Gardner receives well-needed bye; Springs' Dantzler loses in

0 Comments | Gazette, The (Colorado Springs), May 22, 2004 | by MERI-JO BORZILLERI THE GAZETTE

INDIANAPOLIS - Olympic champion Rulon Gardner got a bye and a break in the first round of the 2004 Olympic wrestling trials Friday at the RCA Dome.

Gardner will wrestle for the first time today in the trials, but his opponent is no pushover. Corey Farkas, who trains with Gardner at the U.S. Olympic Training Center, upset Gardner in the 2003 national semifinals.

The break gives Gardner another day to heal and just two matches to reach Sunday's final against top seed Dremiel Byers, when the Olympic berth will be decided.

Gardner, who has said he will retire from the sport with his next loss, is wrestling with a wrist he dislocated during a pickup basketball game at the training center. Two weeks ago, Gardner had surgical pins removed from the wrist, which he said is only 50 percent healed.

Dantzler down and out

Colorado Springs' T.C. Dantzler's Olympic dream ended in pain and disappointment at the Olympic trials quarterfinals. He lost by fall to Mark Rial in the Greco-Roman 66-kilogram (145.5-pound) weight class.

After getting pinned, Dantzler appeared to be in severe pain and needed help off the mat, unable to put weight on his left leg. Diagnosis: torn left hip abductor. "I hurt it four weeks ago," Dantzler said. "This time, I felt it come off."

This is the end to a struggle for Dantzler, who dropped a weight class when the U.S. failed to qualify his regular 74-kg (163-pound) division for the Olympics.

Trenge delivers two surprises

Until Friday, Jon Trenge was known for two things -- being the last college wrestler to lose to undefeated Cael Sanderson in the NCAA finals and for wearing goggles when he wrestles.

Trenge, who left Lehigh University before his senior year to try to make the Olympic team, is turning things around. In what can be considered the biggest upset of the trials' first day, he defeated veteran and two-time national runner-up Dean Morrison, 33, of Colorado Springs, 3-0, in overtime.

That victory enabled him to advance to the 96-kg (211.5-pound) semifinals against Tommy Rowlands.

Trenge beat Dominic Black of Colorado Springs, another veteran, 3- 1 in overtime earlier in the day.

Trenge wears goggles because he competes with detached retinas in both eyes, freak injuries suffered on two separate occasions while wrestling in college.