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NCAA WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPSMarch 17, 2012Kyle DakeST. LOUIS, MISSOURI 157-lb. Champion THE MODERATOR: Questions? Q. I have to start with the obvious, the three times, the three different weights, your feelings about that? KYLE DAKE: Really good feeling, doing something that no one's done before. And it's a tough match. Went hard just like any Iowa guy would. And he was just‑‑ he's a pretty good hand putter, and I think you gotta give him credit for that and the fact that he gave it his all. Q. When they give off your numbers, not just the 100 career wins but that you hardly give up a point in this tournament that type of thing, does that ever weigh on you at all? KYLE DAKE: Not really. I'm just going out and trying to win. I don't really care about points or anything like that, as long as I have other points than the other man. Q. Talk about when you wrestle well, you look like you're enjoying yourself, but you also can fight when it gets a little nasty out there. That match couldn't have been much fun? KYLE DAKE: It was all right. We were both battling. And I think that all great wrestlers appreciate a good battle. And I know it's not the outcome that he wanted, but he's a great wrestler. And he showed a lot of fight. Q. How much have you changed since two years ago when you first did this? KYLE DAKE: I have become a lot more mature. Staying focused. I mean, when I came in, I was excited, my freshman year. But obviously there was quite a bit of nerves to prove myself, because I was coming in as a freshman 1 seed. And, I mean, I had Reece Humphrey who beat me earlier in the year, turned out to be a World Team member, hopefully Olympic hopeful, too. So I had great opponents. So I was a little bit nervous and this year. I just felt more confident all the way through, all the way through, not just... Q. I among other reporters have kept reminding you that you're halfway there, now you're three‑fourths of the way. You always try to diminish the questions. What are your feelings about this streak, so to speak? KYLE DAKE: Well, I've got three now. So now we can talk about four, because that's obviously the next step that comes up. And I'm really excited for that. And I just want to show people that all the times I've won here it's not just been luck or people running away or anything like that. It's just been I had the best tournament. Q. There's a tournament in about a month in Iowa City for a spot on the Olympic team. Is that something that you're going to try to participate in, and what kind of goals would you set for yourself at that level? KYLE DAKE: I gotta talk to a few people, see if I can actually get in the tournament because I didn't have a chance to qualify this year. And talk to my coaches, see what the next step is. But, yeah, I would like to go out and wrestle in Iowa city and vie for a spot on the Olympic team. Q. With that mind, did you consider taking an Olympic redshirt? KYLE DAKE: Yeah, I considered it. It was always in the back of my mind. Ever since I was a little kid I wanted to try to go and compete for the Olympics in 2012. I just thought it would be a great experience for me. And if I was‑‑ if that was my main goal, then I probably would have taken an Olympic redshirt. But having talked to my coaches and my parents and things like that, we decided together that it would be best for me just to stick it out and try to get this in four years, four times four years. Q. Two things about the last match, one with the contact, how many problems were you having seeing? KYLE DAKE: I couldn't really see the score clock. I just kept looking at my corner trying to listen to see how much time was left, listen to the refs and stuff. My other contact's gone, too, so I can't really see right now. But I can make out general figures. But, I mean, it was just‑‑ just good wrestling, good hand fighting. He slipped off my head, we were sweating, got me in the eye. Q. I don't know if you noticed, but when you were doing the ESPN interview, the Iowa fans started booing you and then the other fans picked up the cheer on the other side. Did you notice that? KYLE DAKE: Yeah, I did a little bit. Iowa doesn't really like to lose, and their fans don't like to lose either. If it does happen, they get a little rowdy and they think they were cheated in some way. But, I mean... Q. Any thought to the fact that you actually beat two Iowa guys during this streak? KYLE DAKE: Yeah, I thought about it a little bit. The past two years, my freshman year I beat an Iowa guy and they were a team champ, last year I beat a Penn State guy and they were the champs. And this year Iowa obviously didn't win it because Penn State somehow pinned every single opponent and their brother, so... (Laughter). Q. Kyle, you went to three championships, now people are going to start comparing you to all‑time greats. How should we look at you right now? KYLE DAKE: Just going to be another year, really. I mean, there's obviously going to be comparisons between me and some of the all‑time greats. And I really don't think that's fair because we didn't wrestle in the same era and the same type of competition. I mean, what team in the past has scored 124points in the national tournament or the second‑place team score over‑‑ what was it, 115 or something like that? So it's crazy to think we can compare all these teams. Plus there's less teams. There's so many factors that go into it. Q. What if we started comparing you to David Taylor? KYLE DAKE: Me and David are buddies. We've been compared pretty much all throughout high school‑‑ not high school, because he was a superstar and I was just under the radar. Then when we got to college I kind of became a superstar and he came back and he became a superstar. Now we're both superstars. So I don't really care. He's just one of my good buddies, so, yeah. Q. Now that you're done for the day and there's an opportunity for a couple of your teammates to do the same thing, what would it mean to you, to the program, to everyone involved with Cornell wrestling for multiple champions tonight walking off the map with the big C? KYLE DAKE: It would be amazing. I don't think Cornell‑‑ I don't think we've ever had multiple national champs. I think this year we have as good a chance as any. We got two more guys, two more shots. If they wrestle to their potential, like I know they can, if they wrestle their best, I think they can win, honestly. This is a national tournament, and everyone has an equal chance of going in and winning. Q. I need to go back to your relationship with David, the fact that he was part of this dominant reservoir, there's obviously Hodge and that type of thing, too. Do you want to be considered for the best, other than just your weight class, the best at any weight? KYLE DAKE: Yeah, for sure. I mean, the Hodge is, what, the most prestigious award you can get. This year David's just been pinning everyone, and we'll see how it works out here in a couple of minutes, really. If he gets the job done, then obviously he's going to be considered. I mean, I already got the job done, so I feel I should be considered, too. So there's a lot of guys this year who have been super dominant. Ed Ruth has been up there. And there was a couple of guys‑‑ I mean, Amuchastegui, too, Flores, all those guys have just been super dominant all year, and we'll see how it unfolds from here on out. THE MODERATOR: Thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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