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NCAA DIVISION I WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPS

March 16, 2007

Josh Churella

AUBURN HILLS, MICHIGAN

JOSH CHURELLA: It was one of those things I've been working for ever since I started wrestling. I've been going to the the finals with my family, my dad and my brother, every year, this is a dream come true. I have just have to capitalize on it in the finals to make that dream come true.
It's working for me now. I found that space and I'm filling it. It was successful. I kind of got away from him a little bit. I don't know. I wasn't thinking too much, I was just working on instinct and that's what I did. It worked.

Q. (No microphone.)?
JOSH CHURELLA: This is the fourth time I've wrestled him.

Q. Tell us what you did.
JOSH CHURELLA: And he has real strong hips. That kind of affected the last three of my matches prior to this one. Where he beat me that day, and he came on top in double overtime. All the other ones I fought. My double edge is working and that opened up that match in the end. I guess just incorporating the double leg.

Q. Is one of the differences you're dealing with, Josh, you're not cutting weight like you were a year ago?
JOSH CHURELLA: That's definitely a factor. I feel real healthy this year. I'm not cutting weight, especially in this tournament. I can eat whatever I want at night. I'm way under weight. I feel great. That was something I could use as an excuse, just letting up last year. That was kind of the fault of why I lost and didn't place. And this year I didn't let up at all and it paid off.

Q. Toward the end of the match, you had a 3-2 lead. Were you thinking at all and keep it at 3-2 or did you want to score again?
JOSH CHURELLA: I don't know, I didn't have a 3-2 earlier this weekend, you can really make yourself vulnerable, if you want to try to play defense, and the guy gets in on you and finishes. I'm only up by a point, so I figured if I can win the match with one takedown. It wasn't something I thought about, I just went for it and got the double leg and it made it easier on me.

Q. You had talked earlier in the week about the crowd being a factor. How well aware were you of the crowd, and what does it mean for you to be here this year?
JOSH CHURELLA: It's a lot of support. It's good to be back here. This is where I wrestled in high school, and I feel comfortable here. All my family is here to support me and that's great. I have friends that drove from out of state just to watch me, some of my buddies from high school. It's a great thing, it's definitely a motivator. You have people cheering for you and it motivates you more, I guess.

Q. Could you feel it out there? Was it different from a different match?
JOSH CHURELLA: When the crowd is behind you, it's a little different. It motivates you. That's all I can really say about that. I try to zone everybody out when you're out there, but when you hear the crowd cheering for you, it's a motivator. If the crowd is behind them 100 percent, it's in the back of their heads. It definitely motivates them.

Q. What have you been doing in between these matches as you're thinking about going for the title?
JOSH CHURELLA: Just trying to keep my mind off things, and just watch TV.

Q. Is it difficult when it's in your hometown and everything?
JOSH CHURELLA: Maybe a little bit. I'm just so eager. Everybody has nerves here at the tournament. It's a high-stress tournament, whatever you can do to get your nerves out it, read a magazine or watch TV to get your mind off of it I.

Q. You mentioned this is the fourth time you've wrestled Palmer. Does wrestling a guy that often, is that an advantage going into the finals or would you have preferred somebody you hadn't seen before?
JOSH CHURELLA: I think it has its pros and cons. You have a disadvantage because you don't know what to expect. I don't wrestle guys shorter than me often. When a guy is real low, it's hard to find your attack. You have to move them and move your feet. I don't know, it's an advantage and disadvantage, I guess, because you both know what you're going to do, but at the same time you know kind of what to expect from a guy you've wrestled all year. Some guys might think too much about it, when you've got a guy you've wrestled four times, you think, what should I do, what shouldn't I do. It can work both ways.

End of FastScripts

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