U.S. wrestlers get international test

Nearly six months from the Olympics, members of the U.S. women’s freestyle wrestling team got a taste of international competition in their backyard.

The U.S. lost to Germany 15-14 in a world dual meet Wednesday at Doherty High School. U.S. wrestlers Rachel Bernardes, Amantha Hordagoda, Cherae Pascua and Chelynne Pringle posted wins.

The six-person German team has moved into the Olympic Training Center in preparation for the Dave Schultz Memorial International, which is Feb. 8-10 in Colorado Springs.

All eight U.S. wrestlers who competed in Wednesday’s dual — Tori Adams, Clarissa Chun, Othella Lucas and Trinity Plessinger lost — will participate in the Schultz tournament.

“It brings me one step closer to where I’ve got to go,” Pascua said after a 3-0, 1-0 victory over Jessica Bechtel in the 121-pound division.

The elite U.S. women’s wrestlers skipped the dual following a runner-up finish at the World Cup in China and a Grand Prix meet in Russia. A five-person team will face Poland on Tuesday at the Chicago Cup in Evanston, Ill.

Chun has qualified for the U.S. Olympic trials (June 13-15 in Las Vegas) based on her appearance at the 2000 world championships, where she did not place.

The other seven wrestlers from Wednesday’s dual must qualify at the Women’s College National Championships, March 15 in Oklahoma City; the University National Championships, April 13 in Akron, Ohio; the U.S. National Championships, April 24 in Las Vegas; or the Olympic regional trials, May 8-10 in Waterloo, Iowa.

“You’re never happy where you are,” Hordagoda said after beating Nicole Hofmann 5-0, 3-0 at 105.5 pounds. “Even when you’re No. 1, you think, ‘Oh, that girl is too close to me.’ Even if I was No. 1 in the country, there would still be work to be done.”

Said U.S. women’s freestyle coach Terry Steiner: “These guys have been in training, training, training with no competition for a while. Just to get a match before the Schultz is a good thing.”

The U.S. has secured berths in the Beijing Games in August at 105.5, 138.75 and 158.5 pounds. It can qualify the remaining weight class — 121 pounds, anchored by Colorado Springs resident Marcie Van Dusen — at the Pan American Championships (Feb. 29 to March 2 at the OTC) or at tournaments in May in Canada and Sweden.

When women’s wrestling debuted as an Olympic sport at the 2004 Athens Games, the U.S. qualified all four divisions. Sara McMann (138.75 pounds) won a silver medal and Colorado Springs resident Patricia Miranda (105.5) took bronze.