U.S. World Team Trials Challenge Tournament champions quotes
6/18/2005
Maggie Hendricks and Tricia Turley/USA Wrestling
Men’s Freestyle Quotes
55 kg
Eric Akin, Lincoln, Nebraska, Sunkist
On competing as a veteran:
“It’s fun. I still have the ability and drive. To not take this opportunity would be an insult.”
On his competition:
“I know I’m tougher than most the guys here, because I was swinging a hammer three days ago, loading sheet rock into a basement.”
On tomorrow’s opponent, Sammie Henson:
He’s so strong, hard-headed. We’ve been wrestling since high school, right across the (state) border. He might be the strongest man there but I’m going to fight him for it.”
On plans for tomorrow:
“I need to not make mistakes. I can beat some of the best in the world, I just can’t beat myself.”
60 kg
Nate Gallick, Tucson. Ariz., Sunkist
On competing in front of a home crowd:
“It feels good. Zadick has beaten me before and I wanted to wrestle hard and get a win. It feels good, especially in front of a home crowd.”
On wrestling Lightner in the finals tomorrow:
“I wrestled Lightner in Vegas and lost in the finals. I lost a close match. I just need to wrestle hard and take chances.”
On training in at the USOC Training Center in Colorado Springs:
“Once or twice a year I go out there. It helps a lot. Guys that live out there have a real advantage.”
66 kg
Jared Lawrence, Minneapolis, Minn., Minnesota Storm
On his pin of Jared Frayer in the Challenge Tournament Finals:
“He got in on a high crotch and I knew he was getting two [points] and I had to make the best out of it. I was not going for the pin, I was just trying to get my two [points] back.”
On being behind in a period under the new rules:
“As long as there is time on the clock, there is always time to come back. Even if you’re down by 3, a take down and turn and the last point is all you need. I don’t panic.”
74 kg
Kirk White, Tacoma, Wash., Bronco WC
On preparation after US Nationals
“I just worked hard on not taking any bad shots because Williams can take advantage of those.”
On training
“I haven’t had the time to train full time but when I get in the groove I can beat anyone.”
84 kg
Lee Fullhart, Blacksburg, Va., Gator WC
On the relative youth of the field this year as compared to last year at Olympic Trials:
“It doesn’t change. I’m sure that Chris Pendleton is still looking to win a World title. They’re not coming out here just to wrestle, they’re coming here to go to Worlds.”
On Chris Pendleton being his former workout partner
“He works hard and is a good partner. At the time he wasn’t training for the Olympics and he gave me everything I needed at the time.”
On having to wrestle through the challenge round after losing to Mo Lawal at US Nationals:
“Ideally nothing changes, focus has to be the same. If anything, it helped point out some of my trouble spots and what I have to work on improving. I’ve got to go hard every time, I can’t play the one-point game.”
96 kg
Nick Preston, Columbus, Ohio, Sunkist
On his improvement since US Nationals in Las Vegas, Nev.:
“My conditioning is the big thing I improved on the most. It’s all been worth it. I put myself through pain since Nationals.”
“The other loss I had in Vegas was to [Nick] Fekete and that stayed in my mind because I was tired and that’s why I put myself through the pain and now I believe I can beat anyone.”
On wrestling fellow Ohio State alumni, Tommy Rowlands in the Challenge Tournament finals:
“Tommy and I are seasoned vets. We’re best friends [off the mat], but this is wrestling and I love it.”
120 kg
Steve Mocco, North Bergen, NJ, NYAC
On the sequence that lead to the officials’ review at the end of the third period:
“I knew that it was my offensive move and I thought actually that [Konrad’s] head went out first. You just can’t let it get that close.”
On heavyweight matches becoming like a Sumo battle:
“Becoming a sumo match has its positives and negatives. I personally wouldn’t call it that since a sumo match is only 7-8 seconds. We’re out there for a lot longer than that. It’s more like running than a sprint.”
On wrestling under the new rules:
“Under pressure and attack it should be a point and I like that style.”
Men’s Greco-Roman Quotes
55 kg
Lindsey Durlacher, Colorado Springs, Colo., NYAC
“The new rules are going to help me a lot. I was struggling with the old rules because I’m so short.”
“The new rules gave a breathe of life back into me, brings me back into the game.”
“The Europeans are real strong in this position. We’re going to have to do our best to compete with them at Worlds.”
60 kg
James Johnson, Colorado Springs, Colo., US Army
*Declined comment
66 kg
Glenn Garrison, Colorado Springs, Colo., US Army
* No interview
74 kg
TC Dantzler, Colorado Springs, Colo., NYAC
On Sieracki
“We have plenty of history, he kept me from winning the mini-tournament in 2000. We’ve wrestled against each other a lot.”
On the new rules:
“I love the new rules and I need to enjoy them today and tomorrow because they may be gone Monday.”
On wrestling tomorrow’s opponent, Darryl Christian:
“My plan is to go out and wrestle Darryl tough because I know he’s been looking to wrestle me.”
84 kg
Jake Clark, Colorado Springs, Colo. US Marine Corps
On taking most of this year off:
“This is my 20th season of wrestling and my body was getting worn out. My coaches thought I needed some time off. I feel a lot more fresh right now because of it.”
On not wrestling at US Nationals in Las Vegas and the support of the US Marine Corps. of his wrestling career:
“I was fulfilling my military duty so I wasn’t in Vegas. We don’t have a WCAP program in the Marine Corps., but they’ve been pretty supportive. They’ve let me have time off to wrestle when I need it. I’m pretty lucky to work for such supportive people.”
96 kg
Adam Wheeler, Lancaster, Calif., USOEC/Gator
On changes after US Nationals
“In the past, when I wrestled Ruiz, I felt he was better conditioned than me so I’ve worked on my conditioning and work on my feet.”
On the new rules:
“It will help the US over all because we can work more reverse lifts.”
120 kg
Russ Davie, Colorado Springs, Colo, NYAC
On wrestling Brian Keck:
“We’ve wrestled with each other for years, so there were no surprises but he brought me to where I am and I have a lot of respect for him.”
On new rules:
“Against (Dremeil) Byers, it doesn’t help but in Belarus, we did a lot of par terre, so I had a chance to work on it.”
Women’s Freestyle Quotes
48 kg
Jenny Wong, Colorado Springs, Colo., Sunkist
“This is my first time at 105 [pounds]. I had surger in the fall and I came back smaller so I talked to the doctor, a dietician and Terry [Steiner] and they all thought it was okay for me to do.”
“Every tournament I’m in is the most important tournament. They’re all stepping stones to make me a better wrestler and everyone here is trying to do that.”
51 kg
Mary Kelly, Mahomet, Ill., USOEC/NYAC
On Malinda Ripley, today’s opponent:
“This is the third match we’ve wrestled and my first time beating her. This is the first I made the finals so it feels really good.”
On preparation:
“My favorite thing in practice is to go through situations. My teammates hate it but it was a big payoff today.”
On clinch:
“It’s important to be able to scramble because no one has momentum, so you have to be able to scramble out of it.”
55 kg
Chelynne Pringle, Hugo, Minn. Minnesota Storm
On moving up from junior to senior level:
“The girls are a lot tougher and last longer, and are stronger.”
On tomorrow’s matches with Marcie Van Dusen
“I’ve never wrestled Marcie before but I have to go out there and wrestle my own style, don’t give up near the end.”
On seeding:
“It doesn’t matter what your seed is, you have to go out and wrestle hard. A nine seed needs to wrestle just as hard as a number one.”
59 kg
Tela O’Donnell, Colorado Springs, Colo., Sunkist
On relatively few wrestlers in her weight class:
“The weight class dispersal is odd. It’s always fun to get matches “it’s why I wrestle “I have fun with matches.”
On strengths and weaknesses:
“I get taken down a lot but I can fight back from that. I need to not get taken down so much.”
On moving weight classes:
“There are great competitors at both weights. This is my regular weight. A lot of what I is not about strength or weight, it’s about leverage.”
63 kg
Sara McMann, Iowa City, Iowa, Sunkist
Declined comment
67 kg
Katie Downing, Colorado Springs, Colo., Sunkist
On tomorrow’s opponent, Kristie Marano
“We had a really good match. It was really close. I need to step it up.”
On weight classes:
“The weight classes are crazy. A lot of people are moving to different weights and some of it is surprising.”
72 kg
Ali Bernard, New Ulm, Minn., University of Regina
On what she has been working on since US Nationals in Las Vegas, Nev.:
“I’ve been working off the 2-on-1, working on double legs. Basically everything I can do that I did wrong in Vegas.”
On her first year wrestling at the Senior level:
“I haven’t yet beat anyone that I’m not supposed to beat. Hopefully, I can pick it up tomorrow. I’m battling her experience tomorrow.”
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