2023 NCAA WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIP

March 17, 2023

Mason Parris

BOK Center

University of Michigan Athletics

Semifinals Media Conference

THE MODERATOR: Mason Parris, ladies and gentlemen from Michigan. Finalist at 285. Mason, thoughts, emotions and feelings on being here.

MASON PARRIS: I'm feeling awesome. NCAA championship is something I dreamed about. I'm super excited to be back in the finals, and it's going to be fun tomorrow. It's going to be a scrap.

Q. You're going to wrestle Greg for the third time this season. Are there any challenges that present themselves when you continually wrestle a guy throughout the season?

MASON PARRIS: Yeah, there definitely is challenges, you know, being familiar with each other. But I'm just going to go out there and do my things, wrestle how I know how to wrestle and not change anything drastic up and just go out there and have a lot of fun under the lights.

Q. How different is Mason Parris from last year compared to the Mason Parris right now?

MASON PARRIS: I think there is a huge difference. If I wrestled myself, I would beat the crap out of myself from last year. It's great to have a season where I'm healthy. I'm strong. I'm feeling great. My mentality is feeling really good and physically this is the best I've felt.

Q. What are some specific things you think you've done in the past year that have really helped you solidify your place in wrestling right now?

MASON PARRIS: The biggest things for me is working on the small things. I didn't want to change anything drastic, but the first thing I did was get in the weight room, even out my arm after my injury. That was huge for me. Then I worked with my trainer to get a lot stronger and worked with my coaches. I have amazing coaches that helped me dial in and figure out my technique and my style.

Also working on the mental side. I have a sports psychologist I talk to a lot, and he's helped me out so much just with my confidence.

Q. When you battle those injuries like you did last year, what kind of things do you have to get through mentally to even want to go back out for wrestling?

MASON PARRIS: It's really tough mentally. I had a herniated disk in my neck and decided to wrestle for the team because we had a shot to win a national title. Even though we got second place, we won Big Tens, and I don't regret that at all, but there was a lot of challenges for me mentally. It was tough going out there every match and not feeling like I was 100% myself.

But I had to keep telling myself you gotta push through it. That's life, and I went out there and did my best and used that to get better this year.

Q. Your opponent in the semifinals, Tony Cassioppi, you turned this thing around. How have you been able to beat him in college?

MASON PARRIS: He beat me at Fargo my senior year. It was my first freestyle tournament, actually. But wrestling is wrestling, and I made a lot of adjustments there. I was a 220 pounder, bumping up to heavyweight because that's what I was doing in college. I put a lot of size and strength on myself, and I worked on the little things, getting better at my technique and spending times in the room. I have amazing training partners and coaches. I think I got the best in the country in terms of that.

THE MODERATOR: Thanks, Mason, good luck tomorrow.