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NCAA WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPMarch 20, 2015Drake HoudasheltST. LOUIS, MISSOURI THE MODERATOR: We welcome 149 pound finalist, Drake Houdashelt of Missouri. First off, Drake, talk about your match tonight. DRAKE HOUDASHELT: Yeah, he was a tough guy. One of the top guys in my weight class. I knew if I just went out there and wrestled hard and push the pace for 7 minutes that I would come out on top. Q. You've been in similar positions in the past. What was different that allowed you to breakthrough and get to this final? DRAKE HOUDASHELT: Yeah, third time in the semis. First time making it to the finals. I've been there, and this is my third time being there. I'm familiar with how the fans are going to react, the mat setup, the cameras all in my face. Just used to it, and I knew what to expect. Nothing surprised me. Since I was aware of what was going to happen, I was able to stay focused on wrestling. Q. I think they've only scored two or three points on you the whole tournament. What's made it so tough to get scored on? DRAKE HOUDASHELT: Just staying in good position. Other than that, just wrestling so hard. I've been training at a pace to where a lot of my opponents can't keep up with my pace out here because I've been training so hard. My coaches pushed me really hard in the practice room, and it's just been paying off late in the match. Lot of guys aren't able to do much because they're so tired. Q. What about the takedown in the match? How huge is that? DRAKE HOUDASHELT: Oh, it's huge. My goal in every match is getting the first takedown. And getting the takedown in such a huge match, that's huge. Because I'm able to ride him out and not let him escape. He's worrying about scoring, and I'm just worried about wrestling hard the whole time. Q. What do you think about in getting Habat again, a guy you saw in the national tournament last year? What can you use from last year's match‑up? DRAKE HOUDASHELT: Yeah, I know he's tough. I wrestled last year and he beat me. I know what to expect. The only time I've ever seen him my entire career. I know I've got a good feel for what he feels like. I'm just going to go out and give it everything I've got tomorrow for my last match. Q. How much are you wrestling for this team regarding the team race? DRAKE HOUDASHELT: Obviously I know that the team race is a top five, four or five, six, somewhere around there. It's pretty crazy, two through six. I am wrestling for my team, yeah. My main goal is to focus on myself, and I know my team, if I take care of myself and what I need to, all my team will take care of themselves and everything will come together. I can't worry about my teammates because if I get so caught up in their matches, I'm not focusing on what I need to do for myself. Q. (No Microphone)? DRAKE HOUDASHELT: I was trying to act like I didn't see it and focus on what I need to do for my match. Kind of now, it sucks. Q. You've got a long time until 7:00 tomorrow night. I mean, how are you going to manage the next roughly 24 hours or whatever, kind of controlling those nerves? DRAKE HOUDASHELT: Yeah, I'll worry about one thing at a time. Tonight I'm going to worry about getting some weight off. Then tomorrow morning I'll probably have to get a little more weight off before weigh‑in, and then I'll worry about eating and drinking as much fluids as I want all day and getting big. One thing I'm excited about is I want to get pretty big tomorrow during the day, and I'll feel really good for the finals. Really just I'm not going to sit there and worry about the finals all day. I'm just going to focus on whatever I'm doing at that time. Q. (No Microphone)? DRAKE HOUDASHELT: I'm not sure. I'll talk to my coaches tomorrow about that. Q. What were you feeling when matches ended and you were through to the finals? DRAKE HOUDASHELT: Honestly, I don't know. It doesn't feel any different. Winning, yes, it's great. I know I'm in the finals, but I don't personally feel any different. I'm excited, yeah. It's exciting to see my coaches and fans excited for me, but I'm here for one thing, and that is tomorrow night. So I'm not done. Q. I'm curious, last year Jason got you. Were you hoping to see him again in the finals potentially or did you even care who you faced in the finals? DRAKE HOUDASHELT: Honestly, my goal is to come here and win a National Championship. Whoever I face, I face. If it's not him, then it's not him. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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