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NCAA WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPSMarch 23, 2013Anthony NelsonDES MOINSE, IOWA THE MODERATOR: Anthony Nelson defends his National Championship for Minnesota. Tony, we'll ask you the same question we asked Ed Ruth. Was it harder to climb the mountain the second time? ANTHONY NELSON: I'd say yeah. Everyone wrestles you a little different. They want to be the guy to beat you. To come out and do it again was just a big accomplishment, a lot of confidence from it. Q. Anthony, Gelogaev wrestled you different this time. How different did he wrestle compared to the Big Ten? ANTHONY NELSON: He wrestled me kind of similar to Big Tens, but like I said, it's the whole year, not just here at the national tournament. When you're the national champ, guys want to be the one to beat you. You want to repeat and be out there and enjoy it. Q. Tony, you looked strong in that third period, especially when you got that really solid takedown off one of his shots. Talk a little bit about how you felt throughout the match and why you were able to finish so strong. ANTHONY NELSON: After that first takedown, that was huge for me, taking that early lead. And then when I came in the first period, I had that lead, and he needed to score. I wanted him to go underneath and snap that head down and make him take a bad shot. He went for a low ankle, and I was able defend my ankle from the go‑behind. Q. Anthony, you know about the history of the Gophers wrestling, including probably their heavyweights. Have you ever studied those guys and thought that now you actually have a chance to be a three‑timer, which I'm not sure there's been one there? ANTHONY NELSON: Last year, even before, one of my goals was to be the first three‑timer for Minnesota. Cole Konrad, Brock Lesnar.  Brock won it once. Cole won it twice. I'm right up there with him, and he's a guy I always looked up to. To be up there with him is a big accomplishment. Q. Who works out with you? Who matches these guys? ANTHONY NELSON: Ben Berhow is my main workout partner, and he's been here the last three years. He taught me a lot. I appreciate everything he does for me. He's one of the reasons I've done what I've done. Q. Tony, tell me about the takedown you had in the third period. You're up 3‑2, and that pretty much put it away. Tell me about that move. ANTHONY NELSON: Like I said, I was up 1 at that point. I was just trying to be heavy on his head and make him take a bad shot. I worked on it at practice. I got him to go underneath for a low ankle, and I was able to pin him from behind, and that kind of put it away right there. Q. Tony, how much better did you have to be this year to win? Did all that summer wrestling, including some of the real big freestyle events you went to, did that help you get to the point to where you were able to defend your title? ANTHONY NELSON: Any extra wrestling you do, you're going to get better. Freestyle helped me on my feet a lot. Working with them a lot, I've just gotten better the last year. As long as I'm continuing to work, I'm going to keep improving. Q. Tony, this has been a tough year for your head coach, J. Robinson, needing surgery and that type of thing. How much did that play on you guys this year? ANTHONY NELSON: It's hard to see him be out of the room for a while, but the assistant coaches do a great job of filling in and making us feel normal. Even when he wasn't there, we were able to compete at a high level. We miss him, of course, but that helped us also to wrestle for him. THE MODERATOR: Tony, congratulations. ANTHONY NELSON: Thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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