InterMat recently caught up with Russell and talked to him about his decision to redshirt, where he made his biggest gains during his time away from competition, whether he plans to stay at 141 pounds next season or move up a weight class, what kind of impact he thinks Eric Grajales can make at the college level, and much more.
Kellen RussellRussell: I was just trying to give my body a little bit of a rest. I have been wrestling pretty much for six years straight. Four years in high school wrestling all year round ... and then two years wrestling all year round in college. So I just really wanted to give my body a break and work on some stuff that I really haven't had time to work on.
Most wrestlers who redshirt compete in open tournaments. You chose not to compete in any open tournaments during your redshirt season. How come?
Russell: My body was just kind of beat up and I needed to rest it. I wasn't really ready by the time any of the tournaments came around.
Did you attend the NCAAs? And if so, what was that experience like watching it and not competing?
Russell: I didn't get to go down there because of school, but I watched most of it online or on TV. It was definitely different having to watch it on TV. It made me wish I was wrestling in it then. But it was good to be able to just sit back and watch it. I haven't really watched an entire NCAA tournament like that before.
Kellen Russell (Photo/Tony Rotundo,Tech-Fall.com)Russell: I have been working all stuff on my feet right now, pushing the pace, and not letting others dictate the pace. I worked on my offense instead of my defense. My freshman year I was scoring with a lot of counterattacks ... and I did that my sophomore year too, but now I'm working more on my attacks, pushing the pace, and doing what I want to do.
There has been speculation as to whether you will stay at 141 pounds next season or move up to 149 pounds. What weight class do you plan to wrestle next season?
Russell: Right now I'm planning on wrestling at 141. I didn't really gain that much weight over the redshirt season, so as of right now I plan on going 141.
You came out of Blair Academy and then stepped right into the Michigan lineup as a true freshman and made an immediate impact. What is it about the Blair program that helps wrestlers prepare for college wrestling?
Russell: I think it's just that you're wrestling the best kids in high school every weekend and those kids usually end up being some of the best kids in college. You're used to wrestling on a big stage and having lots of people watch you. The workouts are similar to what we do here. It's a lot of hard drilling and situational live go's. It translates well going from Blair to college.
Two years after you enrolled at Michigan, another Blair Academy wrestler, Sean Boyle, became a Wolverine. Now Michigan has signed another Blair Academy wrestler in Max Huntley. How does it make you feel knowing that you helped start that pipeline from Blair Academy to Michigan?
Russell: It's great. I think Michigan is a great university. I think being able to wrestle in the Big Ten is real important. It's one of the toughest conferences in the country. Blair kids really thrive in the Big Ten. It's a great pipeline.
Eric GrajalesRussell: He's going to make a big impact. He's a real gamer. He wrestles real hard in practice. He's a real good scrambler. He can throw people. I think he's going to do real well next season.
One of your high school teammates at Blair, Mario Mason, recently made the decision to transfer from Minnesota to Rutgers, where former Blair wrestler Cory Cooperman serves as an assistant coach. Were you surprised when you heard that he was moving back to New Jersey to wrestler for Rutgers?
Russell: I was kind of surprised that he was transferring. But once I found out that he was thinking about leaving, I thought that Rutgers would probably be a good place. Cooperman is a great coach. I think that's a good place for him.
Kellen Russell (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine)Russell: Crazy stuff happens at the NCAAs. Crazy stuff happens at every tournament, but it seems to happen the most at the NCAAs. I think my freshman year I was just kind of awestruck almost at the NCAAs, which doesn't normally happen to me. I thought about it too much. Sophomore year I got caught and pinned. It's a lot of pressure. You have to deal with the pressure. I think now that I'm a little bit older I'll be able to deal with the pressure a little better than I did my freshman and sophomore year.
It was certainly a down season for Michigan by program standards. The Wolverines failed to win a conference dual meet and finished 43rd at the NCAAs. Is there reason for Wolverine fans to be worried? Or was this past season just an aberration?
Russell: We had a ton of freshmen and sophomores wrestling. We didn't have any starters graduating. A lot of those guys just didn't have enough mat experience yet. They got a lot of experience last season. Hopefully they can carry it over into next season. I think a lot of people are going to make big jumps this summer and early next season.
You have had a lot of success in freestyle throughout your wrestling career. Do you plan to pursue a freestyle wrestling career on the senior level?
Russell: Yeah ... right now I'm working out with Josh (Churella) a couple times a week. Just working out with him has really pushed me to want to do it. I think I'm going to keep wrestling after I graduate ... at least for a couple years.
Bahna Wrestling CenterRussell: It's great. We have a lot more room to wrestle. We have three 50 x 50 mats, which is a lot bigger than we used to have. We are off campus a little bit. We have our own training site, our own building, so it's nice. We have our own weight room. We can go in there and lift whenever we want. We have an awesome training room with a hot tub and cold tub, so we have the best rehab and recovery stuff that we can get. I think it's just great being able to have our own building ... and be able to hang out there. It allows a lot more people to come in and get in extra workouts than before when we had to share a weight room. We weren't always allowed in the weight room.
You're a two-time Big Ten champion and have been in the mix to win a national title the past two seasons you have been in the lineup. Now that you're heading into your junior season, do you feel a sense of urgency to win the national title?
Russell: I don't feel a sense of urgency, but I feel that I have been putting in the time and effort to win a national title. I think all the extra workouts that I got during my redshirt season will really allow me to make that jump to get into the NCAA finals and win a championship.
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