Cael spoke first about the Ohio State match, saying "It was more than just a wrestling match; it was an event." He appreciated the Blue Band's accepting an invitation to show up for the match. Said the team "wrestled pretty good for the most part. They were aggressive, except for maybe one bout. Made some mistakes in the third period of matches; took some bad shots." Overall, seemed happy with the effort and outcome.
On being undefeated: It would be nice to go undefeated, but "we want to be at our best for Big Tens and nationals." Said he wishes the team could wrestle Iowa every year, but the number of teams in the conference makes that difficult. Said this team has been a good team; been a lot of fun.
Kind words for Ron Monthly (trainer) and Bonnie (counselor/psychologist)
On Lehigh: They're a tough team. "Very impressive at the Scuffle; not just the first team; they have a lot of depth."
On Nick Nevills: "He's cleared to wrestle on Friday; just got a text on the way over here about that. That's a decision we have to make." Noted there aren't a lot of automatic qualifier spots for the Big Ten at that weight, and he has to factor all that in. "We feel like we can win the national championship without him, but he wants to be part of it." Said that yes, he's been saying Nick's going to wrestle, then (kiddingly?)"I want all the other coaches to think he's wrestling. I'm not 100% sure on that yet." Said it's not an easy decision. "Nick wants to wrestle. He told his parents he's wrestling. He's told me he's wrestling." Spoke of the difficulty of trying to find him 8 matches to wrestle (looking at open tournaments around the country) by the end of the Big Ten tournament, so he might qualify for a wild card to nationals if he needed one. "It's a gamble either way." Sure didn't sound like he's made a decision on Nick's wrestling yet.
Talked about Senior Night and the contributions of Nico, Jordan and Morgan.
McCutcheon was also on the show. Talked about the match with Courts and how he was upset with himself after losing to Courts at nationals last year. Said "Coach Casey said 'You stopped wrestling.' So I wanted to keep going...keep attacking." Said he's feeling great and looking forward to wrestling Nate Brown Friday night. "It's a chance for me to improve; keep getting better for the end of the year." Spoke of his improved confidence. Last year, he said he hesitated to wrestle the kind of match that he did in the room, and the coaches asked him: "What's the worst that can happen? You lose a match?" Said team chemistry is good; the wrestlers help each other out. Said Bo was helping a few guys at practice today with a move. Said the whole team gets inspiration from the young guys: "You see guys like Nolf and Nickal scoring a lot of points, you want to do it too."
The team will wrestle at Lehigh Friday night, spend the night and practice there in the morning before coming home for the Michigan State match Saturday night.
SR/BHF
On being undefeated: It would be nice to go undefeated, but "we want to be at our best for Big Tens and nationals." Said he wishes the team could wrestle Iowa every year, but the number of teams in the conference makes that difficult. Said this team has been a good team; been a lot of fun.
Kind words for Ron Monthly (trainer) and Bonnie (counselor/psychologist)
On Lehigh: They're a tough team. "Very impressive at the Scuffle; not just the first team; they have a lot of depth."
On Nick Nevills: "He's cleared to wrestle on Friday; just got a text on the way over here about that. That's a decision we have to make." Noted there aren't a lot of automatic qualifier spots for the Big Ten at that weight, and he has to factor all that in. "We feel like we can win the national championship without him, but he wants to be part of it." Said that yes, he's been saying Nick's going to wrestle, then (kiddingly?)"I want all the other coaches to think he's wrestling. I'm not 100% sure on that yet." Said it's not an easy decision. "Nick wants to wrestle. He told his parents he's wrestling. He's told me he's wrestling." Spoke of the difficulty of trying to find him 8 matches to wrestle (looking at open tournaments around the country) by the end of the Big Ten tournament, so he might qualify for a wild card to nationals if he needed one. "It's a gamble either way." Sure didn't sound like he's made a decision on Nick's wrestling yet.
Talked about Senior Night and the contributions of Nico, Jordan and Morgan.
McCutcheon was also on the show. Talked about the match with Courts and how he was upset with himself after losing to Courts at nationals last year. Said "Coach Casey said 'You stopped wrestling.' So I wanted to keep going...keep attacking." Said he's feeling great and looking forward to wrestling Nate Brown Friday night. "It's a chance for me to improve; keep getting better for the end of the year." Spoke of his improved confidence. Last year, he said he hesitated to wrestle the kind of match that he did in the room, and the coaches asked him: "What's the worst that can happen? You lose a match?" Said team chemistry is good; the wrestlers help each other out. Said Bo was helping a few guys at practice today with a move. Said the whole team gets inspiration from the young guys: "You see guys like Nolf and Nickal scoring a lot of points, you want to do it too."
The team will wrestle at Lehigh Friday night, spend the night and practice there in the morning before coming home for the Michigan State match Saturday night.
SR/BHF
