There may have been almost 15,000 fans packed into The Palace in Auburn Hills, Mich., with action on six mats, but the busiest place in the building was down a back hallway where the NCAA Wrestling Championships interview room was tucked away.

Starting with the opening whistle of Friday night's session, until at least a half hour after the last semifinal match, the hustle and bustle of the interview room was non-stop. It was the location for interviews for 20 athletes, every one of the semifinal winners, as well as two of the coaches for the top teams. Also rushing in and out of the room were dozens of sports journalists, all trying to get quotes for their stories or broadcasts. 

You can ask any of the veteran wrestling journalists who work the NCAA Wrestling Championships each year, and they can tell you that Friday night in the interview room was one of the wildest, most bizarre wrestling scenes in memory.

The room featured a television set, with both semifinal matches displayed on it. A handful of wrestling journalists from TheMat.com, W.I.N. Magazine and a few other outlets sat through all of the interviews, and saw most of the action by closed circuit TV.

It all started after the 125-pound finals, when top seeded Sam Hazewinkel of Oklahoma finally qualified for the NCAA finals, after placing third the first three years of his career. It was a composed and polite Hazewinkel who answered questions about what it felt like finally reaching the finals on his fourth try. After a season shortened by injury, Hazewinkel reached the promised land.

"I think I peaked right. Our coaches and our doctors did a great job. In other years, I was a little sore and beat up. This year, it was a blessing, that injury. They assured me I would be ready this year," he said.

There was long wait until the next interview, because the match between Troy Nickerson of Cornell and Paul Donahoe of Nebraska went into multiple overtimes. When officials banged Nickerson for a stalling point for holding onto Donahoe's ankle too long, there was the night's first upset. An ecstatic Donahoe came into the interview room, he had the extra joy of making the NCAA finals in his home state of Michigan, where he grew up. He dedicated his victory to a high school teammate, Chase Metcalf, who died in an auto accident over a year ago.

"I was kicking as hard as I could to get away," said Donahoe. "I have had stalling calls like that before. I knew if I kicked as hard as I could, I'd get stalling or I would get away."

NCAA officials began working with the equipment, which was causing problems with the people who were doing transcripts of the interviews. There were a number of people saying "testing, testing" into the equipment. The first two interviews did not record properly, so the NCAA borrowed the videos shot by TheMat.com to do up the first set of finalist quotes.

The next man on the podium was Matt Valenti of Penn, a "returning champion" who came off a solid semifinal win over Darryl Vasquez of Cal Poly at 133 pounds. Valenti, a composed person who is clearly intelligent, praised his opponent and discussed the challenge ahead in the finals. He was asked if the fact that he had been in the NCAA finals before would be an advantage tomorrow night.

"It will definetly help," said Valenti. "But for me, it is really just another match. It is two guys in the center of the mat, going for it. But, I do want to do better than I did last year."

A surprise winner emerged in the other semifinal at 133 pounds, when Coleman Scott of Oklahoma State came in after upsetting top-seeded Nick Simmons of Michigan State. Scott, who had a 4-0 lead in the first period, ended up winning 4-3, after being hit with stalling and facing the challenge of the hometown crowd.  Scott implied that the officials and the fans tried to give the match to his opponent.

"I don't know what else I could do," said Scott. "I kept my composure out there. My coaches said, stay calm, stay calm, stay calm."

For those unfamiliar with college wrestling, the next wrestler in the room was considered an unknown, even though Derek Moore of Cal Davis was seeded No. 2. Moore, who beat Oklahoma State's Nathan Morgan, 6-2, will have a chance to make history at his college if he wins on Saturday night. Most of the questions for Moore had to do with coming from California, and why it was worth staying in the state to attend college.

"It has been a mind-blowing experience," said Moore. "UC Davis has been working so hard to have an All-American. Being the first All-American is great, but being a finalist is even better. I have been dreaming of this ever since I came to college. The hard work is paying off. I am loving every minute of it."

The craziness began in the other 141 pound bout, when No. 1 seed Ryan Lang of Northwestern scored a last second takedown to edge unseeded, but amazingly talented, Don Fisch of Rider, 3-2. The TV cut to a graphic, so journalists had to go into the press room to learn that Rider had filed a protest and that no winner had yet been determined.

The next man in the hot seat was Michigan's Josh Churella, who defeated Big Ten rival Lance Palmer in the semifinals at 149 pounds, 5-2. Churella fielded a bunch of questions about being from Michigan and wrestling at home. In addition, he talked about how his double leg takedown made the difference in the match. He is the son of Hall of Famer Mark Churella, and his brother older Ryan second in last year's NCAA meet.

"This was my fourth time wrestling him," said Churella. "Before I shot a lot of single legs on him. He has real strong hips. It affected the other matches. This time, my double leg was working. That's what opened up the match."

Before another athlete came in, a statement was given by NCAA Committee member Billy Walker about the protest. No questions were allowed. Walker indicated that Rider had filed three protests on two issues. Walker said the first two protest points could not be protested, because they were judgment calls. Rider had protested that a Fisch takedown should have been called in the third period, and that Lang's takedown should not have been awarded on the buzzer, but they were not even considered. The third protest point, that time had run out before the Lang takedown, was reviewed on the video. Walker said it was clear that the takedown occurred before time ran out, and the match stands as before, with Lang as winner.

The next person interviewed was Edinboro's Gregor Gillespie, who had upset defending champion Dustin Schlatter of Minnesota. It was only the second loss in Schlatter's career, and the sophomore was attempting to keep alive his dream of four NCAA titles. Gillespie fielded more questions about his opponent than himself. The biggest topic was the takedown that Gillespie scored, a rare occurance in a Schlatter match.

"When you take somebody down who hasn't been taken down, you stun them a little bit. That gave me a huge confidence boost. Mentally, I had an edge there," said Gillespie.

Finally, after a long wait, Northwestern's Lang came in to talk about his last-second victory. He said that waiting on the appeal was much harder than the actual victory over Fisch. Most of the talk was about the closing seconds of the bout, when Lang pulled his miraculous comeback.

"I didn't think there was any question," said Lang about the winning score. "He had all of his points down. He did scramble out of there pretty quick, though. I looked up at the scoreboard and I said "Yes, they saw it my way.'"

He then talked about if he thought in the closing seconds he could score, and Lang gave the quote of the night, destined for wrestling bulletin boards forever.

"There can't be any doubt. If there was any doubt, I couldn't have gotten it. If there is still time on the clock, there is time to score," said Lang.

The most interesting part of the interview was when one of the reporters called his finals opponent Cliff Moore, rather than Derek Moore. Cliff is a former Iowa wrestler, another example that many there did not know much about Derek.

Next up was Craig Henning of Wisconsin, semifinal winner at 157 pounds over James Strouse of Hofstra, 1-0. An escape was the difference. Henning talked about the fact that Strouse took neutral on the coin toss, because Henning is so good on the top.

"It gives me a nice advantage," said Henning. "A lot of people are scared to go down with me because I am so good on top." 

Trent Paulson of Iowa State came in late for his interview after winning his semifinal at 157 pounds over Mike Poeta of Illinois. He stayed in the arena to watch his twin brother Travis in the 165 pound finals against Johny Hendricks of Oklahoma State. Because of a tight time schedule, NCAA officials brought him into the media room for the third period, where Trent watched the match on a television set with a gaggle of journalists waiting for the bout to end. Trent was cheering for his brother, criticizing a key call by the referees, much more nervous than he would have been for his own match. When Hendricks edged Travis in overtime, Trent got very quiet, then quickly changed gears, conducting his press conference about his own victory. Although they talked about his match, most of the discussion was about his brother's loss.

"Now I don't feel like celebrating. It sucks. He deserves it more than anyone. He is the hardest worker on the team, harder than me. Johny Hendricks is the last person I like in wrestling - it makes it even worse. It is devastating. I was happy to get points for my team to get ahead. But I would rather see my brother in the finals than me," said Paulson.

Mark Perry of Iowa came in next, to talk about his victory in the other match at 165 pounds. Perry was not pleased at all with his match, a win over Hofstra's Mike Patrovich.

"I haven't wrestled well at all. I've wrestled pathetic. It's one of those things. Like I told my parents, it's about winning. When I wake up, I am in the finals. I'll brush it off, and get ready for the biggest match of my life," said Perry.

Conversation switched to his opponent in the finals, Hendricks, who has a number of wins over Perry in the past.

"I am going out to accomplish a goal that I have had since I was six," said Perry. "I have lost to him seven or eight times. I am not scared of him. I don't care how many times he has beaten me. This will be the last one and the one I care about the most."

The 174-pound finalist, No. 2 Keith Gavin of Pitt, spent most of his time talking about the man he will face on Saturday night, defending champion Ben Askren of Missouri. Gavin was looking forward to another shot at Askren, and, although he lost twice to him this year, he thinks he can change things.

"I'm not going to change my style this time," said Gavin. "The first two times I wrestled him, I changed my style. I bought into the hype about him. Now, I am going to do what I do instead."

Johny Hendricks was the next person interviewed, a bit late to the interview room because of an ESPN interview first. Hendricks has been tagged as college wrestling's 'bad-boy,' but most of the interview was a testament of respect for his opponent Travis Paulson. 

"There is a part of me that felt like I wrestled the finals tonight," said Hendricks. "He's a good wrestler. He made it tough for me. I've wrestled him every year. Tomorrow, I have Mark Perry. I look at him as a threat. He is funky, kind of like Askren. Every move you make, you have to be careful. He'll catch you if you don't."

Hendricks was asked by a journalist about his finals opponent Mark Perry of Iowa, who grew up in Stillwater, and is related to Hendrick's coach John Smith. The reporter used the term "Oklahoma State family" which Hendricks jumped on.

"Oklahoma State family? I wouldn't go that far. Is he Coach Smith's nephew? Yes. When we step on the mat, he don't like me and I don't like him. Other times, I'll be nice to him, until we step on the mat. That's the way it is," said Hendricks.

Next up was the colorful Ben Askren of Missouri, who came into the room upset about his match against Iowa's Eric Luedke, who Askren beat 8-3. Askren felt that Luedke would not wrestle with him, accusing him of running.

"Did he take one step forward? It was a backwards track meet. If I am a senior, if this is my last year, I would try to win. Did he try anything? That kid should have been thrown out two times. I'm frustrated. I couldn't run fast enough to chase him down. He ran backwards. It is hard to score on that," said Askren.

When asked about how this match would affect his finals bout, Askren was still critical about his semifinal opponent.

"This match doesn't bear anything on the finals. Keith Gavin - he's a man. He will wrestle. He might get pinned, like he did two other times this year. But he will give it a swinging chance," said Askren.

John Caravallo, who runs the press conferences for the NCAA Tournament, shook his head at this point, calling it the most "surreal night we have had."

The 184 finalists were brought in next. Jake Varner, a freshman from Iowa State, was a surprise winner. He was asked about how he felt when his victory put Iowa State in first in the team standings.

"It is real exciting to be a part of this," said Varner. "The team standings was tied. After you perform, for your team and your fans, it is real exciting and gets me ready for the finals."

Varner had noted that he wrestled his finals opponent Jake Herbert three times in freestyle, and that Varner had won two of them. Many reporters took notice, because Herbert is a returning NCAA runner-up and is undefeated for the season.

So when Herbert came in, one of the questions he had to answer was about his losses to Varner in freestyle.

"It's two separate things, but the same thing," said Herbert. "Sure, his two wins upset me. But that's freestyle and this is folkstyle. It doesn't mean anything. He is a good kid. He has a great coach. It's just another wrestling match."

Josh Glenn of American, one of the 197-pound winners, was next. He was asked about his finals opponent, Iowa State's Kurt Backes, who had beaten Glenn earlier in the year. All of the journalists had a laugh when one of the reporters asked him about facing Varner, who is the Iowa State wrestler in the weight class below. It had been a long night, and people were starting to get confused. Glenn then talked about the impact making the finals had made upon the American program.

"I think it will attract more attention. We started over from scratch with our new coach, Mark Cody. This is a testament to our coaches, our supporters and our teammates," said Glenn.

Backes arrived next, and was asked about the great performance by the Iowa State athletes this year. 

"It is a whole new coaching staff. We are taking leaps and bounds to a new level. It is showing what we are made of. We have a different mindset, different mentality. Different coaching techniques, different scheduling. We are peaking at the right time," said Backes.

Soon Iowa State coach Cael Sanderson joined Backes, and began answering questions about the Cyclone team, which took over first place from Minnesota in the standings.

"These guys have done a great job," said Sanderson. "We knew if our seniors stepped up, we'd be in the hunt. We lost some close matches, though. And this is the rounds where losing hurts the most. They are doing a great job. I am proud of this team. Our goal is to get everybody here, and to do our best wrestling here. There still is a lot of wrestling to do here."

Sanderson, who won all four of his NCAA Championship finals as an athlete, was asked what he will tell his finalists before tomorrow's championship round.

"It is real simple. Keep the same mindset we had all year. Wrestle where we are strong. Have fun. It is a great opportunity for them. The team race is out of your control. Do it for yourself, go out and have some fun," said Sanderson.

Next up was heavyweight Cole Konrad of Minnesota, a defending champion. Most of the questions to Konrad had to do with the team race, which Minnesota had lost the lead during the session.

"It's on your mind," said Konrad about his teammates' losses. "I am on the edge of the mat, warming up. It makes a difference. When they lose, I lose. We are a close group of guys. They have to bounce back."

The final wrestler on the podium was Penn State's Aaron Aspach, the other heavyweight winner. Unfortunately, this reporter missed that interview, the only one not covered for the night.

The final interview came from Minnesota's coach J Robinson, quite a few minutes after the last match. Most of the press had cleared out to make their deadlines, but a few of the diehards were there. Robinson talked about a very tough session, but had his focus ahead on the final day.

 "It is pretty evident we got out of our focus. We have to get it back. We have to get it back in the wrestlebacks. We have to talk about it and find out what to do. Our guys have to wrestle with more emotion. Every match is a fight. You have to come back with an attitude."

Robinson was still upbeat about his team's chances on the final day.

"We have five guys left. They can score a lot of points. The game is still going. We have one in the finals, and four others who can score more points. That is about 20 points we can score," said Robinson.

A total of 23 sets of interviews, one after another after another, had finally ended. But the work had just begun. Now everybody still had to type them up for their stories. Like this one.