Iowa wrestling interview
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00:00 Zach Wenger.
00:03 Hey.
00:04 Big opportunity in front of you Friday.
00:09 What's the approach like going into facing
00:12 the number one guy in the country,
00:13 three-time national champ?
00:15 Yeah.
00:17 I mean, it's just-- it's the next match.
00:19 That's what the coaches preach.
00:22 One's not necessarily more important than the other,
00:25 but obviously there's adding significance to this one.
00:29 Still, and I'm just--
00:33 I mean, I'm looking to go out there and have fun
00:36 and enjoy what I do no different than any other match.
00:39 So, yeah, it's going to be a bigger test
00:41 than I've had all season,
00:43 but, I mean, these are the type of matches you want
00:46 that you look forward to.
00:48 Speaking of enjoying your wrestling,
00:51 it seems like wrestling's been a passion for you
00:53 since you were really little.
00:57 You were four, I think, when you went to the state tournament
01:00 for the first time following your dad.
01:01 Does that sound about right?
01:03 I was actually a couple days old
01:06 when my parents first brought me to the state tournament.
01:08 So, yeah.
01:10 Just an infant.
01:11 Yeah, but yeah.
01:13 What was it about the sport or the influence
01:16 that maybe your dad as a coach had on you
01:19 that made it something that you gravitated to so instantly?
01:23 Yeah, it was something that he loved,
01:26 and so naturally it's something that I wanted to,
01:32 you know, join him in and follow,
01:35 and then it was a family-- you know, my mom loved it, too.
01:39 And, yeah, just a passion that naturally happened,
01:43 and, you know, I absolutely have to thank my parents for that.
01:47 How much of an influence was your dad
01:50 on the way you wrestle or just what type of wrestler you became?
01:56 Huge.
01:57 He's coached me, you know, like very closely,
02:01 I mean, even through now,
02:03 and we spent a lot of hours together working on stuff,
02:10 whether it was technical or mental or, I mean, just everything.
02:14 So, massive impact, and grateful for it.
02:19 Was it something-- early morning workouts you guys were together,
02:23 you know, evening workouts, just, you know, all times of day
02:29 you guys were spending time together working on things?
02:33 Yeah, I mean, it's from a young age of,
02:37 "Hey, let's get up in the morning and go for a run
02:40 and get better when everyone else is sleeping,"
02:42 you know, things like that, to in high school,
02:46 maybe I dropped a match, and, you know, that night
02:49 we're working on what happened and how we're going to fix it
02:53 and how we're going to win next time.
02:55 So, yeah, just everything.
02:57 You know, sometimes--regardless of the sport,
02:59 being a coach's son comes with maybe a different perspective
03:03 or a different standard.
03:05 How did you kind of handle that,
03:07 or was it something that just came natural for you?
03:11 Yeah, I think it just came natural.
03:12 I don't think there was any extra, you know,
03:16 that standard that you're talking about.
03:18 I guess I don't think that's something I ever felt was there or an issue.
03:25 You said the last time we caught up with you, you know,
03:27 the more matches you got, you felt like,
03:29 "Hey, I'm getting more comfortable. I'm getting more used to it."
03:31 How comfortable and how, you know, confident are you feeling right now
03:35 in your abilities as this season continues on?
03:38 Yeah, I still--I mean, that's true, and that's still true every single match.
03:46 I feel like I'm really doing a good job of just enjoying the moment,
03:51 you know, just everything--the weight cut, the pre-match.
03:58 Right before you're going out, you get a little bit nervous.
04:00 Just all--enjoying every little thing, and I think that's helped me a lot.
04:05 Just take a step back and realize that this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
04:10 I'm not going to get to do it for, you know, too much longer.
04:14 So that's helped me a lot.
04:16 Just enjoy it, every opportunity.
04:20 Aaron Brooks has been a big figure in college wrestling for a while.
04:23 What, in your opinion, makes him so dangerous and so tough to be able to wrestle?
04:28 Yeah, I mean, he's not a guy that's going to sit back and hold points.
04:34 I mean, he wants to go out there and score points, and that's why he's been successful.
04:40 That's why he's a fan favorite of a lot of people, and I like that.
04:45 That's the guy I want to wrestle.
04:47 I don't particularly want to wrestle a guy that's going to, you know, hang back
04:52 and try to keep a close match with you and win a tight one.
04:56 I mean, I want to wrestle a guy that's going to try to score points
04:59 because that's what I want to do.
05:01 So that's the matchup I'm looking for.
05:04 Since you've been here at Iowa, there just hasn't been a lot of duels
05:07 that your team has lost.
05:08 I mean, what have you thought about you and your team's response
05:11 to the duel loss last weekend in Ann Arbor?
05:14 Yeah, it's just, you know, we're on to the next one.
05:20 I mean, there's things that we addressed, things that we've got to pick up on
05:25 and get better at, but we've got to have a short memory.
05:28 I mean, Michigan's a really good team, and now we're stepping it up to Penn State,
05:34 and so we don't really have time to, you know, feel sorry for ourselves
05:38 or make a huge change.
05:41 I don't think there needs to be a huge change, but we don't have time for that.
05:44 We've got to get back on the horse and keep going.
05:48 Is there a bigger sense of urgency when you're going into a Penn State duel
05:51 like this where the competition--I mean, this is as high as it's going to get.
05:55 Is there anything that's changing in your guys' preparation as a team,
05:58 or is it all just kind of the same?
06:00 I don't think anything changes preparation-wise.
06:04 You know, maybe mentally and just attitudes, you know, there can be.
06:08 There can be a little more urgency, not that there should be because, you know,
06:12 at every match you need to prepare like it's the toughest match in the world.
06:17 But, yeah, there's a little more urgency,
06:19 and we understand the significance of the duel for sure.
06:26 How often do your parents attend duels,
06:30 and are you expecting them to be here Friday night?
06:33 Yeah, yeah, they'll be here.
06:35 They come to everything.
06:38 Actually, it's pretty crazy what they'll do.
06:42 Last weekend or whenever it was when we were, you know,
06:44 Illinois Friday, Northwestern Sunday, my brother, who wrestles at St. Cloud,
06:50 he's a true freshman, he just got his red shirt pulled,
06:53 and he wrestled on Saturday.
06:55 And so my parents were out there.
06:57 My dad--and that was a game-time decision--my dad flew back.
07:01 He went to St. Cloud, watched my brother wrestle, and then flew back
07:06 and was there on Sunday for Northwestern with my mom.
07:10 So, yeah, they're going to be there.
07:12 That's going to mean a lot to you for them to kind of move boulders
07:17 to be able to get to where you're at and watch you compete.
07:21 Yeah, absolutely.
07:22 Support means everything, and it's awesome, awesome to have.
07:27 Thanks, Zach.
07:28 Thanks, Zach.
07:29 Thanks.
07:30 [BLANK_AUDIO]