Kellen Russell's Rookie Diary: Entry #6
3/26/2008 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
It is a few days after the conclusion of the NCAA Wrestling Championships, at which freshman Kellen Russell fell just a match short of placing in his first appearance at the national event. Back home in Ann Arbor, Kellen reflects on the tournament and his first collegiate season.
School ends in three weeks, and I have a lot to do in the meantime. I've done pretty well in my classes this year. I think I came in pretty well prepared for school, and I really don't think it was that much different for me than high school. Obviously, the classes were a little tougher, but it wasn't that big of a leap for me. But I'm really looking forward to being done for a short time. I need to take spring classes, however, because I'm on the four-year plan. I haven't registered yet, and I'm not quite sure what I'll take, but it will definitely be a lighter load, which will be a nice break.
I actually had to take a biology exam in my St. Louis hotel room the day before nationals. It wasn't terribly difficult. It was just multiple choice, and it only took me about 20 minutes. I still don't know how I did on it. I keep checking online, but it's not posted yet. I was supposed to take the exam on Tuesday night, but instead we had a travel nightmare. We had 16 hours of travel to get to St. Louis for what could have been just a seven-hour bus ride. That was brutal. We had a layover at the Chicago airport and were delayed there for about 10 hours. Some old lady tried to steal Ty's phone, and he scolded her like a little school girl, waving his finger. We ended up getting on a bus anyway, sharing it with the Liberty team. That was kind of funny. We watched "Joe Dirt" with them. That bus ride killed me though. We didn't roll into St. Louis until about 1 a.m.
I obviously didn't have the type of NCAA Championships performance that I was expecting. I think I wrestled really well on the first day, but I had a big letdown on the second day. It just seemed like one of those days where I just didn't wrestle well and nothing was going my way. In the consolation match against Tennessee Chattanooga's Cody Cleveland, I nearly had him taken down about 10 times, but I just couldn't finish anything.
The NCAA tournament can be pretty overwhelming, and I think I let it get to me a little bit. I got nervous about everything. I was overanxious wrestling Ohio State's J Jaggers in the quarterfinals, because I didn't want to wrestle the same type of match as the last time I wrestled him in the dual meet. But it backfired. I was being offensive, but none of my shots was very good. I took too many half shots, so both of those second-day guys were able to counter them. I wasn't handfighting like I had been in my first two matches. I let up on it and ended up giving up takedowns as a result. That's how I lost both those matches. I wasn't able to wrestle through situations. I guess I just didn't really feel like myself.
It was good to get that experience -- going down there with the team, seeing the atmosphere of the place and wrestling in front of everybody. I really wanted to be a four-time All-American, so it was a little rough for me right after I lost. But after talking with Ryan and Josh Churella, I realize that I would certainly rather be a two- or three-time NCAA champion than a four-time All-American. So, that's what I'm thinking about right now. I should have wrestled a lot better, but stuff like that can happen. I had a letdown at the wrong time of the season. Hopefully, I don't have another letdown at the NCAAs. I still have three years -- that's what a lot of people keep reminding me. I felt pretty bad for the first couple days, but I'm feeling a lot better now. I need to start looking ahead to next year.
First, I'm taking a little time off. This was definitely the longest season that I've ever experienced, and I need a break to let my body heal. So, right now, I'm just doing a little lifting and staying off the mat, but I'll probably start rolling around next week with Josh as we prepare for these upcoming freestyle competitions. Quite a few of my teammates are planning to do freestyle this summer, so I'll have several guys to train with. I'm pretty excited to start working with Andy Hrovat and Ryan Churella. Those guys have wrestled at Senior Nationals over the last several years and found quite a bit of success in freestyle.
I'm looking forward to going back to Las Vegas for FILA Juniors at the end of April. I'm hoping to qualify for the trials and make the junior world team. The top six placers at FILA Juniors qualify, so that's the first step. I started wrestling freestyle when I was a freshman in high school. I really enjoy it, I think partly because I haven't done it that much. I've only been doing it for four or five years. I think my style fits well in freestyle. I'll obviously face a different level of competition this summer than in high school, but I've done pretty well over the last few years. I think I'm used to wrestling many of the guys I'll probably see this summer. I just need to learn a few tricks that Andy, Ryan and Joe should be able to show me.
I think a lot of the top college guys at my weight are among the top freestyle guys, so I'm hoping to see some of them this summer. Most of the top guys at 141 are also coming back next year, and I'm looking forward to wrestling them again. I still believe my freshman year was a success. I won a lot of matches, and I won a Big Ten title. I think, with the exception of last weekend, I wrestled really well throughout the whole year. But right now I'm already looking toward the future. I'm getting excited for next year, and I'm anticipating some great things to come.
