2022 NCAA WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIP

March 19, 2022

Ryan Deakin

Media Conference

157 pounds

Ryan Deakin (Northwestern) d. Quincy Monday (Princeton)

Q. Those final 10, 15 seconds you looked so excited you could barely contain yourself. What was going through your head in that moment?

RYAN DEAKIN: A dream realized in that second. Try not think about it during the match, but at that point (indiscernible) I was in control, seven seconds left, start feeling that.

Q. There was a lot of question marks whether or not you were going to come back this year earlier in the year because you took a while to start wrestling again in the lineup and people were kind of questioning. You weren't happy with the way things went last year. Looking back, are you glad you made the decisions you made? And was it really something you struggled with at that time?

RYAN DEAKIN: I mean, I love wrestling. I was going to be wrestling still either way. It just came down to being around people I wanted to be around.

And just amazing coaches and teammates and I think last year was such a weird year. So it felt great to kind of go out on my terms and not the weirdness of kind of a quarter season last year.

Q. Everybody talks about it all the time, it never looks like you've got rubber legs or weight cutting legs. It looks like you're a fine tuned machine. How much is your nutrition your training and your weight cutting is a testament to how massive you are for the weight and how you're able to perform as a larger guy in the weight?

RYAN DEAKIN: We have coaches that have been there. Great mentors there. We got nutritionists, strength coaches. And just I think every year trying to get a little bit better with all that stuff. Figuring out what makes you feel good. How you can recover quickly. And being real disciplined with all that.

I think I've learned a lot with that over the years. And at the end of the day you're not going to feel great every single match. Just try not to think about that stuff when you're out there.

Q. With respect to mindset training and how you win this match tonight, what were some things you were telling yourself maybe talking about with the coaches before tonight?

RYAN DEAKIN: Get to my stuff, staying low. Keeping hands and feet moving. Just going out there and taking it. Somebody's gotta win. Why not me?

Q. Were you surprised he chose neutral going to the third, and he was getting on your legs a lot, were you concerned at all? Can you take us back to when you left this Denver area to go to Chicago. It had to seem a little bit scary, didn't it?

RYAN DEAKIN: First part of that, I think whatever he picks he picks. I was gearing up for a hard third period. Starting to feel guys fading there. Trying to pick up the pace a little bit. I think last time we wrestled, I was riding him on top. I guess he chose to do that. Worked out in my favor.

As far as coming from Colorado, I think Chicago has been awesome. I don't think it's a hard adjustment when you're around a bunch of awesome people. So you miss home, you miss your family, but I've got another family, another home in Chicago now.

Q. You didn't miss the mountains or anything like that?

RYAN DEAKIN: Anytime I go home, I'm going home for spring break, go skiing and snowboarding this week. It will be fun.

Q. Definitive moment in the match. It's 2-2, you put him in a dangerous situation. And it's multiple times you're rocking in and out of it. You can hear him counting it, the arena is loud. That's what won the match. The danger rule was what won the match. How did you feel in that situation, where you heard it, maybe he's moving a little bit, you hear it again and you're able to solidify your position. What's going through your mind in that dangerous situation?

RYAN DEAKIN: I'm trying to make small adjustments there. If he's not going to move there and bail, I'm grabbing a wrist, I'm holding him there. So I think once I was able to kind of settle in start making little adjustments, guys start panicking a little bit, and I was able to get that count and get those points.

Q. Obviously the coaching staff you're going to credit. Anyone in particular on that staff that's really helped you?

RYAN DEAKIN: I mean, Andrew Howe is with me every day for wrestling. I mean at least couple times a week he's coming in in the morning, early morning, missing time from his family, coming up, no matter what time, no matter what we need. He's been huge for my wrestling.

I think just as phenomenal as a wrestler as he is, he's an even better person. I've learned more from him about being a man than I have from just wrestling. And Storniolo, he's been with me, Storni is a guy, he'll give you his shirt off his back if you need it, for whatever reason.

He's done an awesome job. I think awesome leadership, bringing in guys, making sure we have everything we need and really pushing the Northwestern team forward, just like what he's done since he's been there, the head coach.

Q. How proud are you of the team bringing ten guys this year to the national tournament, which was kind of unexpected early on the in the season because they were struggling a little bit, how proud are you of your teammates?

RYAN DEAKIN: We said it at practice this week. After Big Ten, getting back to work, focus on nationals. But taking a sec to reflect there, that's a huge accomplishment. And I don't think it really sunk in on the team.

And so not trying to sit on that too much while we're preparing for nationals, just a testament to how hard everybody is worked, how well coach is getting us prepared, how well guys are finding the room, -- how well guys who aren't even starting, great teammates pushing everybody every day. So I think it's been really cool to see. I've been at Northwestern a long time.

You don't realize, but one day it's like we're really here; we had four all-Americans today. We had ten guys here fighting the whole weekend. It's really cool to see that. And I didn't -- I don't know, I don't think it fully hit me until getting the nationals, a full bus, kicking for leg space and stuff.