Oklahoma State University Athletics
Big 12 Wrestling Quotes
March 09, 2008 | Cowboy Wrestling
Quotes From The Big 12 Wrestling Championships
March 8, 2008
Oklahoma State Head Coach John Smith
On Jared Rosholt's championship match
“It was a good win for Jared Rosholt after losing several times in his career. He wrestled well today.”
On Oklahoma State's overall performance at the Big 12 Championships
“We wrestled well in four or five weight classes, but other than that we struggled all day. It's a little bit disappointing. I don't mind qualifying eight wrestlers for NCAAs and finishing third in Big 12s, but what I do mind is not completing matches. In the end, I feel the way we wrestled is not the way I coach, it's not what we teach, it's not what we're about and hopefully we can perform much better in two weeks.”
On bouncing back after finishing third at the Big 12 Championships
“You have to be careful about being negative right now. We have a national tournament ahead of us. I have had people not perform well in the Big 12 Championships then finish strong at the NCAA Championships.”
Oklahoma State 157-pounder Newly McSpadden
On his third-place match win over Nebraska's Chris Oliver
“I was up by a point and I knew I had to stay in good position to get a opportunity to score. I wanted action and I took advantage of it. I just wanted to pick up some extra points for our team.”
On using his performance as motivation for the NCAA Championships
“The way I came out with a great start and ending the way I did today, I feel that it will motivate me to compete with the best.
On the team's performance leading into the NCAA Championships
“We were a little flat on our feet today. With what happened today we will improve in practice. Hopefully, in two weeks we will be ready to go and win the national title. Since we didn't perform they way we wanted to on our home mat, I know we will be fired up and ready to go.”
On his pin against Nebraska's Chris Oliver
“It was exciting because I haven't had a match like that this year. It felt great to get the crowd involved. It definitely gave me confidence and it helped me feel fresh throughout the tournament.”
Iowa State coach Cael Sanderson
Opening statement
“I'm proud of our guys and I'm glad we got the win. We won the close matches, and that's what we want to be doing this time of year.”
Regarding if he feels good going into NCAA Championships
“Yeah, our sophomore class really did a great job for us today. We're in the finals obviously and we've all been in the National Tournament before. They know what to expect, so they should be ready to score some points... I think the guys are feeling good, and they're confident. I think it reemphasizes that what we're doing is the right thing. It should give them a boost. The way we wrestled today should be a good indicator of what we're going to be doing in the next few weeks.”
Regarding the Big 12 Conference
“It's a tough conference. You know, it's the best conference in the country, and we're proud to be a part of it. It was a good day for us.”
March 8, 2008
Oklahoma State Head Coach John Smith
On Jared Rosholt's championship match
“It was a good win for Jared Rosholt after losing several times in his career. He wrestled well today.”
On Oklahoma State's overall performance at the Big 12 Championships
“We wrestled well in four or five weight classes, but other than that we struggled all day. It's a little bit disappointing. I don't mind qualifying eight wrestlers for NCAAs and finishing third in Big 12s, but what I do mind is not completing matches. In the end, I feel the way we wrestled is not the way I coach, it's not what we teach, it's not what we're about and hopefully we can perform much better in two weeks.”
On bouncing back after finishing third at the Big 12 Championships
“You have to be careful about being negative right now. We have a national tournament ahead of us. I have had people not perform well in the Big 12 Championships then finish strong at the NCAA Championships.”
Oklahoma State 157-pounder Newly McSpadden
On his third-place match win over Nebraska's Chris Oliver
“I was up by a point and I knew I had to stay in good position to get a opportunity to score. I wanted action and I took advantage of it. I just wanted to pick up some extra points for our team.”
On using his performance as motivation for the NCAA Championships
“The way I came out with a great start and ending the way I did today, I feel that it will motivate me to compete with the best.
On the team's performance leading into the NCAA Championships
“We were a little flat on our feet today. With what happened today we will improve in practice. Hopefully, in two weeks we will be ready to go and win the national title. Since we didn't perform they way we wanted to on our home mat, I know we will be fired up and ready to go.”
On his pin against Nebraska's Chris Oliver
“It was exciting because I haven't had a match like that this year. It felt great to get the crowd involved. It definitely gave me confidence and it helped me feel fresh throughout the tournament.”
Iowa State coach Cael Sanderson
Opening statement
“I'm proud of our guys and I'm glad we got the win. We won the close matches, and that's what we want to be doing this time of year.”
Regarding if he feels good going into NCAA Championships
“Yeah, our sophomore class really did a great job for us today. We're in the finals obviously and we've all been in the National Tournament before. They know what to expect, so they should be ready to score some points... I think the guys are feeling good, and they're confident. I think it reemphasizes that what we're doing is the right thing. It should give them a boost. The way we wrestled today should be a good indicator of what we're going to be doing in the next few weeks.”
Regarding the Big 12 Conference
“It's a tough conference. You know, it's the best conference in the country, and we're proud to be a part of it. It was a good day for us.”
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