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Hall Wins Dramatic Match to Qualify for
Olympics
UW-Stevens Point assistant wrestling coach
Dennis Hall will represent the United States at the 2004 Olympics in
Athens, Greece after winning a dramatic match over Brandon Paulson in the
Greco-Roman title match at 55 kg (121 pounds) on Sunday, May 23 at the
U.S. Team Trials in Indianapolis.
Hall scored a takedown at the 16:54 mark of the
match to win 4-3 and earn a return trip to the Olympics, where he won a
silver medal in 1996. It was one of the longest matches in U.S. wrestling
history after Paulson had tied the match with an escape with 30 seconds
left in regulation. After an overtime period, the match was still tied
with all criteria equal and went into an unlimited sudden death period.
�Overtime just kept going on and on,� Hall said.
�We were both working hard. Finally, I was able to slide by to reach
around and chase him and land on top. I wasn�t sure if they were going to
give it to me (the point), but my coaches said they did and I thought,
�thank goodness it�s over.��
UW-Stevens Point head coach Johnny Johnson was
in the corner during Hall�s matches, which included three victories to
reach the best-of-three finals against Paulson. Hall won the first match
before Paulson posted a victory to set up the dramatic third match. Hall
and Paulson are regular training partners and wrestled at different
weights in Atlanta in 1996, but Hall dropped down to 121 pounds for this
year�s trials.
�I went overseas and found my body couldn�t
handle being at that weight and I needed to drop,� Hall said. �I feel like
I can win a gold medal at this size. If I didn�t think I could win the
gold medal, then I wouldn�t have dropped.�
The 33-year old Hall attended Hartford High
School and UW-Stevens Point. He was the 1995 Greco-Roman world champion
and has been on the Pointers� coaching staff the past four years. |
