Coach Taylor, Hendrickson and Plott Talks NCAA, Brackets, Seedings, Health
STILLWATER – The seedings and the brackets came out on Wednesday night (March 12) for the upcoming NCAA Championships in Philadelphia, Pa. from March 20-22. The day before the wildcard invites were announced and the Cowboys 133 pounder Reece Witcraft did not get one. However, before a reaction from first-year head coach David Taylor on all that, how is heavyweight and No. 2 seed in that weight class and Big 12 Champion Wyatt Hendrickson. Hendrickson went down on the mat in the third period of his Big 12 Championship match with Cohlton Schultz of Arizona State clutching his right wrist. He finished the match and won the decison 8-5 and the heavyweight title but he also clinched sole possession of the Big 12 team Championship for Oklahoma State.
Hendrickson did not shake hands with his right hand, although the official did raise his right hand. The transfer and graduate from the Air Force Academy did not high five with his right hand, not for awhile. So, how is he and what is the prognosis for the No. 2 seed at heavyweight in the NCAA?
“Doing good, feeling great, wrestling great, no worries at all,” Hendrickson said smiling to the media that turned out to talk to him, Dustin Plott and his head coach David Taylor about the NCAA Championships. “Injuries are a scary thing. Sometimes you feel something and you think it could be the same thing (as a previous injury). It is scary in the moment because the adrenaline is pumping and you are feeling a certain type of way. We’re good.”
Hendrickson and Schultz (also a Greco-Roman wrestler) wrestled to a decision earlier this season. Those have been the only two non bonus wins for Hendrickson, who is 22-0 this season. I noticed that Schultz looked concerned when they came back from the injury time. Hendrickson said he did ask him on the podium later if he was okay.
“At this level, some people take it personally, wrestling as a thing of life,” Hendrickson said. “I think at heavyweight and Cohlton we have a good switch. On the mat we know it’s business, he was a little concerned. I know I was wrestling the Ohio State heavyweight in Las Vegas and I hurt him, not on purpose. We all want good wrestling. That’s why we do this sport. We respect each other, we want a good match but nobody wants to win on an injury.”
No doubt, guys want to win and Oklahoma State left Tulsa and heads to Philadelphia having has six Big 12 title chances but only won one.
“They’re just numbers in the bracket,” Taylor said of the seeds and the brackets. “All of the guys that qualified for nationals are there for a reason. Let’s get ready to go.”
Oklahoma State will take nine wrestlers as Reece Witcraft at 133 pounds lost both his matches in Tulsa and did not claim an allotted spot in the NCAA. He also was not granted a wildcard entry into the tournament.
“It’s tough and in wrestling you get to control the outcome most of the time,” Taylor said, “But when you leave it to someone else you don’t know how it’s going to go. We wanted to get a guy in and we didn’t. Reece has had a good attitude this whole season and he was in there helping our guys this week.. That speaks about his character.”
Teague Travis, the wrestler that Taylor plugged in at 140 pounds right before the Big 12 Tournament to replace a struggling Carter Young got fifth in Tulsa. He is only 4-3 on the season after being injured the opening weekend wrestling 157 at Oregon State. The NCAA put him last, No. 33 in Philly and wrestling in the pigtails.
“He doesn’t have really many matches, so if you are looking from the outside at 149, just kind of resumes’ and records you see,’ Taylor said. “Teague is in the bracket and he’s going to scrap, right, and he has a big opportunity to scrap right off the rip.”
Taylor was consistent and did not mention any negatives. He said his team will work on being their best. He agreed this is what they have been working on all season, going to Philadelphia for nationals, the NCAA. Oddly enough, Taylor, who said he doesn’t know the city well even though it is close to Penn State (couple of hours). Taylor did say that he will make his NCAA Championships coaching debut in the same city where he made his NCAA Championships debut as a competitor, freshman for the Nittany Lions.
There are different approaches to preparing for this event. Oklahoma State’s 184 pound finalist last year did not watch the pairing announced.
“It’s difficult, of course because there are matchups that I personally want to wrestle. I haven’t looked at my bracket and I probably won’t for awhile,” Dustin Plott said and confirmed he did not watch the selection show. “I got to go wrestle the guy in front of me and nothing else matters. I heard I got the fourth seed, that’s all I know.”
He didn’t even know his first opponent.
“I’m more focused on what I need to do, wrestling to the best of my skills,” Plott added.
“Yeah, I’ve looked at it,” Hendrickson said. “I can look at stuff and just understand it. I know if I take a to-go box home with a couple of pieces of cake and some cookies, even if I say I’m not going to eat it, I am. I think sometimes a lot of guys and Coach Taylor tells us just it’s nothing we don’t know and just kind of look at the bracket but don’t start think I want to wrestle this guy and I think this guy is going to win. You overthink it and it’s not good. I’m not going to change myself.
“I know Caleb Fish (OSU 157 pound wrestler) didn’t want to know,” Hendrickson said. “Somebody text him and said ‘congratulations on the 12th seed.’ We were studying for a test last night and he was ‘oh shoot.’ He didn’t want to know.”
Hey, everybody will know by next Thursday in Philadelphia.