Oklahoma State University Athletics
Photo by: Bruce Waterfield
Cowboys Preview Friday’s Battle with No. 8 Cornell
December 13, 2016 | Cowboy Wrestling
STILLWATER – Head coach John Smith and members of the Oklahoma State wrestling team met with the media on Tuesday afternoon to preview this weekend's match against No. 8 Cornell.
Head Coach John Smith
On preparing to wrestle after a two-week break since their last match:
"I think that they've had a chance to make weight several times. For that reason, it's been pretty good this week. Of course, we had finals last week. We gave them every bit of space possible to do as well as they can. I was pleased with how they controlled their weight, especially the guys who we had concerns with."
On Nolan Boyd's matchup with No. 1 Gabe Dean:
"You have a solid team in Cornell. They have some solid weight classes. They may have a couple of holes, but in a dual meet, it's about winning six matches. In a tough dual meet like this, we really need to focus on winning those tough matches that we're going to see. I think Nolan had a good match with the champion (Gabe Dean) last year at Cornell. At the NCAA Championships, a couple of mistakes were really the biggest difference in the match; although Dean really controlled it after Nolan made a couple of mistakes. For Nolan, this is a guy that you really have to beat. This is a guy that is probably the best at the weight class and he's got a shot to hit him in December. He needs to take advantage of it."
On if he has any trouble keeping guys focused with so many big matches and tournaments coming up:
"Not at all. I think those young guys are pretty excited about wrestling in a big match, a top-10 matchup. If that doesn't excite you, you're in trouble. For us right now, it's about staying healthy and making sure we recognize that by staying intense you stay healthy. Losing focus is where injuries come from most of the time. I feel good about where we're at right now as we go into Friday."
On being able to focus on wrestling with finals having wrapped up:
"It's a lot different for us. This is the longest break we've had in my 25 years. It's over 30 days, and we've never had that. I think I need to be a little careful about overtraining during that time since we have so many days with no school responsibilities. I'm going to be really careful about what I do because I think it's a time where you could do too much."
Nick Piccininni – 125 pounds, RFr.
On preparing to wrestle after a two-week break since their last match:
"We've had two weeks off before a match before this, and we train hard. I don't think anything has changed. I think we're well prepared…For some people (making weight) may be a little difficult, but if you stay on top of it and don't let it get out of control, it's pretty easy to maintain."
On the team's mindset heading into the Cornell match:
"I think we just need to attack. Keep doing what we've been doing, go out there, wrestle hard and throw up as many points as you possibly can. If you do that, then good things will come."
Head Coach John Smith
On preparing to wrestle after a two-week break since their last match:
"I think that they've had a chance to make weight several times. For that reason, it's been pretty good this week. Of course, we had finals last week. We gave them every bit of space possible to do as well as they can. I was pleased with how they controlled their weight, especially the guys who we had concerns with."
On Nolan Boyd's matchup with No. 1 Gabe Dean:
"You have a solid team in Cornell. They have some solid weight classes. They may have a couple of holes, but in a dual meet, it's about winning six matches. In a tough dual meet like this, we really need to focus on winning those tough matches that we're going to see. I think Nolan had a good match with the champion (Gabe Dean) last year at Cornell. At the NCAA Championships, a couple of mistakes were really the biggest difference in the match; although Dean really controlled it after Nolan made a couple of mistakes. For Nolan, this is a guy that you really have to beat. This is a guy that is probably the best at the weight class and he's got a shot to hit him in December. He needs to take advantage of it."
On if he has any trouble keeping guys focused with so many big matches and tournaments coming up:
"Not at all. I think those young guys are pretty excited about wrestling in a big match, a top-10 matchup. If that doesn't excite you, you're in trouble. For us right now, it's about staying healthy and making sure we recognize that by staying intense you stay healthy. Losing focus is where injuries come from most of the time. I feel good about where we're at right now as we go into Friday."
On being able to focus on wrestling with finals having wrapped up:
"It's a lot different for us. This is the longest break we've had in my 25 years. It's over 30 days, and we've never had that. I think I need to be a little careful about overtraining during that time since we have so many days with no school responsibilities. I'm going to be really careful about what I do because I think it's a time where you could do too much."
Nick Piccininni – 125 pounds, RFr.
On preparing to wrestle after a two-week break since their last match:
"We've had two weeks off before a match before this, and we train hard. I don't think anything has changed. I think we're well prepared…For some people (making weight) may be a little difficult, but if you stay on top of it and don't let it get out of control, it's pretty easy to maintain."
On the team's mindset heading into the Cornell match:
"I think we just need to attack. Keep doing what we've been doing, go out there, wrestle hard and throw up as many points as you possibly can. If you do that, then good things will come."
Players Mentioned
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