Head Coach Cael Sanderson, then 125 lb starter Luke Lilledahl and 149 lb starter Shayne Van Ness met with the media ahead of the NCAA Championships, which get underway at noon on Thursday, March 19 in Cleveland, OH.
Cael Sanderson – Head Coach
Seven top seeds and the strength of the program
Yeah, obviously I got a lot of great kids. Seeds are just the way I always look at it, if the coaches could—although the coaches aren’t on the seating committee—it’s like, who’s the last guy in the bracket you want to wrestle? That’s really what the seeds are. Our guys earned that by just wrestling
hard this year, being consistent, and obviously wrestling in a tough conference. It’s just a great opportunity to go wrestle for a national championship and this only comes around once a year. It’s a good week to be excited and wrestle with some enthusiasm.
(00:00 – 00:52)
Expectations from outside sources: burden or blessing?
I don’t know, I don’t really think about it too much. I just know what each individual’s goals are and we are just trying to help them be the best they can be in the big moments. Obviously, the nationals is a big moment. In a week, we’re going to be back here at Rec Hall training again, getting ready for the next thing. The next thing will be the big thing. The NCAA tournament’s a lot of fun. These guys work hard; they think about this tournament, probably dream about it as a kid, and it’s just a great opportunity for them. We don’t really look at it as a blessing or a burden really, it just is what it is. If you want to win the nationals, you go win your next match, go score points, do what you do, and the results will take care of themselves.
(00:52 – 02:04)
Freshmen success at 133 lbs, 157 lbs, and 184 lbs
Kids are just ready to go now. They’re wrestling and training in RTCs, there’s just so many opportunities, and coaching’s continuing to improve technique. I think you’ll continue to see freshmen—not that it’s new—but more freshmen be ready to challenge. Obviously, we’re extremely excited and grateful for Marcus [Blaze] at 133 lbs as a freshman. Just the character he has, his drive, and his competitiveness is a boost for the whole program. At 157 lbs, PJ [Duke] is the same thing—just an outstanding human being and an incredible wrestler, just like Marcus [Blaze]. I know those guys are excited to wrestle. At 184 lbs, Rocco [Welsh] has had a great year and put himself in a great position to go attack one of his goals. It’s fun to see what they do with those opportunities. All the preparation in the world, whatever resources you may have, ultimately comes down to you getting out there and doing what you do.
(02:04 – 04:24)
Training evolution and peaking for the postseason
We track everything. We know what we did every practice for the last 15 years, and we reflect back and learn. A lot of times you learn by accident and by mistakes. The way college wrestlers train has kind of changed over the last 15 years. For us, peaking is just about enthusiasm. It’s being excited to be where you’re at in that moment. It’s a year-long process and a multi-year-long process. You want your kids to enjoy the sport and enjoy competing more when they leave here than when they get here. We pride ourselves in that. When our kids leave our program, they’re going to love the sport and the ups and downs more than when they get here. That’s a big part of peaking—the enthusiasm factor in the right moments.
(04:24 – 05:54)
Impact of wrestling in the Big Ten
I think wrestling in the Big Ten is a blessing for us for a lot of reasons, just because you wrestle the same teams and some of the best kids and coaches. You have to wrestle them over and over again, so you can’t just sit tight and hang on. You’ve got to really be active and find ways to do things better and improve as the season goes along because you’re going to see the same kids over and over again. Obviously, it’s a lot of fun—big crowds, a lot of history, and a lot of passion across the board in the conference.
(05:54 – 06:58)
Managing downtime during the three-day tournament
That’s a good question. If you have the answer to that, you could write a bestselling book. The kids have to make decisions and it just comes with just being themselves, not changing. You would hope they could stay off social media, but most of them aren’t—that’s just what they do every day and that’s part of who they are. These kids grew up with that more than my generation. As a coaching staff, we just try to make sure we have the right energy and the right attitude. When you’re prepared and you’re doing your best to do things the right way, then you can sleep when the wind blows. These guys know there hasn’t been a year that our teams haven’t wrestled great at the national tournament. That should give them a lot of confidence to just be comfortable and go do what they do.
(06:58 – 08:44)
Marcus Blaze’s loss to Ben Davino and the familiarity factor
They’re both really good wrestlers. If it’s coming down to a 30-second rideout, it’s kind of a flip of the coin. Obviously, there’s tactics, mental toughness, strategy, and grit, but we don’t really want to be there. When you have two great wrestlers and they’re both hard to score on, sometimes you find yourself in those positions. I think Marcus [Blaze] will only be that much hungrier and more willing to go take care of things in regulation with all of his matches. He’s as competitive as anyone I’ve coached. I’m excited to see him wrestle this weekend; I think he’s going to get after it.
(08:44 – 10:14)
Depth and success of Pennsylvania wrestling
I think there’s just a lot of depth. They wrestle a long, competitive season and really good tournaments over and over again, so they’re used to an NCAA season. They’re really good mat wrestlers, which makes a difference in college wrestling. There are a lot of great coaches and club opportunities. I think a lot of it’s just belief, too. They know that they’re good and they believe in themselves. Wrestling has historically always been outstanding in PA, even when it wasn’t recognized as much. Belief is probably number one, and that’s there in the state.
(10:14 – 11:31)
Approaching NCAA scoring records
That’s just the furthest thing from our mind, really. Those are things you look back at later, maybe. When you’re looking ahead, you’re keeping things really simple. You’re focusing on exactly what you can control—the way you’re thinking, what you can do with your hands and your feet. We want to see 10 guys go out there and be the best version of themselves, and just wrestle with gratitude and enthusiasm. When the dust settles, then we’ll take a look around and see what we can do better.
(11:31 – 12:35)
Thoughts on the Big Ten seating process
We have an annual Big Ten coaches’ meeting where we all get together and it’ll be discussed. It only affected maybe three teams. You had to be within 15 points, so only a few of the seeds were even discussed. It has to be looked at again. Wrestling’s unique in that if somebody’s injured or sick and not getting matches in, you still have to seat it fairly for the kids and do the right thing for them. If you don’t seat people the way they should be, it’s going to hurt somebody, and generally, it isn’t the kid being seated lower—it’s somebody that guy dropped into earlier than he should have. We spent a lot of time seating that tournament trying to do it the right way, factoring in if a kid is hurt or hasn’t wrestled. It’s obviously worth the time because you’ve got to do the right thing for the kids.
(12:35 – 14:48)
NCAA seeding and Jax Forrest at 133 lbs
This year, I didn’t really look too deep into the seeds. In the past, obviously, there were some things, like putting Carter [Starocci] at an 8 or 9 seed when you heard before that he was the 7, and then they went home and switched him. You put three national champs in the same section of the bracket—that kind of stuff. It’s hard because you don’t know if somebody’s actually hurt. Carter [Starocci] won a national title with a messed-up knee; not very many human beings could do that. In the past, you’re looking and saying, “Okay, who’s on the committee?” But we just got to go wrestle, do our thing, and be ourselves. We have a great group of kids and they’re going to compete regardless of where they’re at in the bracket.
(14:48 – 16:18)
Leadership from Levi Haines and Mitchell Mesenbrink
I think they all feed off each other. Having the leadership of somebody like Levi [Haines]—being a senior and having his consistency and groundedness—is a big deal. The way Mitchell [Mesenbrink] competes and that leadership is outstanding. This team’s been very close. These guys care about each other, they’re team players, and they’re here for the right reasons. But in wrestling, you can’t be relying on momentum; you’ve got to go out there and create your own momentum and do your own thing regardless of what’s going on around you.
(16:18 – 17:54)
Expectations for the atmosphere in Cleveland
I don’t really have too many expectations. I’m sure we’ll have a great group there. My hope and focus is just simply on our 10 guys, and when it’s all said and done, we hope they’re all smiling.
(17:54 – 18:35)
PSU’s influence on the training landscape
I think so, yeah, 100%. Just our schedule—15 years ago, if you would have said this is our schedule, people would have thought that was crazy. Now everyone does the same stuff. That just shows you if you want to keep competing, you’ve got to continue to adapt and adjust.
(18:35 – 19:10)
Rocco Welsh’s transition to the number one seed
I don’t think anyone looks at it that deep. You’ve just got who’s your first match, let’s go do what we do, and then we’ll figure out who we’ve got next. Obviously, you’re planning and preparing, but it’s one at a time. Regardless of where you’re at in the bracket, you just go take care of your next match and things will work out.
(19:10 – 19:47)
Preparing for non-conference opponents
If you see our guys wrestle, we don’t adapt to people that much. We try to make our opponents adapt to us. We’re not shifting our plan every week based on who we’re competing against. We’re trying to just help each individual get better at what they do. Of course, you have to be mindful of tactics and strategies of opponents, but wrestling is pretty simple. The strategy is just kind of wrestling your positions, and if it’s not your position, get out of there. If you approach your matches with that, it doesn’t really matter who you’re wrestling.
(19:47 – 21:26)
Seeing former PSU wrestlers like David Evans and Terrell Barraclough succeed
David [Evans] is a great kid. We really enjoyed having him in the program; he did an awesome job for us. It’s great to see him have success, especially to go out to a program in the West where there just aren’t very many programs and to help them have a strong year. It’s cool to see.
(21:26 – 22:07)
Levi Haines’ impact and final year in the lineup
The years fly by. Levi [Haines] is just an incredible human being and an incredible leader. If kids are hanging out with him, you’re not worried about them because they’re probably out hunting or something. Seeing the success he was able to have and even the discipline—he went 157 lbs his first couple of years, and that took a lot for a young kid to be as disciplined as he was to compete well at that weight. He’s not a complainer, he’s always positive, and obviously a competitor. We’re going to miss him. You hope these guys get the most out of these four years and then they move on to the next thing. A guy like Levi [Haines] is a guy where you’re thinking, “Oh man, we only have one more year with this guy.” He’s pretty special. He’s a guy that we will miss as much as anyone that we’ve ever had come through here just because of the quality of person he is and his leadership and example.
(22:07 – 24:08)
Preparing Braeden Davis and Cole Mirasola for tournament rematches
It’s all preparation. This tournament is preparation for the next thing, too. I don’t think there’s any special message. These guys have been in wrestling tournaments their whole lives and you’re not always the number one seed. It doesn’t really matter. Again, the goal is to be the best you can be. Our guys historically do really well when they wrestle the same competitor over and over again. It’s just them choosing to believe in themselves and let’s go find a way to get it done.
(24:08 – 25:17)
Luke Lilledahl – Sophomore, 125 lbs
Being part of a program with seven No. 1 seeds
As you said, it’s unprecedented, so it’s obviously really cool to be a part of a team that’s full of a bunch of savages. At the same time, I feel like none of us really care about the seeds. We’re just going to go out there and wrestle hard and do our job. Obviously, we want to have 10 NCAA champs. I feel like as a team, if we don’t have 10 NCAA champs, we kind of are just like, “All right, next year we got to get it done.” I think we’re kind of always just looking to the next thing and trying to become better than the last year.
(00:12 – 01:03)
Potential rematch with Sheldon Seymour
I definitely wanted that rematch at the dual and didn’t get it, so I’d be more than happy to wrestle him and more than excited to wrestle him. But at the same time, I’m more than excited to wrestle every guy in that bracket. Whoever I have in the semis is whoever I have; it doesn’t really matter. I’m just going to go out there and score points and have fun. At the end of the day, my goal is to be an NCAA champ, and nobody in the bracket is at my level, I think. If I just go out there and wrestle the way I want to, that’s going to be proven.
(01:12 – 01:56)
Shayne Van Ness – Junior, 149 lbs
Making the final win the best win
I just think I’m going to go out there and have fun. When I take things too serious, I tend to overthink and I’m just not myself out there. As long as I’m having fun, everything’s going to take care of itself.
(02:17 – 02:32)
Luke Lilledahl – Sophomore, 125 lbs
Advice for PJ Duke as a No. 1 seed true freshman
Honestly, I don’t really think he needs any guidance. I feel like he’s pretty good at what he does, and that’s just go out there, get to his ties, and score as many points as he can. So, I don’t really have too much advice that I would give him, honestly. But I do think that the NCAA tournament is a really special tournament and it’s one of the most exciting tournaments that you can be a part of. Just going out there and enjoying the moment is really important and not getting caught up in all the fans and stuff until after you’ve gone and taken care of business. I think he’s in a good spot, and we all have full confidence in him.
(02:49 – 03:40)
Success of the Wyoming Seminary [Sim] program
I think there’s no other place like it, in my opinion. Obviously, Shayne went to Blair, so he can give his perspective on that—we’re kind of rival high schools. But just the schedule that we wrestle, the coaches that we had, and the brotherhood that we have as well. Living with each other is definitely a different perspective than a lot of high schools give, and I think that all coming together kind of helps us in college. We’re already ready when we get to college because we’ve pretty much been in college for however long we went to a prep school like Blair or Sim. Wyoming Seminary [Sim] definitely helped me in that aspect with wrestling and with my personal life—getting ready for college, being by myself, that kind of thing. There’s really nothing that I would go back and change.
(04:01 – 05:07)
Shayne Van Ness – Junior, 149 lbs
Reaching optimized performance for the postseason
For me, it’s just trusting in the plan. We have some of the greatest coaches in the world, if not the greatest, and they know exactly what they’re doing. Just having that trust in them and our preparation—which we can see throughout history—this is our best tournament historically throughout all the years of this program. As long as we can have confidence and trust in our coaches, there’s no reason to not go out there and go have some fun. It’s a fun tournament, and I think that brings out the best in us. We’re competitors, we want to wrestle the best, and this is one of the best opportunities to do that.
(05:31 – 06:07)
Luke Lilledahl – Sophomore, 125 lbs
Team perspective on competing at nationals
I feel like a lot of our guys historically, their best tournament is the NCAA tournament. A lot of other teams and guys on other teams might feel like they have a lot more to lose at the NCAA tournament. I think the fact that we have a different perspective on things and competing—that we’re going to go out there and enjoy everything—and our significance in life is not determined by our wins and our losses. We just go out there, we compete, and we wrestle hard. Whether we win or lose, the coaches are still going to love us, our families are still going to love us, and that gives us peace and the ability to go out there and just wrestle as hard as we can.
(06:10 – 07:03)
Shayne Van Ness – Junior, 149 lbs
Managing downtime and watching teammates
I try to watch what I can, but after the tournament’s over, I’ll go back and watch all my teammates’ matches. That’s kind of how I do dual meets, too. I miss usually 157 lbs and some 165 lbs, and then all the guys that wrestle before me. I just take my time after and I go and show my respect, and then I’ll talk to them about what I thought. But I know we’re all going to go do our job. It’s nice—I’ll get three days locked in a room with this guy [Lilledahl], so when we’re just chilling and hanging out, he’s not too bad a company.
(07:22 – 07:58)
Luke Lilledahl – Sophomore, 125 lbs
Keeping the mind off wrestling in the hotel
During the tournament, it’s almost like, me personally, I don’t try to think about wrestling until I’m in the arena. When I’m at the hotel, I’m playing Minecraft with this guy or watching a movie—just doing something to kind of keep my mind off wrestling. But then I feel like once we get to the arena, it’s flip that switch and just get ready to go compete and have fun.
(08:01 – 08:34)
Shayne Van Ness – Junior, 149 lbs
Potential quarterfinal matchup with David Evans
I actually lived with Dave for a while, so we were really close. He’s a great competitor, he wrestles hard, and yeah, I’m excited. If I see him in the quarters, it’ll be a great match.
(08:49 – 09:05)
Takeaways from the Big Ten tournament
I think the biggest thing I took away from that tournament was just to have fun. I was really serious on that first day, and I was a lot more relaxed the second day. As long as I remembered that this is just a game and we’re just having fun, I think that’s what I want to take away.
(09:27 – 09:45)
Luke Lilledahl – Sophomore, 125 lbs
Confidence and trust in the coaches’ plan
Our coaches have a plan. As soon as the NCAA tournament’s over this year, they’re going to start making a plan for next year. I think that aspect—their planning—allows us to have full trust in them and the feeling that you have left no stone unturned. That is a pretty good feeling when you’re going to go out there and be in a combative environment with another person. That feeling that you’ve done everything you can allows you to go out there and compete hard and have fun, and that’s the most important thing.
(10:04 – 10:48)
Shayne Van Ness – Junior, 149 lbs
The opportunity to wrestle the best in the world
For me, it’s just the idea that we have five opportunities to wrestle some of the best guys in the world, and that there’s no other weekend like this in the world. This is the best weekend for wrestling. I talked about having trust in our program and our coaches, but just that idea that this is such an incredible opportunity—why not take advantage of it?
(10:48 – 11:16)
Luke Lilledahl – Sophomore, 125 lbs
Maintaining a growth mindset to avoid complacency
I think we all have a similar mindset in that aspect. We all have a growth mindset. It’s easy to get complacent if the same things are happening and you’re just smashing people all the time—there’s not much left that you can do. But with the growth mindset, we want to keep getting better, and obviously, we’re not going to be satisfied pretty much ever. Even if we have 10 NCAA champs, it’s going to be like, “All right, well, we could have scored more in these positions.” Always being open to learning new positions and even learning new perspectives from people that have done it before is really helpful.
(11:54 – 13:03)
Shayne Van Ness – Junior, 149 lbs
The “Another Tuesday” consistency mindset
For me, it’s about consistency. That’s something that’s really important to me, and something this year that I’ve said a lot is it’s just another Tuesday. Whether it’s Monday like today or it’s Saturday night at the NCAA finals, I’m treating it just like a regular Tuesday. I think that kind of helps with that complacency thing—on Tuesdays, I get better and I continue to grow. It doesn’t really matter if we just broke a record, or if we just lost, or if we just smashed everybody and shut them out, because it’s just another Tuesday and this is what we do.
(13:03 – 13:38)
Luke Lilledahl – Sophomore, 125 lbs
Learning from last year’s quarterfinal mistakes
For me, maybe last year getting caught up in the moment a little too much and wrestling not the way that I wanted to in the quarterfinals. I think just not letting the moment get to me as much this year. Having been there before, I think it’s familiarity as well. I know what to expect, I know the schedule of things, when the workouts are going to be, and how I’m going to get my weight off. Nothing’s a surprise this year and I’m just going to go out there and take care of business.
(13:51 – 14:44)
Shayne Van Ness – Junior, 149 lbs
Remembering to have fun and smile
I think I kind of touched on it already, but for me, it’s just remembering to have fun, to smile, and to enjoy it. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be able to wrestle at the NCAA Championships, so just enjoy it and be myself.
(14:44 – 15:01)
