Championships set to return

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      The United States National Wrestling Championships will return to Las Vegas in 1999 and 2000, it was announced recently by USA Wrestling, the national governing body for amateur wrestling in the United States.
      The competition will feature the national championships in freestyle, Greco-Roman and women's wrestling along with the Western Junior Regional Championships.
      The United States National Wrestling Championships will be co-produced by USA Wrestling and the Las Vegas Organizing Committee, and will be held in the newly expanded Las Vegas Convention Center.
      The event is scheduled for April 21-24 next year. The date for the 2000 United States National Wrestling Championships is April 26-29.
      "USA Wrestling has a great working relationship with the Las Vegas Organizing Committee and it's wonderful to bring the United States National Wrestling Championships back to Las Vegas," said Jim Scherr, USA Wrestling Executive Director. "We look forward to an outstanding event, featuring the best wrestlers in the United States. The city and the LVOC work tremendously hard to create a showcase event."
      Organizing committee director David Poplin said: "This is a wonderful opportunity for the LVOC to renew its inolvement with USA Wrestling in co-producing the United States National Wrestling Championships. Next year makes a milestone in presenting this event and represents the return of a tremendous special event to Las Vegas after a two-year absence."
      Las Vegas has hosted and the committee and USA Wrestling have held nine previous Nationals in the Southern Nevada area.
      The two groups co-produced the 16th Junior World Freestyle Wrestling Championships recently at the Star of the Desert Arena in Primm.
      For 13 years, the committee has been producing special events in the Las Vegas area. Other major wrestling events produced by the committee include the 1997 USA Wrestling Freestyle World Team Trials and the 1998 NAIA National Wrestling Championships. In February this year, the committee presented the third Las Vegas Go For It Classic, the largest gymnastics festival in the USA. Long-time Las Vegas David Poplin and Larry Barnson, along with Don Spencer, are the principals for the committee.
      Those interested can contact the organizing committee at 735-LVOC.