USA Wrestling Press Conference  At Adams Mark Airport Hotel, Indianapolis, Ind,  Thursday, June 19, 2003    Attendees:   Cael Sanderson (Ames, Iowa/Sunkist Kids) freestyle 85 kg  Rulon Gardner (Cascade, Colo./Sunkist Kids) Greco-Roman 120 kg  Katie Downing (Pendleton, Ind./Sunkist Kids), Women 67 kg  Joe Williams (Iowa City, Iowa/Sunkist Kids), freestyle 74 kg  Toccara Montgomery (Cleveland, Ohio/Cumberland College), Women 72 kg    Rulon Gardner  (about whether he feels at full strength since his accident last year)  "Right now, I feel I'm 100% with my footwork and foot action. I am able to penetrate and work my technique. One of the challenges has been flexibility of my big toes. I talked to them this morning and they are in the best shape that can be expected. I am ready to go. I don't think it will affect me at all."    Katie Downing  (about competing at the World Team Trials in Indiana)  "It feels good to compete back home. A lot of people who have supported me, but can't get to places like Las Vegas and Colorado, will get a chance to see me wrestle. It is also nice to only drive a half-hour to go home after the event, than to go a dozen hours."    Joe Williams  (about not being able to compete at the 2002 Worlds in Iran due to the threat to the team)  "I don't take it as a year off. I saw some of the guys that I wrestled in the past, and what they accomplished in the Worlds. I saw the experience as a test for me. Now, this year, it's a big tournament. I am looking at it as an opportunity to see what I can do."    Toccara Montgomery  (about changes in her wrestling since moving up in weight)  "Technique-wise, I have become a better wrestler. I couldn't bully the other wrestlers in this weight class like I did in the lower weight. I also got to eat a lot more, and that always feel good."    Cael Sanderson  (about not having the chance to compete at the World Championships in spite of winning the last two World Team Trials)  "I look at it like I will get my opportunity if I hang in there and keep working hard. It was a little frustrating to go through all of that and not be able to compete."    Rulon Gardner  (about having to go from 130 kg to 120 kg for the new weight class)  "A lot of wrestlers like to see that heavyweights have to cut weight too. I had to drop 20 pounds. They made us cut from 286 pounds to 264 pounds. The action is more agile, quick and exciting. What it also means is that for somebody around 300 pounds, they don't have a weight class anymore. They have to do sumo or quit wrestling. The U.S. Nationals was the first time I have been at 264 pounds since I was in high school."    Rulon Gardner  (about having to compete in the Challenge Tournament)  "In wrestling there, you have to think a lot about the negatives. If you make mistakes before the finals, you don't get an opportunity to wrestle any more. I have to be really focused, win by two or three points, and go on to the next round."    Cael Sanderson  (about the difference between college wrestling and international freestyle)  "It's a different game. The strategies and styles are different. I corrected some bad habits I had in college wrestling that you can't get away with in freestyle. I am starting over. I'm still learning. I am trying to be less… well, I don't roll around. I used to roll around a lot and give up points. I try to keep things cleaner and avoid opportunities to give up points."    Cael Sanderson  (about exactly what he is changing in his style)  "I don't want to be underneath. I want to keep things clean, with quick finishes and sharp wrestling all the time. It's a higher level of wrestling. You can't make mistakes."    Toccara Montgomery  (about when she started wrestling)  "For me, it was in high school. The coach there, Kip Flanik, who is now also my college coach, opened tryouts for men and women. I tried it and stayed with it."    Katie Downing  (about when she started wrestling)  "I started judo in third grade. Guys and girls train together in judo but compete separately. When I was in high school, it wasn't strange for me to wrestle on the boys team."    Katie Downing  (about be in the new USOTC women's wrestling resident program)  "If you talk to any of the girls who train there now, they have nothing but good things to say about the program and Coach Terry Steiner. It is the best place for me to train. Nobody is a better fit for the coaching job than Terry Steiner, who has the perfect personality. The facilities are tremendous. We have a guy there to just train us for strength. We have sports psychologists and nutritionists there. It's a dream come true."    Cael Sanderson  (about talking to kids about weight loss)  "I would tell the parents and kids not to cut weight. Maybe in high school and college a little bit. When you are young, wrestling should be fun."    Toccara Montgomery  (about talking to kids about weight loss)  "With little kids, you shouldn't let them cut weight. There are other things for them to do in sports then. In extra-curricular activities, it should be fun for the kids."    Joe Williams  (about talking to kids about weight loss)  "When I was a little kid, I never cut weight. I wrestled at whatever weight I was and did my best. At that stage, you should get good at wrestling, and work on your technique and skills."    Katie Downing  (about talking to kids about weight loss)  "Don't think about weight, just wrestle. They are just starting to learn about their bodies. For too many kids, it's about cutting weight and not wrestling, and their wrestling suffers."    Rulon Gardner  (about talking to kids about weight loss)  "I tell them to have fun. As a heavyweight, there's another perspective. Some kids are just more physically larger. They are healthy, just huge. If you can't make the weight, don't hurt yourself. I had to watch my weight all during high school and college."    Joe Williams  (as a Chicago-area native, about competing in Indianapolis)  "This is like my home town. Anytime we are back in the Midwest, near Illinois, I'm happy to be there to wrestle. I have a lot of friends and family coming down to see me."    Joe Williams  (about what he will do the first two days waiting for the finals series)  "I will watch a little of the tournament and support my teammates. I will keep focused on myself and what I need to do to prepare. I won't be getting into a situation where I lay around and get sluggish."    Katie Downing  (about opportunities for women wrestlers)  "The first year they had women wrestling at UM-Morris, that was my first year wrestling in high school. Now there are a number of teams in college, and we are in the Olympics."    Rulon Gardner  (about why he is still wrestling)  "It is the burn that drives me. I have a fire under me. I want to wrestle and do the best that I can."    Cael Sanderson  (about the importance of the World Team Trials)  "This is a huge tournament for me. You have to win this if you want to wrestle in the World Championships. I need that World Championships experience if I want to compete in the Olympics. I qualified for the team the last two years but did not get to compete."    Cael Sanderson  (about why he enjoys wrestling)  "I like the competitiveness of wrestling. There are some sports like it, but it's what I have done my whole life and I enjoy it for the most part. It's not a bad sport. Wrestling is a tough sport. There are a lot of things that are tough in life. Hopefully, you are tougher when you are done wrestling."