When Hawai'i made girls wrestling a sanctioned high school sport in 1998, it became the first state in the country to do so.

Yet, when the sport gained Olympic recognition for the 2004 Athens games, no women from Hawai'i made the U.S. team.

Four years after falling short of her Olympic dream, Honolulu's Stephany Lee is confident heading into her second chance at this weekend's U.S. Olympic Trials for Wrestling and Judo at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas.

Lee, 23, is competing in the 158.5-pound division of the women's freestyle competition. In addition, men's freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling will determine its Beijing-bound grapplers during the three-day tournament.

It is the first time USA Wrestling and USA Judo have held a common site for their trials.

At the 2004 trials, Lee acknowledged she was "kind of new to the scene and didn't understand how things worked."

Still, the 2002 Moanalua High graduate advanced to the finals of the Challenge Tournament, one win short of wrestling for an Olympic berth.

"That was my second year of freestyle wrestling," Lee said. "I'm a lot more mature now. I know how things work and what I need to do to prepare myself. I've been in the mix for a while now ... it's just a lot more comfortable."

Lee, who is the No. 4 seed, meets fifth-seeded Megan Goldsmith in the quarterfinal round.

Lee won three state high school wrestling titles before going on to Missouri Valley College, where she earned a bachelor's degree.

After moving to the Olympic Training Center last year, she captured gold at the Pan American Games in March, and followed that with another title at the University Nationals in Akron, Ohio in April.

The champion at the May Senior Nationals earned a bye from the Challenge Tournament and will meet the winner in a best-of-three series this weekend for the lone berth to the U.S. team.

Lee didn't compete in the May tournament, but it was on her own accord.

"It was partially to rest, but partially because I didn't want to win nationals," Lee said. "Basically I didn't want to sit out the Challenge Tournament. Some people wrestle good for only two matches. For me, I'd rather go through a tournament and have my last two matches be my best."

Lee is aware that no wrestler from Hawai'i — male or female — has ever represented the U.S. on the world's grandest stage.

"I think people in Hawai'i that wrestle, they don't see anything past high school," she said. "It's really something that if you put your heart into it and make a commitment, it can happen."

Lee participated in judo before taking up wrestling. She gave up competitive judo, in part, because of the financial strain.

"In wrestling there's sponsors; there's a lot of opportunity in the sport," she said. "I wouldn't have been able to do all of this. Wrestling was my get away."

Lee is elated for the opportunity to punch her ticket to Beijing this weekend.

"I always wanted to go to the Olympics, but I wasn't sure if I had enough experience or was good enough," Lee said. "I was just proving myself each time out, showing that I could do this."

HOMEGROWN CLASH

Kapolei's Clarissa Chun, a veteran of the mat at 26, is also set to compete in Friday's trials. Chun, a 1999 Roosevelt graduate, is the third seed in the 105.5-pound division.

"I feel like I've learned a lot through the years of competing. Not just my technique, but mentally, too, I've been able to improve," she said. "At the same time, you can't look past any of the young ones, because they come out with a lot of heart and fire."

Chun's first match is against a familiar foe in sixth-seeded Sadie Kaneda of Honolulu.

"Her sister and I grew up friends, so I've known Sadie since grade school," Chun said. "It's always not fun to wrestle someone you care about, especially someone from the Islands."

Chun, who earned a degree in communications at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, has spent the last six years at the Olympic Training Center.

She took fourth at the Senior Nationals after capturing gold at the Pan American Games. In addition, she previously beat top-seeded Stephanie Murata, pinning her in a February tournament in Ukraine.

"That was a confidence boost," Chun said. "I was disappointed with how nationals went, but the trials are what matters."

Chun sees the chance to represent the U.S. in China as a homecoming of sorts.

"Everyone grew up watching the Olympics," Chun said. "Plus, I'm half-Chinese so I would kind of take it back to my roots if I made it to Beijing."

Kaneda, a 2004 Roosevelt graduate, is competing out of the U.S. Olympic Education Center at Northern Michigan University in Marquette, Mich.

"We just finished our last couple days of training and I feel pretty good going into the trials," Kaneda said. "I'm still younger than most of the people at my weight class, but I've grown a lot since high school and I think I have a pretty good shot."

Kaneda, who is studying nursing, won the April College Nationals in Oklahoma City, took third at the University Nationals and was sixth at the Senior Nationals.

Wailuku's Shyla Iokia and Pearl City's Cherae Pascua are in the 121.5-pound division.

Iokia, 21, is a 2005 graduate of Baldwin and, like Kaneda, is wrestling out of the USOEC.

"It's been amazing. We have dedicated coaches that are willing to put in the time for us to develop our skills," Iokia said.

Iokia is seeded sixth and meets No. 11 Deanna Rix in the preliminary round. There are 17 in the division.

"I've wrestled all of them before and I've been trying to learn and develop their skills, so I think I may have a shot," Iokia said.

Pascua is a 2006 Mililani graduate wrestling out of the training center in Colorado Springs, Colo.

"My training's been going good; great actually," Pascua said. "I've been training with some of the best people here."

Pascua won the University Nationals and will represent the U.S. in the World University Championships, which will take place in early July in Greece.

She is the 12th seed and meets No. 5 Tatiana Padilla in the first round.

THE ONE AND ONLY

The only male at the trials from Hawai'i is Pukalani's Grant Nakamura, who is competing in the 121.5-pound freestyle division.

Nakamura, a 2001 graduate of Baldwin, qualified by winning the Northwest Olympic Regional in April and finished sixth at the Senior Nationals.

"I think I have a pretty good draw," Nakamura said. "But every match is going to be tough."

Nakamura, 24, is the seventh seed and meets No. 10 Angel Escobedo in the preliminary round.

Nakamura, who just moved to Arizona this week, competed at Iowa State, where he earned a degree in liberal arts.