Wednesday, July 25, 2001
FARGO, N. D. >> St. Louis School graduate Travis Lee became Hawaii's first Greco-Roman junior national champion yesterday, winning the 123-pound division at the Asics Junior National Greco-Roman Wrestling Championships. Lee dominates in national
Greco-Roman wrestlingThe St. Louis graduate sweeps
through the tournament unbeatenFrom wire and staff reports
In last night's final, Lee defeated A.J. Lavender of Moline, Ill., by a 10-0 technical fall in 5 minutes, 37 seconds at the FargoDome on the North Dakota State campus.
Lee finished the Greco-Roman portion of the event, going 12-0 and winning all of his matches by a 10-0 tech. The 123-pound class had 167 wrestlers, the largest of the 31st annual competition.
"It hasn't really sunk in yet,'' said Lee, who will begin the freestyle competition tomorrow. "It's been a good tournament for me and I'm feeling pretty good right now. Last night, I felt in control the entire match.''
"He just dominated all week,'' said St. Louis wrestling coach Todd Los Banos. "He really should have won the Outstanding Wrestler Award. He was awesome.''
Last night, Lee jumped out to a 6-0 lead at the end of the first period featuring a three-point throw and an appreciation lift point. He scored a takedown with a minute remaining, then finished off Lavender with a three-point toss.
The 16-year-old Lavender, an incoming high school junior, was 37-2 last year and was the Class 2A state runner-up at 119 pounds as a sophomore.
Lee won three state titles, competing last year at 130 pounds. His career record was 217-19.
Lee finished fourth in this competition last year in Greco-Roman and sixth in the freestyle competition.
The 18-year-old Lee, who graduated with a 4.25 GPA, will attend Cornell University in the fall.