COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- Two-time U.S. champion Anthony Stewart was among 36 boxers who moved one step closer to their Olympic dream as they advanced in the quarterfinals of the 2000 Everlast U.S. Championships.

After a one-year hiatus from the ring, Stewart is trying to recapture the glory he found in 1997 and 1998 when he won back-to-back national championships in the 178-pound division. The Chicago native, now boxing in the 201-pound division, defeated Hildo Silva of Sacramento, Calif., 10-7.

If Stewart is to earn his third straight berth in the U.S. Olympic Trials, he will have to beat current World Champion Michael Bennett, also of Chicago. Bennett, already assured an Olympic Trials spot, entered the U.S. Championships just to get additional work and to try and win the coveted national title.

Gold and silver medalists in the competition, which runs through Saturday, will advance to the Olympic Trials, Feb. 9-13 in Tampa, Fla.

Eleven of the 48 semifinalists have already qualified for the trials but still have pride on the line. The other 36 are trying to make their mark.

Boxers unable to qualify for the Olympic Trials through the U.S. Championships, only one more chance lies ahead with the Western and Eastern Trials January 23-28.

One of the most competitive weight classes is the 112-pound division, which will feature Gabriel Elizondo of San Antonio Texas, the 1997 U.S. Champion; Roberto Benitez of Brooklyn, N.Y., the 1999 Golden Gloves champion; and Jose Navarro of Los Angeles, Calif., a Pan Am Games silver medalist.

The 178-pound weight class has three Olympic Trials participants, including current world champ Michael Simms Jr. of Sacramento, Calif.

Joining Simms are 1998 U.S. Champion Olanda Anderson and DeAndrey Abron, both members of the Army's World Class Athlete Program stationed in Ft. Carson, Colo.

Featherweight world champion Ricardo Juarez of Houston also continued to roll through the U.S. Championships as he stopped Hong Gu of the U.S. Army. But Juarez's biggest bouts lie ahead as he must defeat 1997 U.S. Champion Cornelius Lock of Detroit in the semifinals Friday.

If he passes that test, and a potential showdown with either Teaunce Shepherd, the 1998 Goodwill Games Champion, or Steven Luevano, the current Under-19 champion, awaits. Juarez has already secured a spot at the trials, but entered this tournament hoping to claim his third U.S. Championship in four years.