Quotes from U.S. freestyle wrestlers and National Coach at Pan American Championships

55 kg/121 lbs. - Henry Cejudo, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Sunkist Kids), gold medal

"I had to turn it up. I knew this was my home. After that first period, I had to pick up the pace. I live here and I had to do it."

"My number one concern was to qualify the weight class. For me, qualifying the weight class was winning the tournament. It was a hard weight cut for me. This was a good awakening."

(about the possibility of going to the Olympics)
"First is the Nationals, then the Trials, then Beijing. I think about (Beijing) every day. I have to make the U.S. team first."

60 kg/132 lbs. - Mike Zadick, Solon, Iowa (Gator WC), bronze medal

"It is frustrating. You go overseas and you have to beat the politics. You train to expect that and to dominate. Being here in my country and to have the officials do that. It comes down to it being in my own hands. You feel in the match he is dying. You are pouring it on. I knew he was so tired, he wasn't going to finish it. The odds are 90% in his favor. Let it wrestle. He has my leg. Let him finish on me. The official makes a mistake. They demote him. But to me, it's an Olympic spot for my country. I get a bronze medal, something I don't need and don't collect."

(about his win over Cuba's Maykel Gonzalez)
"Being more on the go. The circumstances around this tournament were not ideal. You show up and get your weight down. You bulldoze forward. I had some adversity in that match, getting taken down. I kept my nose in, kept grinding, and let my offense fly. If you hit 30 or 40 attacks, you are going to score. That comes from being raised as an American and in the Iowa room."

(about upcoming qualifying events)
"You have to get the weight qualified. I wrestled my whole life for these next few months. I don't care if I have to make scratch weight every week. I have to get the weight qualified. I am the guy for the Olympic team. I have to do the job. I'll put it on my shoulders."

66 kg/145.5 lbs. - Chris Bono, Ringgold, Ga. (Sunkist Kids), bronze medal

(On the strategy for the final match)
"After my performance against the Cuban, I knew I wanted to come out and score a lot of points."

(On his attitude after the first loss)
"I knew I had to win to feel good about the tournament. All the training that I have put in, with only two matches, I knew I had to have a good performance in the final match."

74 kg/163 lbs. - Casey Cunningham, Mt. Pleasant, Mich. (Sunkist Kids), silver medal
"I didn't get enough attacks. I stood around and waited. When I did, I didn't get my finishes too quickly. He scored from my attacks. I also make a mistake on the top and it helped cost me the first period. In the second period, I got off my shot but didn't finish quickly enough again."

"My goal is to win every match. I wouldn't do this if I didn't think I could win the Olympics. It shows me the areas I have to work on. It shows me where I need to go. I have time to make these improvements."

84 kg/185 lbs. - Joe Williams, Belvidere, Ill. (Sunkist Kids), gold medal

(On the strategy in the second period)
"In the first period, the first point was scored off of my offense. In the second period, I knew I couldn't let it come down to that."

(On this tournament's significance)
"Anytime you compete and win it's a good thing. This is a stepping stone in the bigger picture. It's good to get another competition in."

96 kg/211.5 lbs. - Damion Hahn, Ithaca, N.Y. (New York AC), silver medal
"The competition was good. My first match, I beat the Canadian who was fifth in the world. It was a good bout for me. In my second bout, I beat an American who wrestles for Puerto Rico. The finals was Batista, who won the 2007 Pan Am Games and was third in the 2006 Worlds. He was big. He took me out of my game a little bit. I hit my high crotch. I had it deep, but I didn't get trail leg up and he was able to score on me. In the second period, we got in a scramble. I thought I had him. He is good upperbody, but I feel pretty good there too. He scooted his leg out just in time and caught me, and they gave him three points. That was the match there."

"This is a good competition. It is great to be here with the National Coaches, and to work out with the guys out here. This is all preparation for the big show, the Olympic Trials. Every competition adds up. The next couple months I will focus on my skills, concentrate on my leg attacks, and make the 2008 team. That is the plan."

120 kg/264.5 lbs. - Tommy Rowlands, Columbus, Ohio (Sunkist Kids), gold medal

(On the win against the Cuban)
"That was the fourth time I've wrestled him and I had never beat him. I am certainly happy with the win. It was a step in the right direction."

(On working towards the Olympics)
"It's good to get the matches in. Now I need to kick it up a notch in my training. I am definitely ready to make that commitment."

National Freestyle Coach Kevin Jackson

"We are excited for our champions. Everybody medaled. Cuba had a strong team, the same team that they took to the World Cup and they were second there. I am excited about the way most of the guys wrestled. There were some great individual efforts. Henry Cejudo pinning the World bronze medalist was big. Tommy Rowlands pinning the World champion, and getting his offense going. Tommy has taken the step to putting himself in the hat for an Olympic gold medal. Joe Williams was consistent as he has always been, winning another Pan American Championships. He looks ready for our nationals."

"I am disappointed, too. Our number one goal was to qualify both weights. Mike Zadick could not get his offense going when he needed it. It is unfortunate about the officials call in the clinch. Ever since you are young, we are trained not to let the officials determine the match. We will now have to reload and get someone ready for the qualifier in Switzerland."

"I am happy with the Pan Am performance. Last year, at the Pan Am Games, we had only one champion, and Cuba had five. This shows some of our guys are doing the right things in their daily training."