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NCAA WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPSMarch 16, 2012Frank MolinaroST. LOUIS, MISSOURI THE MODERATOR: We're joined by Frank Molinaro. Questions, please. Q. Frank, obviously you've been the favorite in a lot of your matches, if not all of them. To go into the NCAA finals against a guy who you beat handily three times, I know you're not overconfident, would you like maybe a tougher opponent tomorrow? FRANK MOLINARO: No. I mean, whoever it is, it doesn't matter. We prepare for anybody. I'm going to take Dylan like it's the first time I wrestled him. I'm not going to take him light. I'm going to go out there like it's the last match of my career, because it is. Q. What does it mean to be back in this position after last year's loss in the finals? FRANK MOLINARO: Just means that I'm one step closer to my goal. Haven't really achieved what I wanted yet. This is just one of the last pieces of the puzzle. Q. Looked like you had trouble getting the figure four on the leg. Was that a bother for you? FRANK MOLINARO: Kind of hurt a little bit. It was digging into my leg. No, he was pretty good at facing up. I think I could have did a better job of going after bonus there. I was just trying to protect myself, play it a little safe, you know. But probably should have tried a little harder to get those bonus at the end. I waited too long. Q. You wrestled Dylan a million times this year. Can you ever develop like a friendly rivalry with a guy like that? FRANK MOLINARO: Absolutely. We always talk trash to each other. Dylan is my roommate. Oh, Dylan Ness ‑‑ I was like Dylan? I thought ‑‑ Yeah, I mean, this is the fourth time we wrestled. The first match was kind of crazy. 16‑10. Second match, kind of closed the gap a little bit. But Dylan is having a real good tournament. Knocked off some guys and wants this just as much as I do. All comes down to who wants it more. Q. Another shutout today. How important is that to you? FRANK MOLINARO: Those are important to me, part of my style of wrestling is I stay very solid in my positions. Only got a few things I go to, but I do them really well. Some of the guys on our team are crazy, like Quentin throwing everybody. I like to stay solid. When I do get the shutouts, it feels good to me knowing I'm wrestling in my positions that I know really well. Q. Because of all the stuff that Penn State went through the past year, what would a victory here as a team or individual do to help that community? FRANK MOLINARO: It's real important to, not just our team, but our fans and the administration back at Penn State. Big Tens, you know, they drove all the way out there. Some of them flew out to Indiana to watch Big Tens. One of the assistant athletic directors was sitting next to my dad. It doesn't just mean a lot to us, but our fans who follow us all over the country. We have the greatest fans in the country. Just to bring this back to Penn State, after Joe Pa, everything that happened, it's a big morale booster for the students, gives us something to be excited about again. Q. Facebook fans are tracking on you. They want to know what your favorite move is? FRANK MOLINARO: Go‑to move would be a left‑handed high crotch. Q. Today you joined some exclusive company. What does that mean to you? Four‑time All‑American, what does that mean to you? FRANK MOLINARO: I remember all the way back when I was a freshman and I walked out there, after practice I would always read all the guys on the wall. I just remember we had the All‑Americans lined up across the wall. I could name them all just because they were all four‑time All‑Americans. In the back of my head, everyone wants to be a four‑time All‑American, national champ. When you're a freshman, you don't know what you're capable of until you go out there that first year. My first year was rough. I had 10 losses. Coming away with an All‑American that year, that kind of set my career off, motivated me to get three more. Q. Nico has started that path. What is it like to watch him have the success today? You have the Big Brother/little brother type relationship? FRANK MOLINARO: It was unbelievable. I've never seen somebody with so much heart and determination. He wrestled Sanders, who I think virtually everyone at this tournament would have picked Sanders over Nico. I knew how bad he wanted it. I knew he was getting better. Wasn't quite sure where he was at. For him to go out, every position he wrestled in, he may not have been that strong, but you could tell how bad he wanted it. That's how he found a way to win. Perrelli, he knew if he grinded him down for 20 minutes in a wrestling match, he would win it. That's what he did. I'm super proud of him. Me and Nico, I'm doing extra conditioning with him. You saw the kid in practice, he works so hard. Sometimes he pushes me, almost beats me in conditioning ‑ but not yet (laughter). Q. Tough Oregon State match. What did that match do for you? How nervous were you when you were going through that? What were you thinking going through that match? FRANK MOLINARO: That kid is a buzz saw. I wrestled him twice before. I've always been dead tired at the end of the matches, wrestling a hundred percent. I kind of picture that match in my head. He was going to come out aggressive and I was going to take him down and I was going to ride him. Kind of like I did last time, I rode him pretty well. He was clubbing me in the head, got poked in the eye. I remember just going out of bounds in the first 30 seconds. I looked down at the mat, I was like, Here we go, this is going to be a long match. It turned out to be a long match. I almost cement mixed. That came out of nowhere. End of the match I got caught in a funny position. That was kind of crazy how that seeding worked out, how he wasn't seeded. When I first saw that I was wrestling him, I knew this is probably going to be one of my toughest matches, I was prepared for that. But, I mean, that kid has a bright future. He's tough as nails. Q. What happened to the knee? FRANK MOLINARO: Twisted a little bit wrong. Nothing serious. It feels good. Just kind of exaggerate a little bit when it happens, you don't know what's wrong. You get scared. But I'm ready to go. Q. Going into the session your team is well ahead. Does it help that you are that far ahead and you can focus on yourself or would you like it reversed so there's a little something else to be wrestling for? FRANK MOLINARO: Kind of takes a lot of the pressure off when you're wrestling for your team. You're just going to wrestle better, too. When I'm out there, I'm always trying to score points, always score bonus points. Last match I think I could have scored bonus points. When you're wrestling with that mentality, to get more points for your team, to dominate, you're going to wrestle better. You're not going to get tired. We don't get hung up on team race. We try to relax, joke, smile, joking around the whole tournament, kind of like we're crazy. We're just having fun. Everyone on our team is having fun. THE MODERATOR: Thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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