Head Coach John Smith
On the season up until the NCAA Championships
"It was an uphill battle and I would not want it any other way. This is one that is going to have to be earned. Heading into the (NCAA Championships) we are probably going to have three guys with seeds and five others without seeds. That does not sound like a team that appears to be challenging for a national championship. I will say we wrestled our best at the Big 12 Championships. There were a couple of individuals who did not wrestle their best, but as a team I felt like we had our best performance as we were one match away from winning the championship. We just have to prepare everybody to understand for us to be successful that we will have to earn it the hard way by upsetting people. We have to be motivated to handle any situation that may occur."
On the NCAA Championships
"We have a number of guys who have to win. I see it really similar, outside of Minnesota, that there are a lot of teams in the same situation like us, but might be a little ahead of us. As far as the number of guys seeded in the tournament, Minnesota is definitely a notch above everyone. You control your destiny in this tournament and that is what I am preaching this week."
"Regardless of what has happened throughout the season, I think it has taken a lot of work for this team to keep it together and keeping faith in what we are trying to accomplish. Ultimately, it was not me who did that, it was them who did that. They did some things right through the year, as far as some of the losses, this is the first team to lose five dual meets in a while. It is something that does not really bother me because dual meets do not mean a whole lot to me, except obviously victories."
"In recuperating and coming back, I liked the way we fought through some adversity and the way we wrestled (at the Big 12 Championships). I think there was a time in the season where it could have got really ugly for us, but we were able to fight back after National Duals and move forward, which has been an important time this season."
On what he tells the four wrestlers who are making their first trip
"I tell them that it is another tournament, and it is no different than any other tournament. This is a time where you wrestle your very best. You have tried to wrestle your hardest before, but this is a time where you have to do your best. That is what we have to get out of them. We cannot use this season as gaining experience because we need guys who are unseeded doing something for us. If you do not do something, nobody is going to turn on you. Great thinks have happened to us at the end of a few seasons because we embrace the NCAA Championships. That is what this team has to do."
Junior Coleman Scott
On winning a national title
"Last year, I was disappointed losing in the first round and having to wrestle my way back. This year, I have been training hard to win the title. I feel that I can do it. I know I was going to let the team down, and did not want to finish without being All-American. I did not want to go another year with that in my head knowing that I did not earn that status. I was upset with myself, but I did what I could by helping the team win a national championship. I have to start off a lot better this year (at the championships)."
Senior Johny Hendricks
On winning matches
"I knew that if I moved my feet that I would win (the Big 12 finals against Travis Paulson). You have to go into a match confident knowing that you are going to win. If you do not, you will struggle. Before each match, I have to sit there and know whatever happens I have to pull it out. That is the way I have been wrestling. It will be a whole different mindset going into the NCAA Championships. I have to go in knowing that nothing is going to happen because I am going to make sure everything is going to happen the way I want it to."
Junior Jack Jensen
On qualifying for the NCAA Championships
"I expected to qualify for the NCAA Championships because you can't expect not to go. I have the ticket from the finals last year, and wrote on it 'you need to be here."
On the makeup of the team
"I think our team was coming into its own in the last half of the season. We have a closer team now than we did at the beginning of the season. Everybody is different, and we are not those guys from the last couple of years. We all do different things."
Sophomore Newly McSpadden
On helping the team win
"Qualifying for the NCAA Championships is not only important to me, but also for the team. I am ready to head to Detroit to help the team win a national title. With it being my first appearance at the championships, the major thing I have concentrated on is that anything can happen. It does not matter what happened in the past as it is a different scenario. As long as you make it to the championships, anything can happen. Hopefully, it works out for the best."
Sophomore Brandon Mason
On the key to scoring points at Nationals
"I know if I wrestle hard against guys like I did against (Ben) Askren in Stillwater, I will have the opportunity of beating anyone. Over the past two seasons, I have wrestled everyone in my weight class so I feel that I will be ready to go. It is important for all of us to do well because our coaches and teammates are counting on us to score. Say we have the opportunity of getting a major decision, those extra points will be huge for us."
Freshman Jared Rosholt
On what to wrestle for at the NCAA Championships
"Everyone is going to wrestle for one another so we can bring the national championship back to Stillwater. Your not just wrestling for your team, you are wrestling for you school, fans and your family. When you wrestle for all of them, I feel that it gives you more motivation in your match."
Junior Nathan Morgan
On what he needs to do to be successful at the NCAA Championships
"I feel that I have trained different and I have a different mentality. I feel tougher this year. I have been able to focus a lot better on things, including the different styles people tried to wrestle me with. I just have to go out there and push myself. I will be ready to go. I have to go out there and be relaxed and have fun."
Freshman Tyler Shinn
On adapting to college wrestling
"I say for the first few months of this season, things were tough. But as of late, my body has gotten used to everything. I need to wrestle my best. The way I feel right now, I have always wrestled good. I have to be confident. Obviously, this is a whole different level than the high school level. In college, you feel that your opponent puts a lot more pressure on you than those who you wrestled against in high school."
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