Pac-10 Champs Athlete Quotes - University of Oregon Athletics

Tanner Gardner, Stanford, 125 Champion

“This was the first time I’ve wrestled him (Anthony Robles, ASU). I saw my first tapes of him yesterday, so I credit our coaches with coming up with a great game plan and making the proper adjustments. I pride myself on my conditioning but that didn’t play much of a part because he wrestles at a different pace and relies more on his strength. I was able to choose down, which most guys don’t do against him, and get out. There was one point where I got in a little bit of trouble in a cradle, but I was able to react and get out.”

I never thought about the fact that I was a senior or he was a freshman. This year, I’ve focused on just trying to dominate and going for the pin, and letting the wins and losses take care of themselves.”

Anthony Robles, Arizona State, 125 Runner-up

“This weekend has been exciting. I’m just really happy to be going to nationals. I can definitely watch tape and see what I did wrong in the match. It’s just going to make me a better wrestler.”

“I feel pretty good. I really wanted to come out on top, but I’m a freshman so I have a long way to go. My time will come.”

Cory Fish, Boise State, 133 Champion

“Ryan (Dunn, Oregon) wrestles with great intensity, so I tried to match it and keep moving so he couldn’t control the pace. I didn’t want to get frustrated and wanted to stay relaxed and loose. My crowd support was great, but his was really loud, too, especially since we’re in Eugene, so I wanted to try and not let them get too excited. Ryan’s a great wrestler and he’s beaten me at least four or five times before, so this was my third win against him I think (he also beat Dunn at Pac-10s last year).”

“Ryan (Dunn, Oregon) is pretty much my nemesis. He doesn’t stop coming at you. He’s a competitor. I just tried to stay in position as much as possible and get to his legs as much as possible because I knew when I got o his legs, he couldn’t get to mine.”

Ryan Dunn, Oregon, 133 Runner-up

“It was great to have the crowd behind me. It was a good match. I had a good time wrestling. I just hope the crows had a good time watching. What a great way to go out. The crowd was booming.”

“Cory (Fish) just wrestled really smart. He was on tonight. I’m really happy for him. I tried to look for some openings, but he wouldn’t give in to anything. That’s what a champion does. I’m going to St. Louis (for the NCAA Championships), so I can’t be too bummed about that. I’m excited to wrestle with the best guys in the nation.”

“There was a little bit of sadness because it’s probably the last time I will wrestle here. I’m really going to miss this atmosphere.”

Chad Mendez, Cal Poly, 141 Champion

“He (Chris Drouin, Arizona State) is a tough kid. He’s a strong competitor. I’ve just been trying to keep the season fun, not put too much pressure on myself and do my best.”

Morgan Atkinson, Cal State Fullerton, 149 Champion

“It’s always nice to go out this way at the conference championship. I was pretty confident going into that match. I was mentally prepared to go out there and wrestle. We were expecting to win it (the conference title), but now we’re fighting for second place. Those points were huge for our team.”

Chase Pami, Cal Poly, 157 Champion

“He (Tyler Sherfey, Boise State) is a tough competitor and a great person. He goes hard. Tonight, I did everything I needed to win. I listened to my coaches and everything worked out the way we wanted. We went over some key, specific details, and that really came up big for us tonight. Without that, I don’t know if the match would have ended up the same way.”

Patrick Pitsch, Arizona State, 165 Champion

“He (Kurt Swartz, Boise State) kind of surprised me with that opening takedown, but I settle down after that and strategically picked my spots. When I’m moving my feet, I feel like I can’t be stopped. I guess I have to get knocked down to get into it. It meant a lot to win in my last time out here.”

Nathan Lee, Boise State, 174 Champion

“I just knew it was going to be a battle. He took me down in the first period. You can’t get shaken up. You just need to keep wrestling. I knew my game plan. The way we’ve been training the last three weeks, I knew I would last longer. We all (Boise State) knew we were ready for this tournament.”

Brent Chriswell, Arizona State, 184 Champion

“I broke two ribs after Christmas so it took a while to get back in shape. I knew that I could beat anybody in the conference, but it took time to build my strength back up when I started coming back a few weeks later after not doing anything for a while. I thought the final match tonight would be closer, so maybe I need to work on my confidence a little.”

Kyle Bressler, Oregon State, 197 Champion

“It was one of those things where you don’t know what’s going to happen. It was just a good feeling. He (Jason Trulson, Arizona State) is just really strong. He was staying pretty square. I just had to take my shots. I’m not a full 197-pounder. A win’s a win. You just need to battle it out.”

Travis Gardner, Oregon State, Heavyweight (285) Champion

"He's similar size to me so that always helps a little.He got a reversal in the second so that forced me to focus a little more to get back into it. It's a great feeling to be a Pac-10 champion and be a part of our lengthy history. He's a tough oopponent."