UPDATED: 12 wrestlers keep quest alive to win USA Wrestling's Triple Crown

OREM, Utah - Twelve wrestlers moved another big step toward winning the coveted USA Wrestling Kids Triple Crown.

The three-day USA Wrestling Kids National Freestyle and Greco-Roman Championships kicked off with the Greco-Roman competition on Thursday at Utah Valley University's McKay Events Center.

This is the final event in the quest for the 2008 USA Wrestling Kids Triple Crown. Each year, USA Wrestling honors athletes who are able to win national titles at their age-level in all three styles: folkstyle, Greco-Roman and freestyle.

The nation's best 9-14 year old wrestlers are battling for national titles and All-American honors in three age-divisions: Midget (9-10), Novice (11-12) and Schoolboy/girl (13-14).

Wrestlers who are now two-thirds of the way to the Triple Crown after winning Kids Greco-Roman National titles on Thursday include:

Midget division - Anthony Artalona of Florida and A.J. Jaffe of Illinois.

Novice division - Ty Pelot of Wisconsin, Dante Rodriguez of Nebraska, Matthew Kolodzik of Ohio, James Rothwell of Colorado, Bo Nickal of New Mexico and Joey Nelson of Wisconsin.

Schoolboy division - Sam Brancale of Minnesota, Ryan Cone of Wisconsin, Joe Scanlan of Iowa and Eric Mason of Kansas.

The three-day event will run through Saturday in Orem, Utah. Freestyle competition is scheduled to start Friday morning and is set to conclude on Saturday.

The USA Wrestling Kids Folkstyle Nationals were held in early April in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

The USA Wrestling Kids National Freestyle and Greco-Roman Championships moved to Utah this year after having been held four straight years in Wisconsin - three in Green Bay and one in Menomonie.

MIDGET GRECO-ROMAN NATIONAL CHAMPIONS
50 - Ty Smith of Nevada
55 - Dylan Duncan of Illinois
60 - Anthony Artalona of Florida
65 - Taylor Lamont of Utah
70 - A.J. Jaffe of Illinois
75 - Austin Goodenough of Wisconsin
80 - Christian Bahl of Minnesota
87 - Braydon Ball of Idaho
95 - Dylan Meeks of Florida
103 - Alexx Herrera of Idaho
120 - Sam Anderson of Minnesota
120 plus - Tyler Farrar of Wyoming

NOVICE GRECO-ROMAN NATIONAL CHAMPIONS
60 - Ty Pelot of Wisconsin
65 - Caleb Williams of Utah
70 - Dante Rodriguez of Nebraska
75 - Matthew Kolodzik of Ohio
80 - Tyler Berger of Oregon
85 - James Rothwell of Colorado
90 - Bo Nickal of New Mexico
95 - Joey Nelson of Wisconsin
100 - Angus Arthur of Michigan
105 - Chandler Rogers of Washington
112 - Antonio Perez of California
120 - Jonathon Chmilowsky of Minnesota
130 - Colby Meeks of Florida
140 - Jared Langley of Kansas
140 plus - Rodolfo Garcias of California

SCHOOLBOY GRECO-ROMAN NATIONAL CHAMPIONS
70 - Grant Boggs of Montana
77 - Sam Brancale of Minnesota
84 - Jake Velarde of Washington
91 - Corey Keener of Pennsylvania
98 - Blayne Briceno of California
105 - Joey Lavallee of Nevada
112 - Jayden Semrad of Florida
120 - Dakota Trom of Minnesota
128 - Steven Elicegui of Nevada
136 - Brandon McBride of Idaho
144 - Jordan Rogers of Washington
152 - Ryan Cone of Wisconsin
160 - Connor King of Colorado
175 - Joe Scanlan of Iowa
190 - Brooks Black of Pennsylvania
210 - Eric Mason of Kansas
235 - Gaylen Edmo of Idaho