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NCAA WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPSMarch 16, 2012Brandon HatchettST. LOUIS, MISSOURI THE MODERATOR: We have Brandon Hatchett. Questions, please. Q. Talk about what happened at the Midlands, how you were able to get healthy enough to do this? BRANDON HATCHETT: I was actually wrestling Yates from Virginia Tech. Got an early takedown. I stood up, he looked up to turn me. He had an arm trap laid on my shoulder. Separated my AC joint. That took me out for a while. The trainer got on me hard. My rehab for the first month was doing nothing, which killed me. But everyone stayed behind me. My family, friends, coaches, teammates, told me I was going to get better, and I did. Q. David Taylor was in here saying he thought you should have been seeded higher than 11th. Did you take the seeding as any kind of disrespect coming into the tournament? Does that motivate you at all? BRANDON HATCHETT: No disrespect. It gave me a little motivation. But I understood, because I was gone for most of the season, that I was going to be seeded low. If you want to be the best, you have to beat everybody, so it doesn't matter. Q. Was there ever a concern you were going to be a loss for the year after the Midlands? BRANDON HATCHETT: Right away we weren't sure how serious it was. I was hurt. Turns out, it took about six to eight weeks. Q. Your teammate has been in the finals here, talked about you during the tournament, not surprised with your success here. Do you guys push each other a little bit, you and Hamlin (phonetic)? BRANDON HATCHETT: Absolutely. He was great help with Asper. Asper is a big kid and strong. I'm like the opposite of everyone, with the exception of David Taylor, kind of like me, long and lean. Hamlin is a great workout partner. He's always positive. It's hard to be that way, so... Q. How are you going to approach wrestling David Taylor? BRANDON HATCHETT: I don't know. I haven't decided yet. Make weight, relax, about 10 minutes before the match I'll start panicking and figure that out (laughter). Q. You talked about how Asper was big and strong. Did that limit your offensive options? Were there things you couldn't use because you were skittish of his size and strength? BRANDON HATCHETT: I wrestled him about three times. I think all the guys in the semifinals have wrestled a guy they wrestled previously. I wanted to make sure I was in and up, I didn't want to get stuck underneath him because I know he's big and strong. Q. During that recovery period, at what time did you think you could be an NCAA finalist? BRANDON HATCHETT: I can't answer that. I don't know. I was worried about getting healthy. I got healthy, full range of motion, then strength, then came the conditioning and wrestling. Q. Are you at your best now? BRANDON HATCHETT: Absolutely. Q. Not only did you heal, but you've been able to peak? BRANDON HATCHETT: Yeah. I think it was better for me. I'm tall and long, get injured easily. I think that break actually helped. I'm fresh right now. Q. Any problems with the shoulder anymore? BRANDON HATCHETT: Everything else, but not the shoulder (laughter). THE MODERATOR: Brandon, thank you. BRANDON HATCHETT: Thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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