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Show Vernal Express Wednesday, March 28, 2007 C3 Luke Stradinger wins South Dakota crown : - '' ; V T H; F By Alpon Rachele Neola's Luke Stradinger instructs freestyle wrestlers, Jacob Spencer and Charley Bingham on proper mat moves. Stradinger recently won a wrestling meet in South Dakota to advance to the nationals in New York. J if l - 5'f X " ' I - I " 'J m Basin News Service After several years of trying, Luke Stradinger is a champion in his former home state of South Dakota. The Neola resident, who is a Utah Highway Patrol Trooper, won the Black Hills Nationals in South Dakota. He won the collegiate AAU sanctioned sanc-tioned masters' division in the 215 pound class for wrestlers, 30 years and older. Stradinger has qualified for the collegiate nationals in May in New York. Stradinger won his title in South Dakota by pinning Thane Schalesky from Faith, S.D., in 38 seconds. He reached the finals when he scored a takedown in overtime to beat Shane Peterson from Wyoming, 2-0. "I took Schalesky down on a double leg move and then used a reverse Nelson for the fall," Stradinger said. Stradinger placed second as a senior at Belle Fourche High School in South Dakota more than 15 years ago and then was a runner-up at a regional tournament tour-nament while at Ricks College (now BYU-Idaho). He reached the nationals and posted a 2-2 record for Ricks College. When he is done with his Utah Highway Patrol duties, Stradinger is a volunteer freestyle free-style coach for three boys, Charley Bingham, Jacob Spencer and Colton Johnston. He also owns a video store that also sells comic books in Duchesne. "Last year I had 15 students, fourth grade and up, but this year just three. More signed up for Tiger League than my freestyle free-style program, which is a step up and more advanced. The wrestlers wres-tlers are a little tougher and they meet more competitive kids all over the state," said Stradinger. Freestyle wrestling is a form of amateur wrestling that is practiced around the world and is one of the oldest sports along with track and field. Other forms of amateur wrestling includes Greco-Roman, Judo and Sambo. American high school and college col-lege wrestling is conducted under different rules is called collegiate wrestling. "The sport of freestyle has different dif-ferent moves and scoring," he said. If a wrestler wins the first and second round a match is over. A wrestler can lose the first round, win second and then take the third and final round for a victory. vic-tory. A pin ends it all, no matter the round. A wrestler could win the first round by a high score such as 10-0, but lose the second sec-ond and third rounds, 1-0 while outscoring his opponent, 12-2. In high school and college wrestling, a wrestler has to compete for three rounds to win a decision unless by a pin, default or technical fall. Stradinger keeps himself in shape for wrestling bouts collegiate or freestyle by working out at Union High School's wrestling room. "I have no one to wrestle and so I do drills late at night by lifting Olympic style," he said. t t i t Colton Johnston and Jacob Spencer work on a wrestling move and have a soft mat to fall on so they don't get injured. Jacob Spencer and Charley Bingham battle out on the mat during wrestling practice in the Union wrestling room. 7 - I ' , . -On, Yellowstone grizzly bears are de-listed Luke Stradinger isn't wrestling Charley Bingham. He is just showing him what to do out on the mat last week in Roosevelt. Successful recovery efforts to bring Yellowstone grizzly bears back have resulted in the removal of these animals from the endangered endan-gered species list. After nearly disappearing three decades ago, grizzly bears are thriving in the Yellowstone ecosystem and no longer need the protection of the Endangered Species Act, Deputy Interior Secretary Lynn Scarlett announced on March 22, 2007. "The Grizzly's remarkable comeback is the result of years of intensive cooperative recovery efforts between federal and state agencies, conservation groups, and individuals," Scarlett said. "There is simply no way to overstate over-state what an amazing accomplishment accom-plishment this is. The grizzly is a large predator that requires a great deal of space, and conserving conserv-ing such animals is a challenge in today's world. I believe all Americans should be proud that, as a nation, we had the will and the ability to protect and restore this symbol of the wild." The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is removing the Yellowstone population of grizzly bear from its status as "threatened" on the U.S. list of threatened and endangered species. spe-cies. Four other grizzly populations popula-tions in the lower 48 states have not yet recovered and will continue con-tinue to be protected as threatened threat-ened under the Act. Grizzly numbers in the Yellowstone ecosystem have increased from an estimated population of 136 to 312 when they were listed as threatened in 1975, to more than 500 bears today. Yellowstone grizzlies will now be managed under a comprehensive com-prehensive strategy developed by state and federal scientists and managers that includes intensive inten-sive monitoring of Yellowstone bears, their food, and their habitat. habi-tat. The conservation strategy incorporates the best available science and allows state and federal fed-eral agencies to adjust management manage-ment in response to new scientific scien-tific information or environmental environmen-tal and bear population changes. State and federal managers will continue to work cooperatively under this framework to manage man-age and maintain healthy grizzly bear populations throughout the Greater Yellowstone area. "This comprehensive conservation con-servation strategy, agreed to by all state and federal players involved in grizzly recovery, will ensure that the future of the bear remains bright," Scarlett noted. Since the early 1990s, the Yellowstone population has grown at a rate of 4 percent to 7 percent per year. Grizzly range in the Yellowstone ecosystem has increased 48 percent since they were listed, and biologists have sighted bear more than 60 miles from what was once thought to be the outer limits of their range. Notification of the de-listing of the Yellowstone population of grizzly bear will be published in the Federal Register in the near future. More information about the recent announcement can be ' found at http:mountain-prairie. 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