InterMat recently caught up with Poster.
How are you feeling about the way you're wrestling right now heading into the final stretch of your college wrestling career?
Poster: I'm feeling pretty confident in myself. I'm having a lot more fun this year. I'm a lot looser. I think it's just knowing that it's my last year. I'm not so uptight. I'm just having fun.
St. Cloud State wrestler Clint Poster gets his hand raised at the 2015 NCAAs (Photo/Tom Nelson, SCSU Athletics)Poster: It definitely does drive me, especially in my training. I thought about it quite a bit. I definitely use it as fuel when I'm training
You're a three-time All-American and have been close to winning a national title. Now that you're a senior do feel more pressure to win a title?
Poster: Pressure really doesn't really exist. It's just what you put on yourself. I've learned to deal with it through my strong relationship with Christ. He's the only person that I need to impress. That helps me a lot with the pressure, not thinking about all the other people I need to do it for. If I wrestle hard with the ability God gave me I know good things will happen. The pressure won't be there.
What went into the decision to move up from 157 pounds to 165 pounds this season?
Poster: It was Coach Costanzo's idea. He kind of mentioned it to me this fall. I was kind of skeptical at first. He said that I would do well at either weight class. I said I would try it for the first open at Iowa State. It went well. It's been treating me well. It has been keeping the season fun. It makes my wife happier. I'm not so cranky all the time. It helps my training too. I'm not just training to cut weight, but I'm training to get better. So the motive behind the training has changed, and it has made it much more enjoyable, which is nice for my senior year.
Earlier this season you notched a win over Iowa State's Tanner Weatherman, a multiple-time national qualifier in Division I. What did that win do for you?
Poster: It was definitely a big confidence booster to get a win over an accomplished Division I wrestler like that. I actually didn't know anything about him until Coach Costanzo talked to me the next day, and told me how accomplished he is. It definitely made me feel good, and gave me some confidence knowing that I can run with Division I qualifiers like that.
Do you ever think about how you would fare in Division I?
Poster: Yeah, I have thought about it. It would be different. I probably wouldn't have been a starter right away, like I was in Division II. I think with my work ethic I'm sure I would have made a lineup somewhere at the tail end of my career. But after finding St. Cloud State and Coach Costanzo I found a nice home and didn't think about going anywhere else.
What's it like wrestling for Steve Costanzo?
Poster: It's great. He's a lot of fun. He's very knowledgeable. He's definitely the best coach I've had so far, and the most personable coach too. You can just go sit in his office and talk to him about whatever, whether it's about wrestling or life in general. It's been great learning through him and with him. I look up to him. He's a role model of mine. If I grew up to be like him I think I would be a very accomplished man.
Was there a wrestler you admired growing up?
Poster: Yeah, I had a few. Craig Luberts is one of them. When I was in elementary school and he was in high school in Pierz he was just so fun to watch. He would put on a show and score points. Coming into St. Cloud State my freshman year I got to watch Tad Merritt and the way he did things, the way he dominated and broke people in practice and trained and led. I learned a lot from him even though I didn't really talk to him much too much my freshman year. He was big and scary. But he definitely taught me a lot and helped me to wrestle the way I do today.
Last season St. Cloud State won the NCAA team title in Division II. What's it going to take to repeat as team champion?
Poster: It's going to take a complete team effort again like last year. How ever may guys we get to the national tournament they're all going to have to wrestle their butts off. It was a tight group of teams last year, and it's even tighter this year. Everyone is kind of bringing everyone back. We just have to keep our faith in Coach Costanzo. He knows what to do. As long as we follow him we should be able to get that repeat title.
This story also appears in the January 15 issue of The Guillotine. The Guillotine has been covering wrestling in Minnesota since 1971. Its mission is to report and promote wrestling at all levels -- from youth and high school wrestling to college and international level wrestling. Subscribe to The Guillotine.
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