2023 NCAA WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIP

March 15, 2023

Daton Fix

Mason Parris

Yianni Diakomihalis

BOK Center

Media Conference

THE MODERATOR: We're joined by Yianni Diakomihalis, Daton Fix and Mason Parris.

Q. Daton, you told stories about coming to the tournament as a kid for your birthday and what not. How different is this one, though, because it's in your backyard?

DATON FIX: It's special. It's right here, probably ten minutes away from the house I grew up in. So it's going to be exciting. I'm just looking forward to competing.

Q. Yianni, I got a kick about that one time you wrestled Spencer Lee as a kid. Could you think back to those memories, the fact that you're wrapping up your college career, what advice would you offer to little kids who maybe want to be here some day?

YIANNI DIAKOMIHALIS: There's two sides to it. On one hand, you want to take all those challenges and push yourself every opportunity you get.

On the other side, you'll look back at your ten-year-old wrestling career and laugh at it. Obviously that's where you get better but you're not going to live and by your Tulsa Nationals performance in the 8-and-under division.

So just have that perspective and make it about growth and development than how great you are at 10 years old.

MASON PARRIS: Wrestling as a kid, you sometimes put a lot of pressure on yourself. But the main thing is go out there, have fun. The main thing is the life lessons you learn from wrestling -- the discipline, the hard work.

It's huge for little kids to learn that kind of stuff. And wrestling has really helped mold me into the person I am. And I think sticking with wrestling you can accomplish anything you want in your life.

DATON FIX: I always tell kids, wrestling is too hard of a sport to put that much pressure on yourself. It's more about, especially when you're young, it's having fun and falling in love with the sport, because if you don't love the sport whenever you get to college and whenever it starts to matter more, then it's not worth it at that point if you're not down with it. That's what I always tell kids.

Q. Mason, I'm just curious, what's it like wrestling in a tournament without Gable?

MASON PARRIS: This is my first year where I'm coming in as the No. 1 seed. This year, he's not here, I'm going to wrestle whoever is in front of me. I'm taking out everyone who comes across me.

So I'm coming into this tournament with a lot of confidence, feeling really good. Body's feeling good. Mind's feeling good. Really excited, and whoever is in front of me is who I'm going to go out and compete against.

Q. Mason, you have wins over the 2, 3, 4 seeds. How confident are you going into this and who do you view as your biggest competition for the title?

MASON PARRIS: I'm coming in here with a lot of confidence, like I said. I've sacrificed a lot this year. And I almost want to say I've been obsessive this year over wrestling and getting my first NCAA title.

And I am going to be happy regardless of the outcome just because I know how much work I've put in and how much I've sacrificed.

So this year has been an amazing experience for me spiritually. So it doesn't matter who comes across from me. And I'm going to wrestle whoever is the guy that's toeing the line with me.

Q. Daton, how important is this hometown crowd to you? And do you think it will like sort of help spur you on in the moment?

DATON FIX: I'd like to think so. I think there's been a lot of people that have supported me that will show up. And all I can do is go out there and compete like I do and try to give back to them that way.

It's exciting that it's in my hometown. I'm just going to embrace that and go out there and put it on the line.

Q. What will it mean to you if you do win here in your own backyard?

DATON FIX: Obviously it's going to mean a lot. I've been real close three times. So to finally break through in my hometown, it would mean the world to me.

Q. Daton, you've battled him a couple times in the finals. Do you know much about Roman Bravo-Young off the mat? Have you gotten to know each other, or what do you know about him?

DATON FIX: No, we don't know each other that well off the mat. He seems like a good guy off the mat, I'd say. But we haven't really got the chance to become buddies.

Q. All of you have excelled at the world level, two of you at the senior level, not yet for you, Mason. But could you talk about how different this competition is compared to when you go to the world competition?

YIANNI DIAKOMIHALIS: Yes, this is a lot more of a speck tackle. And if you're not the kind of guy who can stay focused for a really long time and drown out all this stuff that we're doing right now, this tournament can get very difficult.

And the guys in the world championships, they're better. But it's more about the wrestling there. Part of making a run at the NCAA Tournament is just handling all the extracurricular, and making it however you want to handle it.

MASON PARRIS: I wrestled Junior World Championships in Estonia. I do have some experience. I was on the national team for the Olympic team a few years ago.

So I think the biggest difference is I don't know anyone at those big tournaments, but all these guys here I've been wrestling with a really long time. And I'm pretty comfortable with a lot of those guys.

But as Yianni said, it's just getting comfortable with all the extra stuff that's going on and interviews and all the people that are seeing you. So there's definitely a difference and just handling it just like any other wrestling match.

DATON FIX: Obviously I think the biggest difference is the style difference. It's freestyle versus folkstyle. I think folkstyle is a lot -- you can't just go out there and get a match over in a minute; you can if go out there and get a fall, but it's a lot harder to pin someone in folkstyle than go out there and put 10 points on the board real quick in freestyle.

So I just think it's more of a grind. Folkstyle is the whole season leading up to it. Most of the time, when you go overseas you've just been training for that one tournament and you're a little bit more -- your body is fresher.

We've again going a full season. And this is a show. That's what they try to do. They try to put on a good show for the fans and everybody. And it's good for the fans. But we've just got to stay focused as wrestlers and go out there and do our jobs.

Q. Yianni, you won this tournament as a true freshman back in 2018. You had a two-time champion in your corner. It was a really loaded bracket. Contrast your emotions and approach then to what it might be now?

YIANNI DIAKOMIHALIS: To be honest, it's kind of been the same every year. My freshman year, I showed up expected to win. I believed in myself and I thought I was the best guy in the weight class. Same this year.

I've obviously got to go make it happen. But there was never a time where I felt like I was overcoming the odds. I always believed in myself. I always bet on myself. I think that's probably part of the reason why I've had that success my freshman year.

Q. When did becoming a four-time national champion become something on your radar become a tangible goal in your mind?

YIANNI DIAKOMIHALIS: When you're a little kid you're, like, I'm going to win four of this and eight world champions. But as I've gotten older, I've kind of cared less about it. Obviously it's a really big deal for me and the program to win four.

But I'm winning one this weekend. And if I don't win this weekend it's not like I lose the other three. For me I'm just showing up to win a national title this weekend. The fact that it's my fourth will be an afterthought to me. As much as it is a cool accomplishment I just haven't thought about it that way really at all.

Q. Piggybacking on the spectacle you guys were talking about, do you find yourselves relying more on your teammates to kind of drown out that noise. What's your process of focussing -- more of a team identity or individual mindset that helps drive that?

MASON PARRIS: I would say it's a lot of individual for me. Working on myself mentally and making sure I'm mentally strong. Wrestling is such a mental sport. Keeping myself centered and down to earth is the main thing for me, and not getting caught up in anything extra, and just coming in here like it's any other wrestling match. I've wrestled thousands of wrestling matches in my life. This is no different.

YIANNI DIAKOMIHALIS: Yeah, I kind of lean on the team. I'm pretty close with the guys. I think as a team we're a pretty tight-knit game. If you came into (indiscernible) we'd probably be cracking jokes and making fun of each other in the back.

But when it's someone's time to get serious they go off and do their thing. But we keep it light. You're not wrestling the whole tournament. You're just wrestling five guys.

DATON FIX: I think it's great to have that support from your teammates. Whenever you're wrestling for your team, you tend to perform a little better, I think.

But at the end of the day it's just you out there on the mat. You don't have your whole team out there with you. So it is way more individual than it is having a team. But it's nice to know that you have that support when you come back and they're all fired up after a big win. That's always fun.

Q. Daton, so you've been here before. You've been a runner-up before. Are you doing anything differently this time to try and win? Is this going to be your year?

DATON FIX: Yeah, I think it is my year. Every year I come here, I think it's my year. Every year I've been here I thought I was the best guy in the weight. And I still think that. I've lost a couple of close matches.

I think that if we (indiscernible) again, I easily could easily have done things different and won. But that's in the past and I'm just focussed on my performance every time I step out there.

The results are going to happen. But I'm just worried about my performance and going out there and getting the job done.

Q. What do you think of Tulsa and what do you think of the facilities here?

YIANNI DIAKOMIHALIS: It seems like a really nice venue. We've had everything we've needed so far. Overall it's been a great experience. But obviously the tournament is what makes it count. It's been good experience so far, and hoping to keep it moving in that direction.

MASON PARRIS: I really like Tulsa. It's a great place, especially for a wrestling tournament. I wrestled here when I was younger, in Tulsa Nationals. Being back here brings up a lot of good memories growing up as a little kid wrestling. It's pretty cool to be back here.

DATON FIX: Obviously I love being here in Tulsa. I think that it's a great arena. I think some people were a little worried about the size of it. They didn't think it was going to be big enough. But being down on the floor I think it's the most space we've had down on the floor. There's a lot of room on the sides to walk around. And I think it's a perfect place to hold the national tournament.

Q. Yianni, you made reference to the Tulsa Nationals. How many times did you come down here for that?

YIANNI DIAKOMIHALIS: I've actually never wrestled in the Tulsa Nationals. We make the joke, you know? Kids count how many youth state title and youth national titles they have. But maybe I'm wrong but these guys don't really care. I know I don't. It was more just a point, like, it matters to you want to win but when you're 10 it's about getting better.

Q. [Inaudible] concerts or whatever, in this building?

DATON FIX: I've been to multiple concerts in this arena. And obviously the Big 12 Championships.

Q. Entertainment type stuff, what's your favorite show you've seen?

DATON FIX: I've seen Luke Combs a couple times here. I'm seeing Luke Bryant here on August 11th.