Oklahoma State University Athletics
Smith and Wrestlers Meet With the Media Ahead of Busy Weekend
December 15, 2021 | Cowboy Wrestling
The Oklahoma State wrestling team has a busy weekend ahead with three duals over the span of four days, while sending other athletes to open tournaments. Head coach John Smith and select members of the team met with the media on Wednesday to discuss the upcoming slate of duals. Here is some of what they had to say:
Head Coach John Smith
On the upcoming weekend:
"Putting three matches together in a few days is hard. Two of them being on Friday, which will be competitive with Air Force and Wyoming. There are quite a few quality matches there. We've done this before, so we never look at it as a disadvantage. It's wrestling. We can wrestle two matches in one day. We will also have a bunch of athletes at the Reno tournament on Sunday, so we have a bunch of wrestling going on over a span of about three states."
On traveling to Utah Valley:
"It's a responsibility with them in our conference. I don't know if we've ever been there to wrestle. That's something I'm looking forward to. They're a quality team that has several good weights. Between the three teams, all of them have individuals who are quality."
On wrestling three matches in a span of four days:
"The good thing about it is in dual meets we are 4-0 over four weekends. Very seldom in the past have we wrestled one match a weekend. That's what I like about this. We are making weight multiple times, we are getting three matches in and we're going to really pay attention to what we're doing."
Senior 184-pounder Dakota Geer
On the altitude of Air Force and Wyoming:
"I remember the first time I went up there I thought it was kind of a myth. Whenever you first get up there is when you feel it. It's not light-headedness or anything, it's whenever you're working out. I think whenever we get up there and get our first workout in, just blowing your lungs out and pushing yourself gets you used to that elevation and makes it similar to wrestling here. That's the goal whenever we first get up there, I'm going to work out hard during the first workout, get myself tired, then I'll be ready to roll."
On controlling weight over the weekend:
"Having that third match with two days in between is good for weight maintenance. Coach last week had us make weight two days before we wrestled OU to prepare for that. I don't think it will be too bad, we are already used to doing that from last week. It keeps you used to keeping your weight down and getting used to how your body feels with your weight down. Just a lot of matches in one week. It's an exciting weekend."
On his offensive strategy:
"I'm just trying to work moving my feet more, being more strategic in where I'm placing my hands and how I'm moving the guy with my hands. I'm trying not just to move a lot but move strategically. I want to know where I want to place my hands and know where I want to move the guy, rather than just a lot of movement. I've been wrestling almost every day with Gavin Stika, and that guy is tough to score in neutral. His defense in neutral is good, so having him up there, you have to have your shots on point to score on him and I think that has helped my shots a lot. I think my shots have been improving as the year goes on."
Sophomore 125-pounder Trevor Mastrogiovanni
On having three matches this week:
"I'm excited for it. I was talking about my record with my dad yesterday. I'm only 4-0 and feel like I've had 15 already. Now, we're wrestling the almost the entirety of the season that we've already had with three matches in one weekend, which is good. The more matches the better. It's going to prepare us for a tournament setting at the NCAAs when you're going to wrestle in the morning and then sometimes way later in the day. It's a good test for us. It's good to weigh in early. I think it is an advantage for us to wrestle twice, rather than weighing in in the morning and wait until the evening for the dual against Wyoming. I'm looking forward to it."
On wrestling twice in one day:
"It's all getting us ready for the end of the year. It's going to be tough. Our legs are going to be feeling it, but once we get off that bus, you have to work. You may not want to, but you have to work to get that sluggish movement out of your system and be ready for that match."
On the confidence boost coming off of the Bedlam dual:
"That's a huge confidence boost. It was fun. It was my third one. The other two were more competitive, but this one we were looking for the shutout and we were excited. After the match before me, the momentum changed a little bit, so I had to get out there and change that. That guy came at me and was ready to wrestle. That was a huge dual. They are a good team, they're solid, with a lot of guys ranked. We came to compete, and I think we'll keep it rolling in these next few matches."
Head Coach John Smith
On the upcoming weekend:
"Putting three matches together in a few days is hard. Two of them being on Friday, which will be competitive with Air Force and Wyoming. There are quite a few quality matches there. We've done this before, so we never look at it as a disadvantage. It's wrestling. We can wrestle two matches in one day. We will also have a bunch of athletes at the Reno tournament on Sunday, so we have a bunch of wrestling going on over a span of about three states."
On traveling to Utah Valley:
"It's a responsibility with them in our conference. I don't know if we've ever been there to wrestle. That's something I'm looking forward to. They're a quality team that has several good weights. Between the three teams, all of them have individuals who are quality."
On wrestling three matches in a span of four days:
"The good thing about it is in dual meets we are 4-0 over four weekends. Very seldom in the past have we wrestled one match a weekend. That's what I like about this. We are making weight multiple times, we are getting three matches in and we're going to really pay attention to what we're doing."
Senior 184-pounder Dakota Geer
On the altitude of Air Force and Wyoming:
"I remember the first time I went up there I thought it was kind of a myth. Whenever you first get up there is when you feel it. It's not light-headedness or anything, it's whenever you're working out. I think whenever we get up there and get our first workout in, just blowing your lungs out and pushing yourself gets you used to that elevation and makes it similar to wrestling here. That's the goal whenever we first get up there, I'm going to work out hard during the first workout, get myself tired, then I'll be ready to roll."
On controlling weight over the weekend:
"Having that third match with two days in between is good for weight maintenance. Coach last week had us make weight two days before we wrestled OU to prepare for that. I don't think it will be too bad, we are already used to doing that from last week. It keeps you used to keeping your weight down and getting used to how your body feels with your weight down. Just a lot of matches in one week. It's an exciting weekend."
On his offensive strategy:
"I'm just trying to work moving my feet more, being more strategic in where I'm placing my hands and how I'm moving the guy with my hands. I'm trying not just to move a lot but move strategically. I want to know where I want to place my hands and know where I want to move the guy, rather than just a lot of movement. I've been wrestling almost every day with Gavin Stika, and that guy is tough to score in neutral. His defense in neutral is good, so having him up there, you have to have your shots on point to score on him and I think that has helped my shots a lot. I think my shots have been improving as the year goes on."
Sophomore 125-pounder Trevor Mastrogiovanni
On having three matches this week:
"I'm excited for it. I was talking about my record with my dad yesterday. I'm only 4-0 and feel like I've had 15 already. Now, we're wrestling the almost the entirety of the season that we've already had with three matches in one weekend, which is good. The more matches the better. It's going to prepare us for a tournament setting at the NCAAs when you're going to wrestle in the morning and then sometimes way later in the day. It's a good test for us. It's good to weigh in early. I think it is an advantage for us to wrestle twice, rather than weighing in in the morning and wait until the evening for the dual against Wyoming. I'm looking forward to it."
On wrestling twice in one day:
"It's all getting us ready for the end of the year. It's going to be tough. Our legs are going to be feeling it, but once we get off that bus, you have to work. You may not want to, but you have to work to get that sluggish movement out of your system and be ready for that match."
On the confidence boost coming off of the Bedlam dual:
"That's a huge confidence boost. It was fun. It was my third one. The other two were more competitive, but this one we were looking for the shutout and we were excited. After the match before me, the momentum changed a little bit, so I had to get out there and change that. That guy came at me and was ready to wrestle. That was a huge dual. They are a good team, they're solid, with a lot of guys ranked. We came to compete, and I think we'll keep it rolling in these next few matches."
Players Mentioned
Tuesday, July 07
Tuesday, July 07
Friday, June 05
Friday, May 29
