Oklahoma State University Athletics
Smith Previews This Weekend's Wrestling
February 17, 2010 | Cowboy Wrestling
Feb. 17, 2010
STILLWATER, Okla. - Oklahoma State wrestling coach John Smith visited with members of the media Wednesday in Gallagher-Iba Arena to preview this weekend's duals against Binghamton and Oklahoma. Some of the highlights of what he said:
On the dual with Binghamton leading into Bedlam
"Obviously, it's our last weekend before the conference championships. We're finishing our regular season out and it's nice to have Pat Popolizio bringing Binghamton to Stillwater for the second year in a row. He has a few good wrestlers on that team and it's definitely a dual meet that we need to focus on first before we hit Bedlam on Sunday."
On making weight for the weekend
"I'm looking forward to the weekend. I like the fact that we're going to make weight twice in the same weekend. That kind of prepares us for the NCAA Championships down the road."
On Oklahoma's performance on the mat this year
"I feel like they've had the opportunity, because of their recruiting the last couple years, to be very solid. They've definitely gone through some ups and downs through the season. But, for the most part, pulling out their redshirt freshmen has put them in a position to be very competitive as a team. Those kids have wrestled pretty well for them for the most part.
On his team in comparison to Oklahoma
"I don't believe we are head and shoulders above them. I think we've got the capability of being that if we come out to wrestle. Bedlam, last time, I felt pretty fortunate that we got out of there with a tie. I felt like they outwrestled us, outhustled us, just about everything they did a little bit better than what we did. We're definitely looking for that to turn around for us."
On what to expect from Oklahoma on Sunday
"I think Oklahoma is a good team and I think we've got to recognize that they're a good team and they're competitive. I think, for the most part, we've had some dominating matches in the last month and I hope that we'll see more of that in some of the individual matches. But if it ends up being very tight matches and very gritty matches, it's going to be really important that we're winning those matches in order to win the dual."
On Jared Rosholt's improvement since the last time he faced OU and Nathan Fernandez
"Rosholt was beat by him about a month earlier and maybe he had a little bit of that on his mind as he approached that match. I will say Jared is wrestling as well as he's wrestled all year. He seems really relaxed; he seems to be hitting his skill and his technique. He's wrestling with a lot of confidence and if he shows that this weekend, I'm sure he's going to be very pleased with the outcome of his match."
On his team's approach to Bedlam this time around
"For us, in Bedlam, we've got to turn some of those losses we had around. We got beat at 125 and 157 and I felt like we had the best wrestler at both of those weights and we didn't win. I felt like we had opportunities to score bonus points and we didn't have anybody with a real passion to go after them. That's the key to winning tough matches is making sure we're good and ready and not taking anybody for granted. When we have the opportunity to pin or put bonus points up, you have to do it."
