U.S. Olympic Team Trials Session 6 Quotes

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John Fuller (TheMat.com)
05/23/2004


      MEN'S FREESTYLE    Sammie Henson - 55 kg - Highland Mills, N.Y. - Sunkist Kids  On the future:   "I don't know if I can handle another four years of this. I'm going to go back to St. Louis this week and see what happens next."    On Abas:  "He is a great wrestler. He needs to be better at being on top but he's great on his feet."    Stephen Abas - 55 kg - Fresno, Calif. - Sunkist Kids  On being an Olympian:  "This is the only thing I've worked for. It's a dream come true. I am going for the gold now. I'm focusing on the medal."    On Henson:  "I knew being tough on bottom would be the key to winning."    Eric Guerrero - 60 kg - Stillwater, Okla. - Gator WC  On the Trials:  "I can't stand sitting around for two days. This morning I didn't wrestle as well because I'd been sitting around but now I had clean shots and it felt good."    "I practiced hard to have a good match and it materialized. I don't try to wrestle a particular style. I just be in the moment."    On Zadick:  "I have a lot of respect for the whole Zadick family. Mike will have a great career down the road."    On Olympics:  "The biggest task lies ahead. This is just a stepping-stone. The gold has been a goal since I was a kid."            Jamill Kelly - 66 kg - Stillwater, Okla. - Gator WC   On Lawrence:  "He's tough. He's not one I thought would come out of the challenge tournament. I had two other guys on my team make it so I didn't want to be the one who didn't make it. I didn't scout him because I didn't think he'd be there."    On similarities with Lawrence:  "It's kind of eerie. We both were underdogs and made it through the tournament."    On motivation:  "John Smith told me you're going to be a 2004 Olympian. I had to stay calm and he helped me do that."     On the Olympics:  "I decided to work really hard and make 2004 my year. I have a lot of work to do but I'm going to go out and do the best I can."      Joe Williams - 74 kg - Iowa City, Iowa - Sunkist Kids  On Heskett's early scoring:  "His two points concerned me early in the match. They gave him two and I had to wrestle through it. I can't afford to give up points like that."     "I feel a little relieved. I look back on my training now and see the positives. I'm looking forward to training for the Olympics. I want to go for a run right now."    "Making the Olympic team is great but it's the next tournament that's important. Anything but gold is a discredit to me and my training."    On Heskett:  "Heskett's tough. He's proved himself as a contender and will be tough. The score doesn't say how close the match is."    On deceased brother Steve:  "I know Steve is looking down and smiling but he's also pushing me forward."    "I want to relax and take a little time off and spend some time with my family. I'll wrestle around with my son. Hopefully he'll let me win a few matches."    On women's wrestling:  "Some of the girls have been an inspiration to me. Steiner is a great coach and they are doing a great job."        Cael Sanderson - 84 kg - Ames, Iowa - Sunkist Kids  "In a match like that. I was happy to get four points in a match like that."    On Fullhart:  "He's very physical and that steps up the level. It's more of a fight than a wrestling match."    On pressure:   "I learned a lot going through college. I stayed focused and learned to do what it takes ro wrestle well."     On making Olympics on his first try:  "You can see how easy it is to get close and not make it so it feels good. Olympics are once in a lifetime. The Olympics are a once in a lifetime opportunity and I have to give it my best shot.  It's crazy because I've been dreaming about it for years and years. "    On Heber City:  "It's a small community and it's well known for wrestling so this must be exciting for them."    "[Going forward] I need to sharpen up. Everyone knows I shoot a lot so I'm going to have to work hard."    On friendship with Kyle Maynard:  "It's incredible what he's done. He's quite a story and is very inspiring."      Daniel Cormier - 96 kg - Stillwater, Okla. - Gator WC  On what the Olympics mean:  "It means so much to me with everything that I have been though over the last three years. John has been with me through it all and believed in me to make this far. This is what it is all about."    On resting the first two days:  "I didn't know how much of an advantage sitting out these two days was going to be, but it was huge. I had time to raise my weight and get stronger while he (Tim Hartung) wrestled for two days. I think he was a little banged up after the two days, so it was easier than I thought it would be."    On not winning an NCAA title:  "NCAA titles are good, but we are at the highest level of wrestling here and college guys aren't going to come in here and beat us. This is the top level. I have my national championships and now I'm going to the Olympics. These are my titles."          Kerry McCoy - 120 kg - Bethlehem, Pa. - New York AC  "[Matches with Thompson] are never easy. Every time we wrestle, it's tough. But I don't think I'd be here if it wasn't for him. He's the guy who has always pushed me."    On making the Olympic team for the second time:  "Being able to come back through adversity was really special. Now I have a chance to win gold."    On immediately going into stands to his mother:  "My mother is a big part of this and a very special woman and I had to thank her."    On beating Taymazov:  "I watched the tape a few times and picked up some mistakes I made. I have to wrestle a mistake free match."    "After Sydney, I wanted to be done. But now I want to make up for it. If I win now no one will ask about Sydney."      MEN'S GRECO ROMAN  Dennis Hall - 55 kg - Plover, Wisc. - Sunkist Kids  On the match:  "I took a calculated risk when I was down tow and got him in front head lock and has able to turn that into three points, but then made a bone head mistake and allowed him to tie it up.    "Overtime just kept going on and on. We were both working hard. Finally, I was able to slide by to reach around and chase him and land on top. I wasn't sure if they were going to give it to me (the point), but my coaches said they did and I though thank goodness it's over."    On what he said to Paulson:  "I said, 'I love ya man. I'm sorry it had to end this way. Be proud and keep your head up.' This very easily could have ended the other way."    On coming down in weight:  "I came down to 121 because my size just wasn't big enough at 132 anymore. I went overseas and found my body couldn't handle being at that weight and I needed to drop. I feel like I can win a gold medal at this size. If I didn't think I could win the gold medal then I wouldn't have dropped."          On the length of the match:  "It was the hardest match I've ever wrestled. I've never had to wrestle 16 minutes with someone constantly in my face. It was a fight. We both wanted the same thing and were going to do whatever it took to get it."    Jim Gruenwald - 60 kg - Colorado Springs, Colo. - Sunkist Kids  First thoughts on going to Athens:  "I'm very happy. Now it is time to get ready for Athens and do there what I didn't do in Sydney and that's win the gold."    "I'm really relieved. This is it after this, so if I didn't win this I wouldn't have a shot at my goal of winning the gold. If I can't win the gold this year then I will have to move on. I will be disappointed, but I have important things (wife and kids) to move on to after wrestling."    On his comeback:  "I always told myself, that if I ever received a serious injury that I would retire. After the way it happened though, I couldn't. I had him (Armen Nazarian) beat at the World's, but injured my shoulder toward the end of the match. I wanted another shot at him, so I trained hard and recovered in five-and-a-half months in time for nationals, which was a minor miracle. Now, I've gotten through this and hopefully I will have a chance to meet him again in the Olympics."     Oscar Wood - 66 kg - Fountain, Colo. - U.S. Army   On pin in first match:  "In college, I was a pinner but a lot of times you can't catch people. What pinned him was how hard he fought the front head lock."    "