WRESTLING: Springs resident Olson headed to Games
LAS VEGAS – After five grueling wins, Brian Olson is headed to his fourth Olympics. The Olympic Training Center resident beat three opponents and Garry St. Leger twice to win the men’s 198.4-pound division of the U.S. Olympic judo trials Friday at Thomas & Mack Center. Olson, 35, knocked off St. Leger in the deciding match of the best-of-three championship series after they split the first two matches. He scored wins over David Ellis, Rick Hawn and Jacob Larsen in the eight-person challenge tournament. “Not too bad for an old guy out there, huh?” said Olson, a five-time national champion. “The other three (Olympic berths) were phenomenal. This one, it holds more meaning because I took three years off. I was coming in No. 3, so I had to do it the hard way.” Nothing at stake In judo divisions without Olympic quota spots, Tracy Nagai (114.6) and OTC resident Christal Ransom (138.9) won eight-person divisions. Joe Betterman beat OTC wrestler Glenn Garrison in the 132-pound Greco-Roman division, which is not qualified for the Beijing Games in August. Durlacher is done OTC wrestler Lindsey Durlacher retired after a win over Jimmy Chase in the third-place match of the 121-pound Greco-Roman division, laying his shoes and an American flag at the center of the mat. “It’s tough, but it’s time,” Durlacher said. “I’m getting a little older, and there’s some younger talent. I’m going to be too old by the time the next Olympics come around.” Deaf wrestler loses Unable to execute his secret move, deaf Colorado Springs wrestler Roger Stewart lost both of his 121-pound Greco-Roman matches against Nikko Triggas and Nate Engel. “I had him set up,” Stewart said of Triggas. “Something told me to stop, and I don’t know what I did. I wasn’t focused on his strengths. I was focused on my technique
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