20 questions plus : Quentin Wright – Part Two

2011 NCAA 184 Champion Quentin Wright

(We continue with part two of the interview…)

31) This year. were you a little bit surprised that going to 174 to 184 that the guys were maybe just a little bigger or a little bit stronger? Did that take some time to get adjusted to? Or was that not a factor at all?

Nah, that was not really a factor for me. I was already there. I was just as big & just as strong as all of them. I had to just get accustom to playing to my own strengths. Everyone has their own strengths It is hard to beat someone when you wrestle their game. I just had to wrestle MY GAME. That’s the main thing.

32) Since you didn’t have to cut weight anymore did you go pig out after you won NCAAs ?

No I didn’t but when I want to go eat I personally love going to the Texas Roadhouse. It is really good. A nice large rib eye.

33) How much weight were you sucking because a couple people in State College last summer tell me that you were over 200 lbs?

Last summer I was weighing about 210 soaking wet! Over time I just cut it down, slowly. And I eventually got down to 184. It took a long time & it was pretty hard to do. There is a lot of discipline that goes into it but I eventually got it. Weight loss now is a lot safer then back when you were doing it. It is a lot better for the sport of wrestling. No jogging wearing vinyls in the sauna!

34) So with the amount of weight you were carrying last summer in mind, are you looking to move up again next season or is that just a lot of talk? Turk, CA; MCW, NYC; Buck, TOM; Nathan, PA;

Well we have to see what is best for the team. That is pretty much it. We have to make a strong team & we will see where all the players fall out.

Whose feet will be on this scale come November?

35) Just because 197 has been a hole for you guys for the past 2 years with Clay (Steadman) being injured & new guys coming in, is that a weight you could see yourself at next season or years down the road? Turk, CA; MCW, NYC; Buck, TOM; Nathan, PA;

Yea, yea definitely. I think that is part of the plan. We got a young kid coming in (Morgan McIntosh) & he might get red-shirted so we just don’t know how it is all going to play out. I am ready to fill in the 197 spot. It wouldn’t be too hard to do that. We have to put our best team there so whoever wins that spot that is what we are going to do.

36) From my perspective, 13 lbs is lot for you to put on. Are you going to have to start working on getting bigger soon if not now?

It doesn’t take that long. It only takes me about 2 months to bulk up 13 lbs of solid muscle.

37) So I guess it is something that we will be hearing about then?

Yes you’ll probably here about it come September or October. Actually I think by September we’ll know where things fall out.

38) Do you watch the WWE or the WWF? DM, TOM

Nah! I watch that for about 10 seconds, laugh at them & then turn the channel. They are funny sometimes. I do know people love that stuff. In Japan it is HUGE. People eat it up because all it is, is just a staged performance of wrestling. It isn’t spontaneous like real wrestling. It is just a performance & people want to be entertained.

39) I would say it is more of a staged bar fight or scramble more then anything else, don’t you think?

(Laughs) Ha ha yea, that is what it turns into for the most part but HEY you can make a lot of money off of a staged bar fight like that.

40) Speaking of “mad scrambles,” have you ever been able to takedown Cael &

Are you ready for this?

put him on his back while practicing or going live? TW, The Mat; VG, TOM; DM, TOM

Oh definitely! I have been able to do that a few times but he doesn’t go 100% on us all the time. Sometimes we catch him off guard When ever we get the takedown, he makes sure that he gets the next TEN just to combat that. He does a good job of just play-wrestling with us. I don’t know if he has ever been going 100% when I got a takedown on him. He likes to give you about 90% of the takedown & then he has fun trying to get out of it.

41) Ed Ruth told me that that Casey & Cael like to tell you what they are going to take you down with, then they do that & then pin you. You have witnessed this?

Oh, they do that!

42) Have they done that to you?

I asked you if you were ready for this...

Oh yeah, definitely, but I don’t think it is as easy for them now, after a year & a half of it, as it was before. But when I first started wrestling with them, that’s how it went. Then they would laugh at you so it gives a little motivation to give it your best shot the next time.

43) Have you ever done any wrestling camps? Eric, MN

Yea I am going to be at the Penn State camps as that is who I am representing right now. I have not gotten any other offers from any other places. Anything to do with Penn State I will probably be at.

44) Ever worked with Ray Brinzer? Eric, MN

Oh yea last year I did a Clarion camp with him, he is a great guy! Smart too. He really helped me with my Greco wrestling coming up through High School. He helped make me into the Greco wrestler that I am. Also he helped in Freestyle as I love throwing people & a lot of that has to do with him.

45) You did the Clinch Gear Camps too right? Eric, MN

I was one of the instructors last year at the Clinch Gear Camps as well. I have to thank him for the T-shirt & I love their stuff! I’ve known Brinzer for a long time & he is a great coach. And he loves the sport of wrestling. I encourage everyone to learn some wrestling from him. It was a lot of fun & the kids really liked it. It was a great experience. I will remember it for the rest of my life as we had some good times there.

No longer stuck in a Rutt: Quentin avenges loss by fall to Wisconsin's #1 seed in the Big Ten Quarters

46) Was there a time in the past few weeks that you realized that you revenged all your losses from this season?

Yes after my semi-final match at Nationals I realized that I defended all my losses from this year except for the match vs. Scheidel where I injury defaulted. But I was up 2-0 in that one when that happened so I won’t count that one too much.

47) Did that give you an extra motivation going into finals match vs. Hamlin?

Oh definitely. I wanted to revenge that one because it was the 1^st match of the year & he beat me on that one scramble & I was like ‘Man I am NOT going to let that one happen again!’ So it was nice to wrestle him in the finals & get that loss back. I wanted to be able to say that I beat all the guys who beat me.

WHOOOMP! There it IS: Someone is soon to be UPSIDE DOWN & Inside OUT! Q avenges another loss in the Big Ten Semis

48) Did you watch any video tape after any of those losses?

Not really. I watched it once & then the coaches told me what I need to improve upon. Mainly I started being myself instead going out there & not doing much. I just had to be myself & I was fine.

49) So it was less of a technical issue with the wrestling & more of a personal issue with yourself?

Yes It was just being true to myself. It was a matter of being who I am & I was going to win matches. And once I found out who I was as a wrestler or at least got it back & got the feel for wrestling back then I could go out there & beat those guys.

Pretzel Logic: The man gave me the news - Quentin Big Ten Champ over Steinhaus

50) So how is your health now? Is your shoulder completely healthy? Akin, TOM

Um, I am not sure. I am just giving it a rest now. I am just taking it day by day. I am on a 2 week break because I went through a rough national tournament.

51) No other body problems going on?

The shoulder still hurts a bit so it will just need a little bit more time & it should be fine.

52) Do you have any interest in trying MMA? Patrick, NY

(Laughs) I don’t know, maybe. I have to give those guys credit because that is a tough sport. Lot of people like to give punches but you have to be able to receive them too! I know I could give them but I don’t know how I would react to receiving them. I might try but I don’t think I would ever try to go professional on it. I might just try to mess around with some guys that I know. I don’t think it is something I am going to competitively though.

Twistin da night away: Quentin avenges disappointing Iowa dual meet loss in EPIC fashion

53) Do you follow Phil Davis at all? Did you know Jared Platt has been his training partner?

Yea I know those guys are in MMA. Once you come to Penn State you are in a big family that follows you for the rest of your life. Jared is a really good guy & wrestler. It didn’t work out for him here but I am sure Jared will train Phil really well.

54) What was your relationship like with Bubba Jenkins when he was at Penn State. We you guys friends? H, The Mat

I respected him. Bubba is different. He is definitely unique. We understood each other. He did his thing & I did mine. Once you have that respect I think that that goes a long way. I think it is amazing that he says that he is going to do something & then he just goes & does it.

Who are you? Do you really wanna know? Mr. Wright wins the rematch with the Vermonster & a NCAA title

55) You guys ever wrestle?

Yes when were younger. I was a junior in High School when I entered into the Penn State Open at 157. He was a freshman & they weren’t sure where they were going to wrestle him so he entered at 157 as well. We wrestled in the 2^nd or 3^rd round. I beat him 9-4. And there was a lot of commotion about who is this young kid who beat Bubba. After that I think Troy decided that he was not going to let me go to school somewhere else.

56) I have heard this rumor that you play the bagpipes? Alan, MD

Yes, I started playing when I was 12 & stopped when I was 14 but I still have them & I can still play a few tunes. I will pick them up once my wrestling career is over. Bagpipes are a lot like wrestling: Tough & you have to be dedicated to them. It is not easy BUT it is fun though! It is difficult but I have always had a knack for music. I pick up things really fast like that.

57) Is this due to some sort of Scottish heritage?

No, I was in the 6^th grade I was a part of a Recorder ensemble, My Dad saw me play & then asked me if I wanted to take Bagpipe lessons. I was like ‘yea sure’. Hey it is another instrument, they are fun. I then took a few years of Bagpipe lessons & learned a lot & got them going. I have played at a few different events. And that was pretty much it & then I got really involved in my wrestling career. Every summer though I will pull out the Bagpipes & play them for about a month or so.

58) Hey I have an idea. What if you marched into Rec Hall playing the

With Quentin we would never have to say that we have a "Pie-pah DOON!"

Bagpipes before a dual meet? I think that that would bring the house down! What do you think?

Oh it definitely would! They are powerful! In the old days when the Scottish were fighting the English, one bagpiper was worth 50 soldiers. If you have about 100 bagpipers coming through the woods, it is enough to make you weak at the knees. It is very emotional. I know when I play at my house, I have people who live half a mile away who tell me that can hear me play. And they will stand out there & listen to me until I stop. You know you gave me a great idea. I think I am going to go work on it & put something together. I just might do that some time.

59) Are you a big Hunter & Fisherman? EL, PA; FP, TWR; CJC, TWR

Oh gosh yes! I am a huge hunter. Well I am not like some crazy Pennsylvania rednecks but I like to go out in the woods every year, spend some time there. Go hunting, go fishing. I grew up on a 87 acre farm so I have spent a lot time out in the woods. It was a Black Angus farm whenever I was growing up. Then we switched over to white tailed deer while I was in High School. We were breeding & raising them.

It was a lot of fun. I love venison. I will make any meal out of venison. It is a great meat. I ate it all through High School. My brother & I would stock in the winter & then all spring that is all we would eat: Venison burgers. We would go on our woods & shoot them ourselves. I would use a 243. And that is just because it won’t knock me on my butt. I am a sissy like that. The ones we raised were for farms. They were too expensive for us to be eating them ourselves.

For fishing, I like to go right on Bald Eagle Creek. My gym teacher has a house right on the stream. I love to go fishing there. I caught a Palomino there once about 20 inches, 3-4 lbs. It was stock but I knew he was there, just took a little bit of time to get it.

60) Ok, last question: You are in the Gold Medal match at the Olympics. You are representing the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club & your Country. There are 10 seconds left BUT you are down by 1 point. What move do you hit in order to take home the Gold? KR. FL

I am going to try everything to win the match. Whatever works. I can’t really say what move as I make it up as I go!

KR: Great well thanks for your time Quentin & Good Luck the rest of the year!

QW: Hey, you’re welcome!  And thanks so much!