2010 NCAA Division I Championships
Pre-Tournament Press Conference
March 17, 2010
Wrestlers
Lance Palmer – Ohio State (149)
On if his game plan changes at all if he ends up wrestling Iowa’s Brent Metcalf
“I’m not really thinking ahead. I’m thinking of the first match of the
tournament. It’s hard not to think ahead, but you have to take it one
match at a time obviously. If we are to face again in the finals, my
style won’t change at all. I wrestle him the same every time. It’s just
small things each time changing to break the habits that I’ve made the
past matches.”
On why he was able to beat Brent Metcalf in their last meeting
“Wrestling harder the entire match and no mental breaks. He got in on
my leg early in the match and that was a mental break, but other than
that I wrestled solid the entire match and didn’t stop until the last
whistle.”
On if he feels Ohio State has a chance to win the title
“Our standard now is to be national champs in the team race, and have
three or four national champions individually this year. Like everybody
else has said, I think that’s a philosophy of every team, everybody
does their job individually and then the team standings will show up on
their own. That’s one of the philosophies we have this year – if each
guy does their job and exceeds their expectations and we’ll win it as a
team.”
On if there is anything the team does that helps them peak at the end of the season
“I think it’s just the mentality. We come together as a team really
well toward the end of every year. We do our job individually and the
team thing comes, but I think it’s because of our teamwork and just the
relationships we have with each other and with the coaches.”
On if he is feeding off others picking Metcalf to win
“I don’t really feed off that because that’s something for Saturday
night. I have to focus on Thursday morning, but every other tournament
that I’ve been in with Metcalf, he has been predicted to win it. You
can’t really look at it as what people think. You just have to go out
and do your job each match.”
Jason Ness - Minnesota (133)
On what he has to do to win the title this season
“I just have to wrestle my style. I have to make sure I do all the
little things right and wrestle hard every single time. I don’t know -
there’s not much difference. It’s just getting it done this time.
That’s pretty much all there is to it.”
On how different it is being a senior
“You don’t want to think of it is as different being your last
tournament. You just have to approach it like all the other tournaments
I’ve gone to, just like all the other matches I’ve wrestled. I just
have to focus on wrestling seven minutes hard, and focus on the next
match.”
On what he has learned from the past three NCAA tournaments
“I’ve learned that mentally, the biggest thing is the mental challenge.
We’ve trained our bodies all year. We’ve wrestled matches all year long
and now it’s just making sure we’re focused, we’re not concentrating on
anything else, not looking ahead. We’re looking at each match and
getting ready to wrestle each guy.”
On his style and if he went to Minnesota knowing he would be a wrestler that would pin opponents
“It hasn’t been easy, but it hasn’t been difficult. It’s a challenge to
pin anybody, especially when you get to the Division I level, but
that’s kind of been my philosophy my whole life. When I wrestle a guy
my goal is to pin him. All throughout high school that’s the way I
wrestled. I wanted to carry that over when I got to college, so I just
kind of trained and kept working on the same moves and it’s worked out
well for me.”
On if he has to do any tricks against his opponents because they know he is going for the pin
“You force your will on them. You get on top; you have a lot of
different setups, lots of different things to use. So you just kind of
work on it the whole time. You just keep working and working until you
break them and force your will on them.”
On how much difference it makes when your team is in the title hunt
“When the team is in the hunt it makes a big difference. Everybody’s
spirits are a little higher. Everyone has a little something extra to
work for. When you’re out there wrestling, you aren’t just wrestling
for yourself; you’re wrestling for the whole team. All the bonus points
you can get are very important. Every time you’re out there wrestling
every point counts. It makes a big difference team wise. Everyone gives
a little extra effort. But like you said, it is like that old
cliché where right now it’s all about you and getting it done
yourself.”
Troy Nickerson – Cornell (125)
On his health status
“My health is definitely similar to last year - not great. Luckily, I
have already been through this entire situation before last year. This
year it was a lot easier to train knowing what I had to do, and to get
through those things that were preventing me from the things I had done
in the past. Going into this tournament I’m just looking to wrestle
hard for seven minutes, five times, and putting together five perfect
matches. I think if I do that it shouldn’t be a problem.”
On how much training he did before this tournament
“I was probably on the mats three, maybe four times a week, hitting the
pavement a lot, getting a lot of mileage in, and making sure my
condition was where it had to be, making sure my weight was under
control. Just getting on the mats, doing what I had to do, making sure
my technique was sharp and that was about it.”
On what the team goals are
“I feel our team is coming in pretty strong. We’ve wrestled real well
toward the end of the year. Again, we’re coming in with a lot of high
seeds and a lot of potential All-Americans. Last year, I believe we
were very close. It was unfortunate that we lost Mack (Lewnes) real
early in the tournament. This year I believe everybody is healthy and I
think we’re going to be a real title threat. Hopefully we can get three
or four guys in the finals and that should put a lot of pressure on a
lot of other teams right there. I really believe we can come away with
eight All-Americans, which is how many guys we brought. If we do that I
think we will be right there in the running.”
On what it would mean for an Ivy League school to win the National Championship
“It’s definitely encouraging to not be able to give athletic
scholarships and be able to be in the hunt for a national title. It’s
one of the things our coaches make us believe in. Now we use it as a
recruiting tool. People see that we are perennial power house and
hopefully this year, and if not, in the very near future, we do get
that first national title. Our coaching staff is great. They do a lot
of great things for us and they are the ones that deserve the credit
for bringing that team to the level it’s at.”
On the year Kyle Dake is having and the type of advice he has given him
“Kyle has always been a competitor. I don’t think anybody in Ithica
expected anything less from him. I know I certainly didn’t. I’ve worked
out with him over the past couple years, him being an Ithica native,
and he has a great athlete and is a great wrestler. I really don’t
expect anything less from him then to come in and win it. He is a
freshman and over the past couple weeks my role with Kyle has been
giving him a lot of advice on my freshman year, and how I came in to
the tournament and hopefully some of the mistakes that I thought I
made, trying to help him avoid those.”
On the advice he gave Kyle Dake
“Really staying focused throughout the entire tournament, not letting
the atmosphere get to you, taking it one match at a time, going in and
making sure you have our weight under control and just wrestling hard
for seven full minutes.”
Jake Varner – Iowa State (197)
On if he feels similar to last season
“Not really. I guess it can be the same. I was seeded No.1 my sophomore
year and last year No. 2. I guess it doesn’t really matter where you’re
seeded in this tournament. Anything can happen. You just take it one
match at a time, one step at a time, and wherever you’re at you just
take it for what it’s worth.”
On the difference in training with former coach Cael Sanderson and current coach Kevin Jackson
“I don’t know. I guess I would say going from one Olympic gold medalist
to another, I’ve been fortunate to have that, to be able to pick from
both of their brains. Obviously, they have a little different style,
but they have a lot of similarities too. It’s just someone else to
learn from and really see how they train, how they did things and how
they wrestled. I’m just trying to be like a sponge and soak it up as
much as I can.”
On the differences between the two coaches
“I guess a difference is not necessarily their philosophies, but their
different styles. Jackson is a lot more powerful stuff. I’m not saying
Cael isn’t powerful, it’s just different styles out there that I would
point to the most.”
On the experience at the world championships last year and how that helped him this season
“Wrestling that tournament was really one of my first times wrestling
across seas wrestling those guys. It kind of takes you to a different
level to kind of see where you’re at. They don’t wrestle folkstyle,
it’s all freestyle over there, but wrestling is wrestling. You just go
over there and kind of test your skills. I didn’t finish where I wanted
to, but you see what you need to work on and I just feel like it
brought me to a different level.”
On any added pressure for this tournament
“I don’t think so. It’s another tournament. Nobody has won it yet.
Everyone is here competing the same. Everything that has happened in
the past, that’s the past. That has no factor now. I really don’t feel
any added pressure, it’s just one match at a time is what I’m looking
at and looking forward to my first match tomorrow.”
On if he feels Craig Brester is gunning for him
“I really don’t know. Going to the question before, if you’re looking
at the guy you’re going to wrestle in the finals, you’re probably not
going to make the finals. Everyone is probably gunning for everybody in
my opinion. Just worry about that first match.”
Stephen Dwyer – Nebraska (174)
On if he feels different this season moving up to 174
“I feel better at 174 than I did at 165. I feel I have more energy. I
have more go and an advantage for me has been instead of coming into a
tournament worrying about getting my weight down, I’m more able to
concentrate on wrestling the whole time and improving my technique
instead of concentrating on cutting the weight.”
On wrestling the NCAA Championships in the state of Nebraska
“I think it’s nice to not have to travel, but the tournament is going
to be the same regardless of where it is. I hope we have a good turn
out of Husker fans. I think that would be nice and I’m looking forward
to this tournament, but as far as where it’s located, I think it’s nice
but I’m not really dwelling on that it’s at home.”
On his philosophy coming into this weekend
“I trained really hard for this. I know some people up here said they
don’t really think too much about it being their last tournament, but
for me I have kind of realized that this is my last chance to fulfill
something that I’ve never done for myself. I’m just really looking
forward to it. I know I’m ready so I’m just going to see what happens.”
Coaches
Tom Brands - Iowa
Opening Statement
“This is the time of year when you want to be at your best. I think all
of these guys would say the same thing. We’ve done what we set out to
do at the beginning of this year and we have to continue that. If we’re
ready to go, what I mean by that is if individuals are ready to go when
they step on the mat, then I’ll feel good. If I see some funny things
going on there then I don’t feel so good. It’s the preparation, it’s
zero hour, and it’s time to go.”
On if they need Morningstar to place in order for Iowa to win
“We want everyone to be at the top of the stand. That is what we’re
here for. I said it in my opening statement and everyone echoed
basically the same sentiment. This it the one that you are about. We’ve
got to get 10 guys ready to go, which is how many we have here. There
are a lot of facts about our team; we don’t have a number one seed. You
can talk about a lot of facts. We’re getting individuals ready to go
and individuals are getting themselves ready to go.”
On the health status of Ryan Morningstar
“That is a good question. In my mind it’s a silly question, in everyone
else’s mind it is a good question because we demand a lot of these
guys, these guys demand a lot out of themselves. It doesn’t matter. It
really doesn’t matter when you look at it from that perspective. When
you look at it from the people that want to know the status, then it’s
a good question that probably isn’t going to be answered the way you
want it to be answered here. We like where he is at in the most
important place and I’ve said it over and over again, that’s his head.
That is where we feel good about him.”
On any difference in the training session with Brent Metcalf
“No, it’s not business as usual, there is an urgency there. The
applecart was upset; he’s about overcoming a lot. He has overcome a lot
more than a loss of a wrestling match and he’s overcome big losses in
wrestling matches before.”
Kevin Jackson – Iowa State
Opening Statement
“We’re excited to be here. Obviously this is the spot where you are
supposed to wrestle your best matches and have your best tournament.
We’ve pointed at this event all year to have our best performance. If
our guys come to go to war and come to scrap and take care of business
the first round, that is what we’re here for. I’ll be happy if our guys
come to fight the way they are capable of, come to scrap and come to
get it done. We’re excited to be here, expectations are high, one match
at a time. We’ll see how the chips fall.”
On being in the NCAA Tournament after a season with the program
“Our expectations are the same as everyone up here, that is to wrestle
our best and win the National Championship. We’re trying to win one
match at a time. It seems like just yesterday I landed in Ames. The
year has flown by. We’ve had some challenges. I think our guys are
capable, I think they’re ready; I think their potential is great, but
it is an individual sport. This NCAA tournament is almost the greatest
event in the world. Each round gets better, each round gets more
intense, and each round gets more exciting. It builds to the climax on
Saturday when you get to that championship round. Every round and every
match is important, we expect our guys to perform at a high level. It’s
been exciting; it’s been a great transition. Being at Iowa State, it
was very important to be at this position. We just hope our guys go out
there and wrestle the way they are capable of wrestling and we’ll walk
away Saturday night feeling good about ourselves.”
On what they’ve been focusing on since the Big 12 Championships
“I’ve learned some things about the team the whole year. You’ve never
heard me say that the Big 12 Championships was our goal; I don’t think
I’ve ever brought that up. I think that is probably the fault of myself
and not putting enough emphasis on that championship. We just want to
get better and better every time we step out there. We let one slip
through our fingers and let the Big 12 trophy slip back into enemy
hands. It’s something you can learn from, you always learn more from
losing than winning. We did lose some key matches that cost us the
title. Some guys did not perform to their ability, but at the same
time, we brought ten to the tournament with opportunities to bring
opportunities to shine. Like John said, you base your year off of what
happens at this tournament and that is the bottom line.”
On Jake Varner
“I can say that for a couple of different reasons. His career and
credentials speak for themselves, being a three-time finalist and
trying to go for his fourth time as a finalist and getting titles out
of this thing. Also, him being a world team member. Only two collegiate
athletes this year were on the world team and one was Dustin Slater.
Jake won a couple of matches at the world championships, just the way
he goes out and performs each and every match. He is trying to
dominate; he is trying to score points, trying to be active. He is not
trying to leave that match in the third period with a mistake that
could cost you the match. He is out to completely dominate, to pin the
guy, beat him by 15 or major decision him. I just think with his pas
credentials, I think with his overall ability-his size, his strength,
his technical skills- and what he’s been doing on the mat for the last
four years and especially what he is doing on the mat now has put him
in position to be the best guy in the country. Now the best guy at this
tournament doesn’t always win, it’s the guy who ahs the best
tournament. He is going to have to still go out there and perform at a
high level to get this thing done. I am really confident that he is
excited, he’s ready and eager to go about his business like he has done
all year.”
On the Big 12 vs. Big Ten match on Friday
“IT should be fun, it’s a different event. It’s not a real match
situation. I thin they are going a few two-minute periods and whoever
scores the most points in those four minutes, those points will go
toward the team score. It’s a little different. It’s not like it’s a
real match, it’s just something to create some entertainment and
excitement and expose collegiate fans who are so knowledgeable of the
sport because it hasn’t changed in years in terms of scoring and that
nature to freestyle and the freestyle sport, how the periods are and
that style of wrestling. I think it is more for exposure than anything
else. We’re going to hang out hat with the Big 12 and John (Smith) and
Mark (Manning) and will see what happens.”
Mark Manning – Nebraska
Opening Statement
“We have five wrestlers here. We’re led by our two seniors, Stephen
Dwyer at 174 and Craig Brester at 197. We’ve got a sophomore, Tucker
Lane at heavyweight, freshman Josh Ihnen at 184 and then Mike
Koehnlein, junior for us at 141. Obviously, we have a big task ahead of
us. We have a lot of big matches tomorrow. Tomorrow morning and
tomorrow night are big rounds for us to get off to a good start. We’re
looking to do our best. We’ve got a lot to prove and we’re excited
about our preparation. We’re ready to go.”
On what Craig Brester has meant to the program
“He has meant a lot. He came into our program as a walk-on. He
epitomizes what it means to be student-athlete at Nebraska. He is a
very humble kid; he’s a tremendous student, carries a 3.9 (GPA) and
will graduate this spring. He has tremendous values; he’s been raised
properly. If it was a 2-hour practice, he would be there 2 1/2 hours.
He is not a complainer. You would like a room full of them, you would
like 40 guys like Craig Brester. He has meant a lot from where he’s
come. He has really developed himself. In the summer time he has gone
out to the Olympic training center, tried to challenge himself to make
himself a better wrestler technically and tactically and learning all
aspects to develop himself to where he is at right now. Obviously he’s
got Jake Varner in his weight class, defending national champion, we
haven’t beat him this year. We have a big task; we have to get to
Saturday night. We’ll worry about ourselves. Obviously Hudson Taylor
and a lot of other guys are in that weight class. We’re just taking it
one day at a time. Obviously that is his goal, he’s worked hard for it
but a lot of guys have. You have to make your own breaks and win close
matches. He has meant a whole lot, he is a great kid.”
On any extra pressure of being in Nebraska
“No, not at all really. You have to wrestle hard enough and put people
on their feet and give them something to cheer about. It’s about our
guys performing to the best of their ability and leaving it on the mat,
wrestle hard, score points and get your hand raised. If you’re not
excited about the NCAA Tournament every year, it’s what these kids work
for and it’s what we work for as coaches 365 days out of the year to
prepare our guys for this time of the season. I’m excited every year.
If it were in Mongolia I would be pumped up too. It happens to be in
Omaha, a little bit more excited. But really it’s about what our kids
do and how they perform, get the crowd and get Husker fans on their
feet, it will help us. You have to perform.”
Tom Ryan - Ohio State
Opening Statement
“We’re led by five seniors who have sacrificed many hours to put the
Ohio State program in position to fight for the national championship.
I am hoping these men come and leave nothing behind here in Omaha and
everything on the mat. It’s been a pretty long 363 days since last
year’s event. We’re here to win a championship. We’re here to see young
men fulfill the lifelong goal they’ve had for themselves. We’re ready
to go and are looking forward to a great weekend.”
On Mike Pucillo
“You sure hope so, I think Mike has been a cornerstone in this program,
sixth, first, second. It’s been a tough year for him. Mike has learned
a lot about himself this year. A lot of issues Mike has been having are
out of his control. When things are out of your control, you control
the things you can. He has done that as well as he can. When you see
somebody like Mike, you live along side him and see the way he lives
his life and does things; you always believe he can do it. You’ve seen
him in this situation so many times and found a way to win tough
matches and I believe he’ll find a way do it. No predictions, but I
believe in Mike and look forward to the weekend ahead of him. He has a
tough road ahead of him, has a tough pigtail, and has a tough young man
in Joe LeBlanc from Wyoming. It’s going to be not an easy road for him,
but it isn’t for anyone. I’m looking forward to seeing it.”
On Lance Palmer
“Another cornerstone, fourth year senior of the program. He came out of
high school and we knew right away that he was special. You could tell
by the way he trained and lived his life that he was a guy who could
something in that national tournament. He took fourth right out of high
school, so that’s an indication of the type of talent he was coming
out. There is no mystery; the coaches haven’t done anything special. If
a guy can balance on one leg for 45 seconds and find a way out of
takedown, that is a pretty nice guy to be working with. He is excited
to wrestle the event. He had a great win last weekend against an
incredible competitor, one of the great competitors we’ve had in this
event in a long time. He has tremendous respect for Brett Metcalf and
others in his weight class. I think that has been on the crucial things
in his development this year, understanding the type of guys he is up
against and the way they live their life. Either you step it up a notch
or you lose by a point again. He’s excited to wrestle, we’ll look at it
one match at a time. He’s been a very important piece of Ohio State
wrestling. A four-time state champion, St. Edwards High School
(product), just an outstanding Ohio wrestler. We’re hoping this weekend
that he fulfills a lifelong dream. His dad spent a lot of time in the
basement lifting weights and doing things. It’s a family deal, so we’re
hoping it all works out for the Palmer’s.
John Smith - Oklahoma State
Opening Statement
“I think it’s been a fun year for us from where we finished last year
to where we’ve brought this team. I think the one thing we recognize
and realize is that the things you remember are what happened here, not
during the regular season. I do believe our best wrestling is still
ahead of us here.”
On Jamal Parks being a No. 2 seed
“Probably not at that time. (There was) a time during the season or
after that that he was going to do some things or no longer be
competing for us. A lot of it was disciplinary issues that go beyond
just the wrestling room. I liked the way he responded to the ultimatum
and it’s been good for him since then. He’s focused on the things that
really make a difference, from you style of life to you performance on
the mat. Am I surprised? I think when you look at 141; several of those
guys have four or five losses. (He) probably had the right tournament
at the right time to put him in position to be number two.”
On the progression of freshmen Alex Meade and Jordan Oliver
“Obviously they have added a lot to our lineup. It is extremely
important for them to have success in order for the team to have
success because they are two of the weights especially in dual meet
competition. Oliver, coming in as a freshman 28-2 at 133 is a fine
record especially at a weight class that has historically been very
competitive and very tough. Things haven’t gone exactly the way I’ve
wanted them for him from a standpoint of doing some of the things that
I think are required from him. I think I’ve been nagging at him enough
that I am getting what I want, especially at the second part of the
semester. Alex Meade, he is a work in progress. He has been a great
challenge for me. I’ve had to show more patience than probably any
other athlete I’ve coached. I will probably have to continue to do that
for a while. He is growing, he is maturing a little bit more and
showing more responsibility in the things we are looking for. They are
fun to watch when we are competing hard, I think both of them are
looking forward to this weekend. (They are) two key guys that for us to
do well, we need them to wrestle like juniors and seniors this weekend.
I do believe they are ready to do that.”
