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                         April 11, 2003

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. -- At the out-of-season Fila Junior National Championships, Army wrestler Joe Forsman won the freestyle title in the 211.5-pound weight class. The sophomore won four matches en route to his victory this Saturday.

Forsman started with an 8-1 decision over Chris Thorensen in the first round. The Sandpoint, Idaho, native followed that victory with a closer 5-2 decision versus Chris Wonsettler of Penn State to advance to the semifinals.

Coming off of a 14-win season, Forsman then advanced to the finals when Lehigh’s Matt Cassidy withdrew due to injury. Forsman then had his most impressive showing of the weekend, pinning Jeff Courtney of the Mountaineer Wrestling Club in 5 minutes, 22 seconds to win the title.

"Joe has dreamed of winning a freestyle national title for a long time," said Army head coach Chuck Barbee. "(Saturday) he came and wrestled with a lot of intensity and brought his performance to another level."

Sophomore Joe Forsman in action versus Navy Feb 22.

The champion in each weight class qualifies for the 2003 Junior World Championships in Istanbul, Turkey, August 22-29. Only wrestlers born 1983-1985 are eligible to compete in this event.

"I can’t think of a better time to have an Army athlete representing the nation in the World Championships," commented Barbee. "This event is just another awesome reminder that our young men can come to the USMA and fulfill all there wrestling dreams, both in collegiate and Olympic styles."

Army had seven other wrestlers compete last weekend, freshman Andrew Henry (132 lbs.), freshman Anthony Severo (145.5), freshman Patrick Simpson (145.5), sophomore Phillip Simpson (163), freshman Luke Calvert (185), freshman Todd Wisman (211.5) and freshman James Hollis (264.5).

Phillip Simpson, a third-place finisher in the 141-pound weight class at the NCAA Championships last month, and Hollis were the only Black Knights outside of Forsman to gain victories on the weekend. Simpson defeated Iowa’s Ben Stedman 10-5 in the first round, but lost by injury default in the second round.

Hollis lost by pinfall to Purdue’s Aaron Keough in 3:39 in his first match. He then recovered and pinned Arnold Frost of Brockport in 0:32, followed by an 8-3 decision over Tony Johnson of Lakota East. The freshman then had another bout opposite Keough, losing 6-2. Despite the pair of losses to Keough, Hollis ended up sixth place at 264.5 pounds.

Complete tournament results can be found at www.themat.com.