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NCAA WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPSMarch 23, 2013Kyle DakeDES MOINSE, IOWA THE MODERATOR: To my left is Kyle Dake, the four‑time national champion. Kyle, how does it feel to go where no one has gone before? KYLE DAKE: Kind of at a loss for words. Definitely amazing feeling. It's just you get to finally see all your hard work pay off. I wrestled a tough match. I just wrestled tough. That's all there is to say. Q. (Question off microphone)? KYLE DAKE: Definitely not. Probably won't sink in for a while. I've been dreaming about this day for a long time, and to finally be here is pretty awesome. Q. Last night you kept saying it's just another match. Did you really believe that? KYLE DAKE: Yeah, you don't want to change your mindset for any match. You want to stay solid and level‑headed, and if you start getting‑‑ you start letting outside factors play a role, then you might not be at your best. That's where my training comes in to stay level‑headed and really just take it one match at a time. Q. Kyle, you didn't start out with the lead, and you came back in that first period and turned things around. Talk a little bit about how you got control of the match after being taken down at the start. KYLE DAKE: I knew I was going to be able to get a takedown. I was just confident in my abilities. When he did get the takedown, he caught me a little bit by surprise. He's one of the best wrestlers of all time, and I've got to give him credit for being able to get the takedown. I just fought hard, got right out, off bottom, and just stayed on him. Q. Kyle, every time you beat him, you basically grit him out, whether it's the All‑Star Meet or the scuffle. I'm trying to understand why he can't get away from you. KYLE DAKE: One of the best aspects of my game is that I'm really good on top, and David is really good. He's just‑‑ like I said, he's a really good wrestler, and he's really tough. I was able to neutralize his tripod, and when he started rolling around a little bit, I didn't make the mistake of trying to roll with him because he's really good there. I stayed on my toes, kept driving forward, and he really just didn't have an answer for it. I controlled his hips really well. I stayed off to the side. I was giving him different looks. I didn't want to do the same thing over and over again, and that was one of the biggest keys. I basically train wrestled on top. When you train wrestle, you wrestle a lot better than if you try to do the same thing over and over and over again. Q.  Over the course of four weight classes during your time at Cornell, obviously, you've gone through some different workout partners. Could you comment on and just reflect over your time, the different workout partners and how they prepared you for today. KYLE DAKE: I've been really fortunate to have such great workout partners at Cornell. When I first got there, I had Coach Spates, Matt Azevedo, who's the head coach at Drexel now, Jordan Leen, Troy Nickerson, Mike Grey, Corey Manson. As the years progressed, I lost a few of them, but I gained some more great partners. It's just Spates has been there the whole time, and he's been one of my anchors. And Coach Koll, I've been working with him since I was a little kid, just with the club and working out with his son, and stuff like that. So this year I've had great workout partners as well. They've been young, and they're green, but they'll go hard. They'll bang heads with you, and that's really what I needed. I needed someone who wasn't going to just roll over and die for me. I needed someone who was willing to stay in there and go punch for punch with me, and I was just really fortunate to have those guys this year. Q. At some point in the future, you're going to be back here as an ambassador and escort one of these weight classes in the parade. Have you thought what weight class you might want to represent? KYLE DAKE: Can I walk out four? That would be kind of cool. Q. It would be a new weight class. KYLE DAKE: I haven't really given it a thought. It hadn't really crossed my mind. I've been so focused on wrestling and winning this national title. Now I have some time to think and breathe a little bit. Q. Kyle, in that time to break a little bit, are you going to take a break from wrestling? I know there's a big tournament in Vegas in a few weeks, and I know you told the crowd out there you want to win the Olympics someday. What is your goal? This is obviously a long, tough season. KYLE DAKE: It has been a tough season. It's been a grind. But I can't really see myself staying off the mat for too long. I love being in the wrestling room and working out. I think that's one of the biggest parts of my success is that I just love being in the gym. I love rolling around on the mats, and I love lifting weights, and I love just the whole process. I might take a little bit of time off. When I say a little bit, I really mean a little bit, like three days maybe, and then I'll be back on the mat working on my gut wrench, getting myself ready. For now, I'm going to let it sink in and go celebrate with my family. Q. Kyle compared to when you individualize it before, how does it feel compared to what you thought it might be like? KYLE DAKE: It's not even close to what I‑‑ you know, what it‑‑ it's not even close. I was really happy. Every time I visualized myself winning, I just had a huge smile on my face, but I don't think I've smiled bigger ever in my life. It's been an amazing experience. Q. Kyle, you talked about the pressure not getting to you, just going out and performing. That's easier said than done, obviously. Lots of coaches try to coach that maturity in a kid. Have you always been that way? Did Coach Koll help develop that maturity and mindset? Just talk about not buckling under the pressure of going after your fourth title. KYLE DAKE: Yeah, when I was younger, my mom told me I could do anything. I'm sure a ton of moms actually tell their kids that, but they probably tell them ten times maybe. I think my mom probably told me four times a day, and that really just sunk in. But it's just‑‑ it's really a process of how it's done. You're not going to develop it overnight because it's definitely‑‑ you're going to have to work at it. And growing up, my mom, my dad, my high school coaches, Scott Green, John Kotmel, they were huge in my success. Then when I got to college, I was decently prepared, and then Coach Koll and Coach Spates and Coach Hahn and Grey and Azevedo, they kind of put me over the edge, and they really believed in me. When you have someone like with total confidence in you, it really makes you feel good, and it really sets the tone. It was just‑‑ I just kept saying to myself, national champ, national champ, national champ, and it was just like that every single day. Before the match, as I was approaching, you could feel the crowd. You could feel the coach getting excited, and I was just getting‑‑ had a smile on my face, getting ready to get punked, and I just went out and wrestled, and I did what I know how to do, and I did what I love to do. Q. Kyle, what do you think about the fact that SportsCenter led off with you? KYLE DAKE: That's pretty awesome. Any time that wrestling can get on national television, that's a pretty big step for us. We've just got to make sure we keep getting there every single year and every single‑‑ during the postseason, during Big Ten, during the NWAs, during Big 12s and National Duals, we need that big media coverage. It comes down to people willing to put in the work and get their voice heard, make people listen, make people want to be a part of this sport because it is a great sport to be a part of. The national tournament is one of the best experiences that you could see. Talking with my parents, my friends, my coaches, past wrestlers, they say wrestling is amazing, but when you're there with a bunch of other fans, you're all rooting for your team, there's nothing better than it. But it's pretty awesome that ESPN was able to capture that moment. Q. Kyle, you write down your goals every day. I know obviously now you move on to I want to be an Olympic gold medalist, and after that you want to be a two‑time Olympic gold medalist. For now, do you kind of feel like you've accomplished a major part of what you've been striving for this whole time? KYLE DAKE: Yeah, I definitely‑‑ you know, I finished the book. The college wrestling book, I finished it. I finished it with coming out on top. 20‑0 at NCAAs, only a few people have done that in Division I, and I'm just really happy to be a part of that group. But I already have another book, and I'm going to put the one I have right now up on the shelf, and a new one is going to come down. Q. Is it harder in four weight classes or easier? KYLE DAKE: Each weight class was a different obstacle, different challenges, and I just‑‑ I had to adapt. My ability to adapt really, really helped me accomplish that and become a four‑time champion in four different weight classes. THE MODERATOR: Can't wait to read your next book. Congratulations, Kyle. KYLE DAKE: Thanks. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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