NCAA DIV. I WRESTLING PRESS CONFERENCE  At Saavis Center, St. Louis, Mo.  Weds. March 17, 2:30 p.m.    John Smith (Oklahoma State), Mark Manning (Nebraska), Joe McFarland (Michigan), Jim Zalesky (Iowa), Mark Johnson (Illinois)    Opening statements:    Jim Zalesky- "It's the same thing as before. We are excited to be here. We look forward to the tournament. We don't' have a lot of experience, at least in scoring points here. We have Cliff Moore, who was an All-American. But we have 10 guys here. We wrestled well at the Big Tens."    Mark Johnson - "We come in with eight guys. We had a good season. We were ranked No. 1 in the country for about three days earlier this year. We have wrestlers with high seeds like Alex Tirapelle and Mark Jayne. We also have some good young kids."    Joe McFarland - "We are coming in with seven guys, six of which have a seed. The highest seed is third and the lowest is ninth. We were a little tight at the Big Tens. We need to wrestle better this week. I consider us a long shot."    Mark Manning - "We have eight guys. We feel good about our team. We have been a work in progress all season. We are led by our 125-pounder Jason Powell. He jump-starts us. He is our only returning All-American. We look forward to competing to see where we end up on Saturday."    John Smith - "It seems like the last two weeks have been an eternity, since the Big 12s. We are antsy to get it started. We would have liked to wrestle this right after the Big 12 ended. He have some goals to pursue, both as a team and as individuals. I am looking forward to the start. For our team, everything is giving me a good indication that we will wrestle our best and that is what we will try to do.:    Question to Zalesky about Mocco taking an Olympic redshirt:    Jim Zalesky - "When we recruited him, we knew that if he won a national title, we would redshirt him. We knew that coming in. I wish we had him here. But he has high goals and that's something he is working hard on right now."    Question about whether this will be won on the winner's side or in the consolations    John Smith - "You never know. You don't know how it will be played out. For Oklahoma State, we have an opportunity to control our destiny to some extent. In some years, we would have needed help to win the national title. This year, we control our destiny. But you never know. The last several years, it has been won in the consis. I fell we can control that as a team."    Joe McFarland - "I think its won in both the championships and consolation bracket. Teams will have to put a few in the finals and if they lose, they will have to come back and have some high placings."    Question to Smith if they are the favorites.    John Smith - "We are the favorites here. That' what your polls say. The way you become the favorite is what you do during the year. We are the team that held up. We fought through adversity. All that it tells you is that we earned that recognition. As we approach this, it tells me that we have to earn it. As the coach, you feel good about that recognition."    Mark Johnson - "Oklahoma State is the favorite. As John said, they held up this year. They have three or four finalists potentially. That is how we look at it as a coach. I look at them as difficult to beat but not unbeatable."    Question about if any team can win three or four in a row    Jim Zalesky - "It is difficult. Coaches out there work hard. There are a lot of good athletes. When I look at it, I look at seven, eight, nine, 10 schools. It is difficult to stay on top."    Mark Johnson - "I agree. It is like college basketball anymore. The top teams change all the time, almost on a weekly basis."    John Smith - "I sure hope so. It is not a good feeling when you don't. This is my 12th season. The competition has grown during those years. Like at this press conference, the seats have changed every year. We have Mark Manning and Joe McFarland up here today, and I don't remember them here before. We have some fine young coaches in the game. They are not in it to be second or third. They are in it to win. You see it in our Big 12 Conference. It was a bear this year. They keep us on our toes."    Question for John Smith about the "adversity" faced by his team    John Smith - "We have a few individuals considered early on to be shoe-ins who have struggled at times. I'll start with Johnny Thompson. This was his toughest year. He has had six losses. It is very new to him. This is a kid who does not like to lose. He has had to deal with these losses in a way that has drawn on his maturity and experience. He has come out fine. I expect him to have a great performance this week. We have also had guys who have lost matches lately - Chris Pendleton and Tyrone Lewis. That can put a kink in your armour. The way they have bounced back has impressed me."    Question for John Smith if he is surprised by Johnny Thompson's No. 3 seed    John Smith - "He's a three-time national finalist and a two-time national champion. You seed this tournament on where they think the people will place. I don't think you can deny he is a No. 3 seed. I personally thought he'd be No. 4 or 5. People may have given him more recognition as a three-time finalist and two-time champion."    Question for Mark Manning about having no conference champions    Mark Manning - "We would have liked to have had a couple of Big 12 champions. We lost some close matches. It keeps us motivated and hungry. Jason Powell, for one. He is bound and determined to win this week."    Question for coaches what it would take for a new team to win    Joe McFarland - "A few of these teams need to struggle a bit. I said I feel we are a long shot. Some of the teams will need to fall short for us to have a chance."    Mark Manning - "One of the assistant coaches job this week is to sabotage the Oklahoma State team's van. And make sure Tyrone Lewis and Chris Pendleton is on the van. I think Coach Smith's toughest job is to figure out what singlet color to wear each day."    Question about if St. Louis should become a permanent site    Mark Johnson - "I'd love to see it here. It is just 2 1/2 hours away for us. This city does a lot for the fans. That's plenty of hotels and places to eat here. It is in the heart of wrestling country. The St. Louis Sports Commission does a great job."    John Smith - "It is a great location. The next several bids are coming up. It will be chosen in the next couple months. I hope we don't go backward. I heard some people talk about campus. I hope it stays in a neutral place. This is a great spot for wrestling fans, and easy to get to. It has a great airport. It has been a positive."    Question about what athlete would you like to watch from another team.    Mark Johnson - "I am a big fan of Tyrone Lewis. He is fun to watch, a class kid. He's got a great head on his shoulders. If they all wrestled like him, wrestling would be more exciting."    John Smith - "There are so many of them. I think Tommy Rowlands is somebody I would like to watch. He's a big man who hits low shots. He is fun to watch."    Joe McFarland - "I also say Tommy Rowlands. The energy he brings to the match is very high. When he steps on the mat, there's always action. When he wrestles, there's always something going on."    Question about the overtime rules.    Jim Zalesky - "I like the overtime better than last year. It's more fair. But, I think you go on your feet and whoever gets the takedown wins. I'd rather see it on the feet. Whoever scores is the winner."    Mark Johnson - "I'd like to see it like baseball, with extra innings. I'd like to see it going until there is a winner. "    Joe McFarland - "I think it is now difficult for the fans to understand. In the Big Ten, we suggested they go on their feet and turn off the clock."    Mark Manning - "The die-hard fans will figure it out. It's even difficult for the coaches to figure it out. How can somebody new to wrestling understand it? I also don't buy into the idea that the matches will go on forever and slow down the tournament. Conditioning is a part of our sport. It has to come into our sport. You take it out of the