Quotes from Finals at the NCAA Championships
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Gary Abbott (USA Wrestling)
03/22/2003
125 - TRAVIS LEE, CORNELL (what was he looking for in the final period on his feet) "I'm not sure what I was looking for. In practice, when you are going hard and getting tired, our coach said to find a way to get it done, and that's what I had to do." (about getting taken down) "It pushed me to work harder. I'm usually slow in the first. I turn it up in the second and third period. That is just my style of wrestling." "He was the toughest I faced this year. His technique was better than the rest I wrestled. There are a lot of different styles out there. Some guys are real lanky and hard to shoot on. Every match is different." "I'm not sure I had a game plan. I hadn't seen him wrestle before. I tried to go out there and not be too conservative and use my go-to techniques. The pick is one of my go-to techniques and I used it." (what the win means to Cornell) "Hopefully it will boost the program. Everyone wants to talk about the Big Ten and the Big 12 in college sports, and the Ivy League is forgotten. Maybe this will help in recruiting and other things." (about being the first NCAA champion) "It makes me feel very proud. I'm ecstatic now. It's a great opportunity for kids in Hawaii who wrestle. They haven't had someone to look up to. Hopefully, I can be that mentor and someone they can emulate." 133 - JOHNNY THOMPSON, OKLAHOMA STATE (about Lewis shooting for him all year, after losing in last year's finals) Actually, we had a match in Minnesota this year and he beat me. I had something here to prove. He won our last match. I wanted to get him back. Where better than at the national championships?" (about what Lewis said at the end) "He want to win bad. He had an excellent career at Minnesota. He's a senior. He would be upset, right?" (about celebrating the win) "I'll enjoy tonight and for a week or so, then you start working for next season. You start weight training and technique and the rest." (about the double leg takedown) "We were slapping each other in the head, and I saw an opening and hit the double leg takedown." (about the team winning the title also) "I was thinking about that when I was at the hotel and they were here wrestling this morning.It was a relief when they came back and told me they won the team title. It took some pressure off me. Two national titles in one year! That's satisfying." "This is the best match I wrestled all year long." 141 -TEYON WARE, OKLAHOMA (About the possible takedown not called at the end of regulation) "I thought I had the takedown. I knew I couldn't give up. My coach told me I had to shoot. I had a caution. I did not want to be penalized. I knew I had to pick it up." (how does a true freshman win?) "It was God-given. I have been blessed. I thank God, my family and my friends for supporting me and my coaches and my teammates for getting me this far." (about Dylan Long) "He is very tough. I respect him a lot. I hadn't seen him. He never saw me. I knew he had a good shot, and was lanky and long. He is so long, he can shoot from a mile away." (can he be a four-time champion?) Like my coaches say, I can take it one at a time. I wouldn't predict the next three years. Pat Smith, Cael Sanderson, they all started one match at a time. At this tournament, we saw many national champions get beat. I don't want that to be me." 149 - ERIC LARKIN, ARIZONA STATE "I'm in relief. I'm excited right now; I don't know what to say. I'm happy I did it for my family. They went through a long season with me, and four years. It's for my family." "I let it all hang out. I did what I had to do to win. It all came together. That first takedown, that was the key part in the match." "Every year I wanted to take first. It didn't happen. So I planned on going 4-3-2-1." "I felt confident at the end. I think he was in a little better shape than me. I knew there were only two minutes left, so I pushed through it." "I will keep wrestling freestyle. I will take some time off. I haven't decided if I will go to the Nationals in May or not." 157 - RYAN BERTIN, MICHIGAN "I knew he was having a good tournament. I felt I was in a good rhythm. I felt if I could go seven minutes, I could win." (about his emotions) "They are everywhere right now. I had an up and down season. I'm really excited. I'm losing it again." "I wanted to stay out of scramble situations. He has quite a height advantage. He is really good in those positions." "I have been wrestling well all week. I felt that drilling before the match. Things were flowing for me. My head came together. It has been like that for me all season. These coaches have worked with me all season." (about why he was crying) "It has been an up and down season. I was injured a good portion of the season. I was struggling mentally. It is just choking me up now. The injuries weighed on me quite a bit." 165 - MATT LACKEY, ILLINOIS (about the footsweep) "I wasn't even looking for it. All of a sudden I saw him heavy on it. I hit it. He wasn't ready for it and he fell down. I was surprised." (about last year's finals loss) "I thought about it for an entire year. That was one of the most painful experiences of my life. I worked years and years for that moment, and to lose it in the last four seconds, that was tough. I do remember that day." (feelings about finally winning the NCAA) "Relief. I has been a big year, being undefeated and having all those goals. Once it settles in, I think I can enjoy it more. I am happy it is over and happy that I was able to accomplish what I wanted to do." (about competing in freestyle) "There is not much to do to get into freestyle. If I take a year off, it would be like giving up 25% of my career. I would like to take some time off, but I can't. I'm going to hit it hard for a few months. After the Trials are over, I will take that time off." 174 - ROBBIE WALLER, OKLAHOMA "I think the first period, I felt him out. I didn't want to do that. I thought he was strong. There had to be some way that I could get to him. I gave up the first takedown on a re-shot. I figured then I would go to the other side on a high crotch. I went with that." "Our team faced a lot of obstacles this year. We had a few more than some other teams. If you look at the last three to four years, the Sooners are always in the top five. We do better than we are supposed to do. That is a testiment to our coaches." "If you look at it, I wrestled more in my senior year than my other three years combined. I was hurt. The move up to 174 was the key. I asked the coaches and we decided to try it. It paid off 100%. I'm glad we had a coaching staff that was willing to risk with me going up and maybe not doing so well." 184 - JAKE ROSHOLT, OKLAHOMA STATE (comparing this match to his Big 12 loss to Barker) "I went out and actually wrestled this time. The last time I was just out there, just being there. I am now wrestling like I know I can. I moved my feet. I put my hands on him." "I knew I had to win the match on my feet. I had to keep the match there. The last time, he rode me for like four or five minutes. I wrestled him two weeks ago. He was tough on top. I knew if I could wrestle like I can, I could win." (about the team also winning) "It is incredible. It is like a dream come true. I can't even express it. Our coaching staff is the best in the country. It is all those people around you; you can't help but make yourself better." 197 - DAMION HAHN, MINNESOTA "I feel good. I got close last year, making the semis. I reached the finals this year. I had to win. I won in the semis this close too. If there is still time left in the match, there is still time to wrestle. I went for a throw. I faked an inside trip to a throw. I slipped, but then I was able to get behind him." (about the last-second wins) "I wish they weren't like that. But a win is a win. I'm happy about that. I needed to score on my feet. The coach told me to attack him and I did. They told me to stay on him." "At 184, I lost to Jake Rosholt, who is now a national champion. I wanted to go up. The coaches made