Another national title for Lee

Advertiser Staff

St. Louis School graduate Travis Lee won his second junior national wrestling championship in five days yesterday, avenging an earlier loss to one of the most highly regarded wrestlers in the tournament.

Lee, 18, decisioned Nick Simmons of Michigan 3-1 in the 123-pound freestyle final of the Asics/USA Wrestling Junior Nationals in Fargo, N.D. On Tuesday Lee won the Greco-Roman title.

Simmons was going for his fourth junior national championship and had never lost a freestyle match.

He beat Lee by the same score in the Senior National championships in Delaware in April in folk-style (high school-collegiate).

In yesterday's championship match, Lee took a 1-0 lead with a takedown in the first round.

Simmons tied the score at 1 with a hand-to-hand gutwrench, but Lee answered with a reversal and a takedown in the second round.

Midway through the second round, Lee said, "I was trying to turn him with a leglace and I put a little hurt on his leg. When he came to the center, he looked hurt and beat and that gave me a lot of confidence. I could see in his eyes he was beat already."

"Travis broke his spirit," said Todd Los Banos, Lee's coach.

Lee is the first wrestler from Hawai'i to win a junior national championship.

"I hope I opened the door for a lot of kids in Hawai'i," Lee said. "Hopefully they will do well, too."