ. He placed second in the 1998 World Cup.

Marianetti, 26, also a 1998 U.S. Nationals champion, was an NCAA champion for the Univ. of Illinois.

McCoy is the only local athlete on the team. He was a New York state champion for Longwood High School in nearby Suffolk County on Long Island.  McCoy, 23, was a two-time NCAA champion for Penn State Univ.

Each team is allowed two alternates, and the United States has named 1998 U.S. Nationals champion Shawn Charles (Mount Pleasant, Mich./Sunkist Kids) at 138.75 pounds and Eric Akin (Coralville, Iowa/Hawkeye WC) at 119 pounds.

Charles, 28, placed second to Kolat at the 1998 World Team Trials.

Akin, 27, placed second to Henson at the 1998 World Team Trials and finished third in the 1998 U.S. Nationals.

The United States will battle world powers Russia, Iran and Turkey in dual meet competition at the 1998 Goodwill Games.

The head coach of the U.S. team will be John Smith (Stillwater, Okla.) and the assistant coach is Donnie McPherson (Portland, Ore.). USA Wrestling National Freestyle Coach Bruce Burnett (Colorado Springs, Colo.) will also lead the team.

Smith is considered one of the greatest freestyle wrestlers of all time, winning two Olympic gold medals and four World Championships gold medals. He is also the only U.S. wrestler to win two Goodwill Games gold medals.

The U.S. team will conduct training camps in New York prior to competing in the Goodwill Games. This team, with the exception of Charles, will also compete in the 1998 World Freestyle Championships in Tehran, Iran, Sept. 8-11. Smith and McPherson will also coach the 1998 U.S. World Team in Iran.

The Goodwill Games, scheduled for July 19-August 2 in the New York metropolitan area, will showcase approximately 1,500 of the world's best athletes from more than 60 countries competing in 15 sports. The competitors, which include numerous world and Olympic champions, will be vying for $5 million in prize money and world record/performance incentives, the largest purse in multi-sport event history.

TBS Superstation, the Games' host network, will televise 45 hours of prime-time coverage of the 1998 Goodwill Games. CBS will televise 10 hours of weekend, afternoon coverage. In addition to appearing on TBS and CBS, boxing will be televised on HBO as part of the Boxing After Dark series. The 1988 Games mark the first time a sporting event has appeared on all three levels of television distribution. Internationally, the syndication rights are being sold by Warner Bros. International Television Distribution, and the Games are expected to be broadcast to more than 130 countries.

Past Goodwill Games sites include Moscow, Soviet Union, 1986; Seattle, Washington, 1990; and St. Petersburg, Russia, 1994.

The Goodwill Games are hosted through a combined effort between Goodwill Games, Inc. and the participating sports federations, in conjunction with the appropriate state, city and county governmental agencies. Goodwill Games, Inc., a division of Turner Sports and Time Warner, Inc., is responsible for all aspects of the event.

1998 U.S. GOODWILL GAMES WRESTLING TEAM

• 54 kg/119 lbs. - Sam Henson, Norman, Okla. (Sunkist Kids)
• 54 kg/119 lbs. - Eric Akin, Coralville, Iowa (Hawkeye WC)
• 58 kg/127.75 lbs. - Tony Purler, Norman, Okla. (Sunkist Kids)
• 63 kg/138.75 lbs. - Cary Kolat, Lock Haven, Pa. (Dave Schultz WC)
• 63 kg/138.75 lbs. - Shawn Charles, Mt. Pleasant, Mich. (Sunkist Kids)
• 69 kg/152 lbs. - Lincoln McIlravy, Iowa City, Iowa (Gateway)
• 76 kg/167.5 lbs. - Steve Marianetti, Urbana, Ill. (New York AC)
• 85 kg/187.25 lbs. - Les Gutches, Corvallis, Ore. (Sunkist Kids)
• 97 kg/213.75 lbs. - Melvin Douglas, Mesa, Ariz. (Sunkist Kids)
• 130 kg/286 lbs. - Kerry McCoy, State College, Pa. (New York AC)

Head Coach - John Smith, Stillwater, Okla.
Assistant Coach - Donnie McPherson, Portland, Ore.
Team Leader - Bruce Burnett, Colorado Springs, Colo.