Interview with Matt Pell

Missouri senior All-American Matt Pell on the team's success
I’ve definitely seen the program takes some leaps and bounds towards excellence, and it's real exciting to see happen. And it couldn’t happen at a better time, you know. This is my senior year, so this is the last year to make it all happen. I really think the team this year has been real focused and is working really hard in practice. It’s just an example of you get out of it what you put into it.

On what it will take to win the NCAA Tournament
It’s the same every year, what it takes to win Big 12s and win Nationals. It's going to be everyone on the team, all 10 guys need to just go out there and wrestle beyond their expectations in some cases and definitely to their expectations, you know, just go to go out there and perform wrestle seven minutes hard and the rest will work itself out.

On if the Tiger's 20-16 loss to Minnesota in the National Duals reminded the team they had work left to do
No, it really didn’t have that effect. The way I look at it Nationals is a tournament, and we beat Minnesota in a tournament (Southern Scuffle) and we’re on the right path. Right now we just got to keep focus and keep doing what we’re doing. We’re 1-1 with Minnesota the way I look at it. I don’t look at it like they’re No. 1 and we’re No. 2; obviously that is what we’re ranked and that’s what they’re ranked, but in my mind we’re 1-1 and you know we got to make it happen at Nationals.

I definitely think our team has the potential to go out there and win nationals. We beat Minnesota in a team competition before, and ya they can say they didn’t have Reiter, they didn’t have C.P., but we didn’t have – I wasn’t wrestling in that tournament and neither was our other All-American, Tyler McCormick. And also, we dropped out at heavyweight, we couldn’t finish because he got injured. We didn’t finish at 157, so both teams could argue, you know, that they could have performed better had they had more healthy guys, or whatever, but the way I look at it it’s a tight race. We’re a good tournament team; we’ve got a lot of pinners on the team.

Guys are stepping up right now. Wagner just beat the No. 2 ranked guy at the nation at 149. That’s something that was totally unexpected by the rest of the wrestling community besides the other 10 guys on our team. The way I look at it the opportunity is there, we have the potential, we’ve put in the hard work and now its all about just going out and doing it, believing in our self and not listening to people who are going to try to cut us down and call us No. 2 and try to set that expectation. I don’t really like to think of it like that. I don’t expect to get second at Nationals, I expect to win it.

On this weekend's dual with second-ranked Iowa State
They way I see it is Iowa State and Missouri are the two toughest programs in the Big 12 and two of the probably top three programs in the nation. You know, it’s definitely going to be a huge dual. It’s going to be a battle every match. It’s going to be won or lost depending on who shows up to wrestle. I don’t look for anything less than a real, real good dual. It’s going to be real exciting for the fans I’m sure. It’s nice to have it at home, we’ll have the fan support. They’re a great team, and so are we, so these are the kind of duals you look forward too, you know.

On Sunday's match with Trent Paulson
Me and Travis have wrestled a few times in the past. It’s always a good match. You know, it’s gone both ways. Like I said, we’re both going to go out there and expect to win and I expect him to feel the same way. I feel like I’m going out there to win the match, and I expect Travis to be thinking the same thing. It’s who shows up and does. Both talented wrestlers, and like I said its one of those matches I’m looking forward to. I like the competition

On the type of rivarly he has with Paulson
Definitely not heated, I like Travis, he's a good guy. I like both of ‘em, both Trent and Travis. But on the mat, we’re not friends on the mat. It’s both of our senior years. Hopefully, we can train in the future to win the Olympics together or work towards other goals. As far as college wrestling goes, there is always ... You’re wrestling team vs. team so there is always that rivalry. You feel camaraderie towards your teammates and you feel like everyone else is against you. There is always a little bit of that, but nothing personal.

On being a leader on a team expected to contend for the NCAA Title
This year, it’s definitely been different in the sense that I am that fifth-year senior, and I am expected to be a leader on the team, and I think Ben and I am doing a good job right now just trying keep the team focused on what’s important, you know, first things first.
We’re a real proactive team. Everyone wants to win on this team, and they all work for it, you know, they’re not just passive observers. They get out there and try to make it happen. The only thing we need to work on is trying to minimize the outside influence from becoming everyone’s sole focus, you know. We’ve got to focus on what these 10 guys in the room can do, and each guy has to focus on what he can do as an individual. That’s the way great teams pull together, and that’s why we’ve been so successful this year, and we are going to continue to be successful for the rest of the season. As far as my role as a leader, I think it’s just doing my best to minimize the outside influences and keep the team on what’s truly important.