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NCAA WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIP

March 17, 2017

St. Louis, Missouri

BO NICKAL: Hi. Thanks for coming, I guess. That's about it.

Q. After the pin that you had in the dual meet in 38 seconds against Brooks, did you envision getting another fall, or was it something you were looking for or it just kind of happened?
BO NICKAL: I'm always looking for the fall, looking and trying to score some bonus points for my team. But I just go out there and wrestle, and that's the way it went, so yeah.

Q. Not winning the Big Ten could have affected the way you wrestled. Right now you're probably still the most dangerous wrestler. Did it do anything to your mindset, and the fact is you have cut your hair. Was it the change from the Big Tens? You wanted something different?
BO NICKAL: No, the haircut, my hair was getting in my eyes a little bit and my face, and I didn't want to deal with that, so I just had Zain shave it off, and he did a really good job, so super happy with Zain`s haircutting ability. I'll probably definitely go back to him at some point in the future.

Q. But not winning Big Tens, what happened there?
BO NICKAL: No, no. I'd say no.

Q. Why not?
BO NICKAL: Oh, why not? You know, I don't really feel like a win or a loss defines me. It's not going to make or break me as a person. I'm just going to be who I am each and every day. Just because you win or lose on a wrestling mat doesn't mean that you're a different person after the loss. I just kept going, and it's life, you know. Some things aren't going to go your way. Just got to keep moving forward.

Q. Got this bonus parade going. Do you talk about that in the wrestling room or behind the scenes? Is that a goal? I know obviously it's a goal, but it seems like it's infectious, everybody is going out and getting bonus points. Can you talk about that a little bit?
BO NICKAL: Yeah, it's definitely something that we stress to the team, just going out there and using all seven minutes that we have and just score as many points as you possibly can. So that's something that we try to do and that our coaches definitely let us know how important that is. It really makes a difference in the team race. That's who we are as people. We're not going to go out there and shy away, try to win a one-point match or anything like that. We're going to try to compete and wrestle and make the most of our opportunities.

I feel like that's a testament to the kids our coaches recruit, and our team is definitely something that you get on a roll a little bit as a team, and you see one guy get a pin or a Tech and you want to perform and get some team wins yourself, so it`s something that we kind of definitely feed off each other as far as the bonus points go.

Q. Does it feel like a friendly competition, anything you can do I can do better, who can get the coolest pin, who can get the quickest pin, stuff like that?
BO NICKAL: It's definitely something that we compete with each other in. It's just we all want to do our best out there, and wrestling is an individual sport. But I feel like it really builds camaraderie amongst teammates like no other, and it's just something that these guys motivate me every day, not necessarily to be better than them, but just to be a better version of myself than who I was prior to that moment.

Q. You guys just won five semifinals in a row, five straight weight classes. Could you talk a little bit about the quality of the guys in those weights and just how you feed -- work together to get to that? I can't remember five in a row for at least a while.
BO NICKAL: Yeah, I mean, we're pretty good. It's awesome. I'm really grateful to be a part of the team. Just the quality of guys, not only wrestlers, but just the quality of people that we have on our team. Really, it's incredible, and it just makes me just take a step back each and every day, and I just feel so lucky and so grateful to be a part of the team that I'm on. It's awesome being with all the guys for sure.

GABE DEAN: Tough kid. I've seen him a couple times this year. I have a lot of respect for him, and obviously the Oklahoma State program. And yeah, it was just a good match, got him in a little offense. That was back to what we want to do. Got away from it a little bit in the quarterfinals. Just grateful for the opportunity to compete for another national title.

Q. I see you got a Muhammad Ali shirt on. Is that a purposeful message to your opponents that you're the greatest?
GABE DEAN: No, actually not at all. I'm definitely not that kind of guy to boast about myself. I actually wear it for a different reason. Muhammad Ali actually lost to the guy that's on the ground in this picture and came back and fought him again and got a first-round knockout in the first minute. And it just reminds me that our true character is defined in our most adverse moments, and that's why I wear it. Definitely not to boast about being the greatest or anything, because there's plenty of great wrestlers, and I'm just another one of those guys trying to create kind of a legacy, that's all.

Q. You're getting ready to face a guy who's considered one of the most dangerous wrestlers with all of his moves. What is your mindset going in knowing what he has done?
GABE DEAN: Well, you've got to respect that, definitely respect that. As we all know in this room, he's a great wrestler, and you're right, he is very dangerous. You know, as a senior, having the opportunity to compete for your last national title, I think it's pretty awesome that you get to face a great competitor, and I'm just really looking forward to the challenge that awaits me.

Q. There's a possibility they're going to put you guys as the last match tomorrow. You know how they switch it around.
GABE DEAN: Yeah.

Q. If that would be your last match in college and it was the last match of the thing, would that affect any way that you look at it?
GABE DEAN: No. You know, it's just another match at the end of the day. Two people get out of bed, same way, put on their clothes the same way, go to work the same way, just wrestling another match, and that's all it is. It's a lot of fun, you know, with all that kind of stuff. But those are really just distractions from the task at hand, and I'm just going to prepare the best way I can and wrestle the best I can. I can't control the rest. I'm just grateful for the opportunity, and looking forward to it.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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NCAA WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIP

March 17, 2017

Bo Nickal

Gabe Dean