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NCAA WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPSMarch 23, 2013Edward RuthDES MOINSE, IOWA THE MODERATOR: To my left is the 184‑pound champion, Ed Ruth of Penn State. Two straight years undefeated. Harder to climb the mountain top the second time? ED RUTH: Definitely. It was a bigger mountain. Just makes it that much better when you get to the top. Q. Congratulations, Ed. The last minute there you really turned it on, three takedowns in a couple of seconds. What's going through your mind there where you know you have to get that major, and how do you kind of approach that? ED RUTH: At first it was more me building my lead, but as I saw my lead just getting bigger and bigger, I looked over at the coaches, and he was just saying cut him, cut him. I was like, oh, wow, he must be going for a major then. I wasn't really sure that last takedown was for the major, but I just wanted to get it. Q. Yesterday you had a wait‑and‑see approach for each match, especially in this tournament, and kind of decide as you go. What were your thoughts going into this match knowing how crucial bonus points are for the team race? ED RUTH: My thoughts going into this match was I didn't know what he was going to come out and hit me with. I had double matches with him before. That last match we actually had before this one, it was a pretty close one. I just knew that if it was going to be close, I knew I didn't want to get behind at all at any point. So in the first two periods, it was just more like me trying to build my lead and wrestling more, and that's how I didn't give him any openings that could give him a big move and make me lose my lead. Q. Did the match against Bosak yesterday help you prepare for this one, in terms of how Bosak was able to kind of fend some things off here? ED RUTH: Definitely. Wrestling with Bosak, you kind of have a high expectation of where this defense is, especially at this weight class. It felt like a real hard defense. When I went out there, I really said to myself, really shot hard for the legs, tried to make sure I made contact every single time, and that's exactly what I had to do with Bosak. Q. As a wrestler, how much better are you this year after winning this title a year ago? What kinds of things did you work on to make sure you were ready for the challenge this time? ED RUTH: I worked more on my intensity, making sure that I look fresh throughout the whole match. I didn't want it to seem like the guy had a chance at any point in the match. I just wanted to be in his head all the way through. So I was really working on keeping my face straight, playing from all the way from the beginning to the end, making him feel pressure, making him feel like as soon as he hits the edge of the mat, he still has to wrestle me. Last year one of my biggest issues was wrestling on the edge of the mat, and I really kind of picked up on that this year. Q. Ed, what was your routine like today? Were you guys over here watching? If not, how did you become aware of the fact that Oklahoma State is within three points? ED RUTH: I just became aware this morning. I was in the back sitting there playing with my little Vita. And they said, oh, you guys aren't too comfortable right now. Oklahoma State is closing in on you guys by three points. And just kind of like, whoa, because when I was out there watching Brown's match. I was nervous. I was like, Brown, come on, get it, get it. I'm never really nervous for some of my teammates because I have confidence in them. When he was out there, it made me nervous. My skin was crawling and just like I just really wanted him to win. Q. (Question off microphone)? ED RUTH: I really started thinking about it in the summer because I get a good amount of chances to be around kids and teach them technique and all that. So really kind of helped me solidify my own technique, especially wrestling with a lot of high schoolers. I don't know, I was thinking about taking a good amount of time off the mat because one of my biggest issues is recovery, making sure that I stay fresh, because I tend to overwork a lot of times. Q. Can you just talk about recovery. How do you feel now as you've run through this tournament. It's not like you got beat up, but are you kind of feeling the wear of this season at this point? ED RUTH: I feel free to answer that question now that the season is over. My shoulder is sore. My shoulder is sore. My one leg is sore. You kind of really‑‑ the adrenaline is rushing through my body right now. So I really don't feel it. But I just have like sore body parts, but it's nothing really big. Q. You were a guy who did a lot of stuff as a younger guy in high school‑‑ swimming, football, track, all that sort of stuff. When you were at Blair Academy, that's when you really said you really could make it anywhere in this sport. Did you envision yourself at Blair? When's the first time you thought the sky's the limit for me; I can come in here and win these national titles like this at this kind of clip? ED RUTH: It really didn't click until I was really in college. When I was at Blair, it was more me just wrestling. I just wanted to see how much I could win, how much better I could get. Overall, I was just really into the training aspect of it. I kind of just thought about the training and nothing about the matches, more like how fast can I be, how quick can I be, how unorthodox can I be, and how better can I be if somebody's in a position they've never been in, if I put them there, how can I make sure I come out on top every single time? As I started getting out to the matches, I was like, wow, this is really working for me. That's when I guess you could say it really started clicking for me, but I never really had college aspirations. I wasn't really thinking about NCAA championships and all that at that point. It was kind of just one step at a time. Q. And when the final whistle blew, Cael came over and picked you up on his shoulders. Can you describe that moment for me and what was said, if anything? ED RUTH: Oh, man. It wasn't even when the whistle blew. It was when the guy came over counting down. He was like three, two, and I'm like, oh, I'm about to win. I'm about to win. As soon as he said one, the crowd is cheering and everything. I felt like my heart exploded. Q. What about Cael putting you up on his shoulders? ED RUTH: That's one of the things that makes me even more proud to win the title because, at the same time, I'm making my coaches happy. These guys that put so much time and effort into me, and they dedicate a lot of themselves, not just time, but themselves, just everything that they have to make you who you are. I'm over here, and I'm making them proud. He's lifting me up on his shoulders, you just kind of feel special. THE MODERATOR: All right, Ed. Congratulations. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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