Oklahoma State University Athletics
Post-Game Quotes
January 30, 2011 | Cowboy Wrestling
Jan. 30, 2011
Coach John Smith General thoughts of the dual: "We didn't hurt ourselves in any of these matches. We were pretty dominating from the standpoint of just wrestling hard, wrestling well, looking for back points, looking for pins. We picked up pins at 133, 184 and 197, so we picked up three solid pins. I liked what Josh Kindig did, as far as beating a pretty good kid; a kid that beat an All-American last week, riding a little bit high, and we come in here and put a 4-0 whipping to him. That's exciting coming out with a true freshman. Overall, a good day and a lot of action, a lot of points, a lot of takedowns. The takedown count was 25-1, and that's without wrestling a match at 125, so I'm pleased. That's what you're hoping for. You're hoping to see your team have a dominating performance when you have the opportunity to do it." On Jamal Parks: "He just seemed a little bit timid. I give credit to Caldwell. He had a little bit of a sense of urgency to put some points up at the end of the first period. He's a smart kid and there's a reason he's an NCAA champion. He took some real attempts in that first, and towards the end of the first, had a sense of urgency to score. You're not going to beat a guy at the end of the match. The tempo picked up for Jamal in the last 45 seconds, but to beat a guy like that, you have to have tempo for seven minutes. Maybe he can take something positive from it. He's getting better and hopefully he can close that gap as we work towards the next six weeks." On Blake Rosholt: "(Palma) is the same age as Blake. He came out; he hasn't redshirted. He was the No. 1 ranked heavyweight coming out of high school his senior year when Blake was a senior. That's pretty impressive: three takedowns, a riding time point, broke him a bit at the end. That Blake Rosholt is really improving, starting to really build confidence and he really ought to run with it and appreciate how fast he's moved forward and make sure he embraces that improvement, rather than feel the pressure from it. Really embrace it and be real happy about him fighting through some tough times during the season and little bit of adversity. He's kind of managed his way through it and he's really looking like he's having a lot of fun out there." Jamal Parks, 149 pounds On losing a 3-1 decision to returning NCAA champion Darrion Caldwell: "It was pretty tough. I had to watch out for him a little bit in the beginning because that is when he is most dangerous. After a while that match should have been mine. I had him worn down a little bit and I didn't pull the trigger during the second period. It is not the end though. This will just help me get more prepared for March." On how wrestling Caldwell will help him later in the season: "It is a good experience, but it is not a good experience to lose. I know that I can wrestle anybody in this weight class, I just have to reach within myself and pull that little something out of me and I will be on top." On Caldwell's performance late in the match: "He is a front-runner, and once he is in front he is going to take that lead, so I made that mistake by giving up that takedown. It was a good takedown on his part, but I should have never given it up. If he wouldn't have gotten that, it would have changed the whole dynamic of the match." Neil Erisman, 157 pounds On his match: "I was pleased with it. I kept getting stopped on those turns, so I need to work on that." On getting back to wrestling after being injured: "I kind of got a late start on the season because I was injured for a while, but it is going great so far. I have faced some adversity, but I have learned a lot from it. So I want to keep on moving up." On coming back from a tough injury: "National Duals was my first time to wrestle. I just did a lot of rehab and a lot of icing. I had to keep myself going and keep myself healthy. I was doing a lot of stuff to stay in shape that was really hard, but it was something I knew I had to do to keep myself at a level I wanted and to keep my edge." On the best part of his wrestling style: "I think I found something that I should have been doing all along. I figured out how I want to wrestle and which direction I wanted to go in, so that is what I am going to do."
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