What was it like avenging an earlier loss in the season to Iowa's Charlie Falck?
"It was great. The first time he beat me he scored off of my shoot. He just kind of shut my offense down. I knew if I brought my offense to him that it would be a better match."
Escobedo describes the winning move that propelled him to the finals.
"He rode me the whole time. He was tough on top and I was just like, ‘I have to find some will to win…something just to pull out that I've never used before.' That was a move that I've never hit in my life. To get to the NCAAs you have to use every strength and ability you have to get to the finals."
What is your confidence level heading in to the finals against Minnesota's Ness after beating him three straight matches?
"It's confidence but it's not overconfidence. I know how dangerous he is. He is a great wrestler and we've had great battles, so I know I'm going to have to bring my ‘A' game tomorrow."
What is it like being the first wrestler on the mat during the semifinal rounds?
"It's awesome; you know no one is going to want to leave because they want to watch wrestling. It's great; it's a confidence booster to hear the crowd going crazy. When the fans are just going nuts, it pumps you up. It gets your adrenaline going."
Jayson Ness (Minnesota, 125)
What was your mindset during the final moments of your quarterfinal match?
"You never give up. You never know what's going to happen late in a match. [My opponent] was tired, I'm tired, but good things are going to happen if you wrestle hard for seven minutes."
How difficult is it to wrestle an opponent several times in a season?
"It's really tough because both guys know what each other is going to do. Every time we wrestle it's going to be a close match. It's always a barn burner with him."
What are your thoughts on your rematch with Indiana's Angel Escobedo in the finals?
"It's going to be a great match. He's a tough competitor. It's just going to be a matter of wrestling hard the whole seven minutes. I'm going to have to really fight to get off of the bottom. I can't let him ride me out all day long."
What is it like being the first wrestler on the mat during the semifinal rounds?
"It's a lot of fun. It's really exciting. It gets your heart going. It gets your adrenaline pumping. Your emotions start running high and it's a really fun experience."
Coleman Scott (Oklahoma State, 133)
What factor did riding time play in your semifinal win against Illinois' Jimmy Kennedy?
"I knew it was going to be part of the match. Any time you can ride somebody like that it obviously helps. I was able to ride him, but just let up a little bit in the third [period]."
What is going to be your preparation and expectations heading into your finals match against Iowa's Joey Slaton?
"It's the national finals. It's going to be the most intense match of both of our careers. I know that and he knows that. I'm just looking for a good match, and it's going to be fun. I'm excited."
How did last year's finals loss in the NCAA Championships help you this year?
"I have learned a lot. I was a little nervous going into that match, and also very disappointed. I got the only takedown of the match last year and lost; that doesn't happen too often. I just have to have a better match this year and look to walk away with that title."
What would it mean to cap off your senior campaign with a national championship?
"Everything; it's everything I've dreamed about. This is where I've wanted to be. I have no more chances. This is it for me."
Joey Slaton (Iowa, 133)
Can you describe your takedown against Michigan State's Franklin Gomez in overtime that propelled you into the finals?
"It felt good. I had a tough time getting to him. He was skating around the edge like my last opponent, but that's alright. I stayed on the attack and it paid off in the end."
How does it feel to come back and reach the NCAA finals after having to sit out a year for transferring from Virginia Tech?
"It feels good. It's paying off now. That year [of sitting out] helped me and I feel good about it now. It was definitely worth it. I would have gone where ever Coach Brands went because he's the reason I went out there."
How did the Big 10 Conference Championships prepare you for the NCAA Championships?
"I have learned that you need to be ready for every match. Two of my matches … one I ended up winning and the other I lost to Gomez. I wasn't ready and I wasn't prepared mentally. I didn't get a good enough warm up, and I think that's the biggest change this weekend."
What are your thoughts heading into your rematch against Oklahoma State's Coleman Scott in the finals?
"He is going to come after me. He's going to throw everything he has at me but I'm going to be mentally and physically prepared for this. I am ready; I have been training my whole life for this. It's my goal to win [the championship]. It's been my goal since I was a little kid. It feels good to get to the finals, but I have to pick it up one more notch to win it."
J Jaggers (Ohio State, 141)
On his approach …
"Obviously the first thing I wanted to do was pin him. It was actually my third cradle this weekend that I've had pretty close to pinning the guy. Some refs may call that, but I guess when you have a match of that magnitude, a lot of people don't want to see it end early."
On beating wrestlers ranked higher than him …
"Not that I'm holding a grudge out there because some ranking service doesn't rank me or anything. I look at the rankings, don't get me wrong, and I get mad when I see where I am, but I know what I can do and my teammates know what I can do because they see it every day. Sometimes the outsiders don't know what you can do until you show them."
On his head coach …
"He's going to go down as one of the greatest coaches of all time. Look what he did for us. He took our program from 45th to 10th."
On his championship opponent, Chad Mendes …
"I know he's got a gator roll. He's tough. I practiced with him a few years ago when I was a 149 and he was a 125. He was tough as nails then too. We both had to beat some great kids. It should be a great match."
On how he is performing …
"It's definitely the highest level I've been at. I'm peaking at the right time. The thing I've probably done better this tournament than previous is getting my finishes. It's probably the area that I've improved on the most based on past tournaments."
Chad Mendes (Cal Poly, 141)
On the early stalling call …
"I thought it was a little bit of a quick call, but it happens, and you can't let those things get in your head. I looked at my coach and he told me not to worry about it and I just kept wrestling and I kept getting at it."
On how he felt during the match …
"There were a few times in the match I was pretty nervous. Nathan's [Morgan] a tough guy, but I knew if I could keep my head in the game and kept wrestling I could get him."
On last time he faced Nathan Morgan …
"I feel he was a lot more aggressive. The match before I feel he hesitated a bit, but he was really coming after me a bit more. He was trying a bunch of shots at once, while last time he would pick and choose. He was really trying to ride me out this time."
On his riding ability …
"The last month and a half or so I've been getting into riding. I've always liked to dominate on my feet, but I've been taught a lot of things on top. I feel really strong up there and I feel that it really helps me. I feel strong and ready to win it."
On last year …
"I was at 125, and I was cutting a lot of weight. My natural pre-season body weight was around 153. It was a pretty drastic cut. I hurt my elbow early last season and I wasn't able to keep my weight down since I couldn't wrestle. I figured if I went more towards my natural weight for my senior season I'd feel better on the mat."
Bubba Jenkins (Penn State, 149)
On the last time he faced Brent Metcalf …
"Last time I went after him and I was up 6-1, but he came back how he does and I couldn't fight off the storm. Then another time my plan was to sit back and wait on him, but that's just not my style. We've got some strategies, and I'm just going to go out there and wrestle my best."
On how he felt during the end of his semifinal match …
"I knew when he took the injury timeout that he was gasping for air and I felt I had another two minutes in me with just 45 seconds left. I just had to dig in there and get it."
On his World championship from the past summer …
"It definitely gave me confidence. I'm terrible on bottom, and if you don't get taken down you'll beat anybody. I just worked towards being comfortable and being in close matches. It definitely helped me."
On how he feels when his teammates lose …
"Losses for my team refocuses me for my match. It makes me zone in and get ready. I feel that coach got let down on that last one, so I'm going to try and pick him back up."
On his approach against Darrion Caldwell
"We had some film on him and we saw that he scores points early. We felt if we could stop his flurry in the beginning, we'd be able to do some damage. I retaliated with my offensive explosions and just went after him. I just went after him really."
On how finishing strong helps the program …
"It's very important. We only came with seven guys and we had five guys in the championships going for it. Last I saw we were tied for sixth, but we're only a few points out of second place. It helps us in recruiting and it helps us as a program to keep inching up and keep inching forward."
Brent Metcalf (Iowa, 149)
On how getting scored on early affects his approach ...
"You get scored on early then you've really got to come on strong. You can't let the match go on longer and longer because he'll get more comfortable. You've got to get more scores and get him out of his comfort zone."
On restoring Iowa's wrestling tradition …
"That's our goal, that's my goal, that's the entire programs goal. We want to regain the dominating force that Iowa had in the past."
On Bubba Jenkins …
"He's a dangerous wrestler. He's tough on those quick little shots and I'm going to have to be on my A-game. I'm just going to have to say on my offense and stay where I'm good."
On if matters who he wrestles …
"I want to go out and wrestle the best guy. This is the national tournament and you've got to be ready to face anyone. Bubba Jenkins is the one that stepped up and he's the one I want to wrestle."
On where he is seeded …
"Seeds don't really matter. You want to be the No. 1 seed because it says you're the best, but I don't put much emphasis on it. I don't hope to get better than a certain number. I just go out to perform and wrestle my style."
On his passion for wrestling …
"The hand to hand combat. It's a fight. I don't see it as a thing of strategy. It's a hand fight. It's to see who is the better man. That's the attitude I take to it. If you're going to wrestle me, you're going to go through seven minutes of hell. If you can beat me then I congratulate you, but know it's going to be tough. That's the kind of wrestler I am and the mentality I take to it."
Mike Poeta (Illinois, 157)
On wrestling Vallimont
"I think it's a big time rivalry just because of how good he is. It's tough to beat a guy three times especially when he's pissed off at you … I'm happy with the win."
On the score of the match:
"I wanted the score to be as lopsided as possible. Those matches are going to give my mom a heart attack. I got two good shots on him and took him down and he got a take down. He was in on my legs a lot. In the previous two matches we wrestled…this was the first time he was able to finish. With this match being on the biggest stage, I think I panicked a little bit when he was scrambling a little better. So I think if we wrestled that match at Penn State or Illinois in a smaller gym, I don't think I would have panicked a little bit."
On Jordan Leen:
"The only think I know about him is he beat my roommate at CA nationals about four years ago, Joe Bowman. Other than that, I don't know anything."
On not being a No. 1 seed:
"It's kind of BS that they took Vegas crumpled them up and threw them out. It really doesn't make sense to me; punish wrestlers for something they have no control over. But you know it doesn't matter whether you're unseeded or seeded; every guy has an opportunity to win this tournament. It really doesn't matter where they put you if you're going to win you're going to win. It doesn't matter who you have to go through."
On panicking in the big stage:
"None that was a big one … tomorrow is about having fun and wrestling hard. I got that one out of the way. The match last year I lost in that round left a pretty bitter taste in my mouth. It was a guy just like [Leen], someone I beat earlier in the year. That was the big one. I was probably more nervous in that round. Tomorrow I'm just going to have fun."
Jordan Leen (Cornell, 157)
On how important it was to set the pace:
"It was very important. Mat wrestling is where I feel most dominant and anytime I can get a 1st period take down and be able to get right to the mat with a lead. I feel great about that."
On battling injuries through the year:
"It's unbelievable. I feel like the luckiest kid alive right now. I know I got one more to take care of to reach my goal. I'm going to try to stay focused on that. But it has been an injury-ruled year and it's been really the first time I've dealt with that in college. It was very difficult for me and very difficult for our coaches to sit back and not wrestle. I love to train about as much as I love competing. I like being in the mix; I like scrapping, and so that was tough for me. It really tried my patience; it tried my character a lot. I feel like I've grown up a lot though it. Sometimes at nationals you get lucky even though you haven't had the best year. So I feel good about that."
On his injuries:
"I had various knee injuries. I had surgery over the summer. An injured MCL and LCL in my other leg and had some ankle problems also. It was kind of a chain reaction getting injured and being impatient and coming back to early. That's been kind of the story of this year."
On preparation for the tournament:
"I feel like the conference finals when I got beat, it was a blessing in disguise. And looking back I realized all year when I'd get to wrestle I'd want to wrestle every second. Push, push, push, push, and that's not always my best tactic. That's not where I'm most successful. I pushed my way right into losing in the conference finals. It taught me right before nationals sometimes you have to sit on a lead. What a blessing. Sometimes if a guy is not going to attack just keep a low stance and get the "W." I've had to do that a couple times this tournament. Lesson learned for sure. I feel lucky about that.
On wrestling 157 as opposed to 149:
"I did it by choice and our coaches are very flexible and just really supportive. When I decided I wanted to go up they supported me. The biggest adjustment was at the beginning of the year and realizing that these guys are a lot stronger and more explosive off bottom. Wrestling on top used to be a given to me. I felt like I could ride anybody and then I had these guys with tree trunk legs underneath me blowing out of there. It did take the year to adjust as far as riding people but I felt like quickness is a quality of mine that I've tried to use a lot and quickness seems to be even more quick the bigger you get. So I kind of like that."
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