OLYMPIC HOPEFULS, MINNESOTA TIES
A large contingent of Minnesotans has a shot at making the 2012 U.S. Olympic team in Greco-Roman wrestling. Several other athletes with Minnesota ties are considered leading contenders for Olympic berths in their sports, including these:
DIVING
• Gophers senior Kelci Bryant finished seventh in 3-meter diving at last week's world championships and is in strong position to make her second Olympic team. Brittany Viola of Orlando, Fla., daughter of former Twins pitcher Frank Viola, placed 10th in platform diving at the world meet and is the top American woman in that event.
BOXING
• Jonathan Hamm, who trains in St. Paul, won the USA Boxing championship in the super heavyweight class last month and will compete in the Olympic Trials next week. Middleweight Damarias Russell, a Minneapolis native, also will box at the trials.
VOLLEYBALL
• Former Gopher Lindsey Berg, a member of the U.S. women's national team since 2003, is on the preliminary roster for next month's World Grand Prix and will try to make her third Olympic team. New Gophers coach Hugh McCutcheon, who coached the U.S. men to a gold medal in the 2008 Olympics, will coach the women's Olympic team in 2012.
BEACH VOLLEYBALL
• Former Gopher Nicole Branagh and partner Angie Akers are the 16th-ranked team on the Swatch World Tour. Branagh made the 2008 Olympic team with Elaine Youngs and finished fifth.
TRACK AND FIELD
• Duluth native Kara Goucher, who finished second in the 10,000 meters at last month's U.S. track and field outdoor championships, is a top contender to make the Olympic team in the marathon. Several members of the Team USA Minnesota distance running group also will be competing for spots in the marathon or in distance events on the track. Other Minnesotans who put themselves into contention with top-10 finishes at the U.S. championships include Amanda Smock of Melrose, who won the women's triple jump; Liz Podominick of Lakeville, sixth in the discus; and Minnetonka native Will Leer, fifth in the men's 1,500.
WRESTLING
• Ali Bernard of New Ulm, a 2008 Olympian, is ranked No. 1 in the country in the women's 72-kilogram weight class. In men's freestyle, three Minnesota Storm wrestlers are ranked in the top 10 in their weight classes: Tyler Lehmann of Apple Valley, who is training at the U.S. Olympic training center in Colorado Springs (eighth, 96 kg); the Gophers' Sonny Yohn (ninth, 96 kg); and the Gophers' Zach Sanders of Wabasha (ninth, 55 kg).
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
• Five members of the Lynx -- Lindsay Whalen of Hutchinson, Seimone Augustus, Maya Moore, Rebekkah Brunson and Candice Wiggins -- are on the training roster for the U.S. national team.
EQUESTRIAN
• Becky Holder of Mendota Heights, who competed in eventing at the 2008 Olympics with her horse Courageous Comet, is currently ranked 12th among riders in that discipline and represented the U.S. at the World Equestrian Games last fall.
FENCING
• Susie Scanlan of St. Paul is taking a leave from her studies at Princeton to try and make the Olympic team. She is currently fifth in the U.S. point standings in women's epee.
RACHEL BLOUNT
sports
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