Guest Ace309 Report post Posted June 23, 2002 Justin Ruiz forfeited his opportunity to compete for USA Wrestling's World Team at 96 kg, Greco-Roman, today due to his religious beliefs precluding Sunday competition. USA Wrestling's World Team Trials consist of a challenge tournament where wrestlers meeting certain criteria based on past accomplishment compete in a line-bracket tournament on Friday and Saturday, with the winner of the challenge tournament taking on the National Champion on Sunday in a 2/3 series. Ruiz made it clear before he entered the tournament that he would not compete on Sunday if he won. He has declined to compete in Sunday dual meets in college, so this is not a one-time decision to make a statement. Other Mormon wrestlers, most notable Cael Sanderson and Rulon Gardner, do compete on Sunday. The second-place finisher, Dan Hicks, was not advanced to the 2/3 series, and Ruiz was not granted a deferral, leaving National Champion Garrett Lowney with a berth in the World Championships by default. My opinion is that they should have allowed Hicks to wrestle Lowney off today and granted Ruiz a deferral to wrestle the winner, considering that they allow injured athletes of merit to petition for a deferral. In fact, Bill Zadick exercised that right this year. Any other opinions? More information at TheMat.com. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
