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University of Oklahoma Athletics
Sooner Profile: Jeff James
January 25, 2009 | Wrestling
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In OU's next-to-last dual of the season last year, James suffered an injury that forced him to miss the national tournament.
So he watched... and he agonized... and he realized that he could no longer take anything for granted.
James admits he probably was not wrestling as well as he should have been near the end of last season, but he says he probably would not have realized that had he not gotten injured.
So he decided this season would be different, and he worked to become a much stronger and much more consistent wrestler. That's exactly what he's been for the Sooners this year, and he has established himself as one of the team's leaders despite being only a sophomore.
James plans on going back to the national tournament this year. This time, however, he has no intentions of watching.
On the wrestling program's new $1.3 million facility:
"It's amazing. We doubled the mat space so we don't have problems with people bumping into each other. Pretty much anything we want is right here. It makes it hard not to succeed when all your needs are met."
On the team having the best start in program history:
"The past two years we've had some pretty bad performances, so everybody is just getting the notion that we have to do better. We're really motivated by that and just thinking about the national tournament."
On how encouraging it is considering the youth of the team:
"Yeah, this year is really uncertain. We could finish in the top five at nationals or we could fall apart at nationals. With having young guys, that's going to become more secure in the next two years. This could still be a very good year though."
On what has been the key to his own success this year:
"Just winning... finding a way to win in tough matches I guess. I haven't wrestled that many ranked guys, but these next three or four weeks is going to be a make-or-break kind of thing."
On getting injured right before the national tournament last year:
"Right when it happened it was very discouraging, but after getting to sit in the booth at the national tournament and just watch while it was going on was very motivating. At the time, I probably wasn't wrestling as well as I could have been, but I may not have seen that if I hadn't gotten hurt. So it was sort of a blessing in disguise, and it's very motivating to think that I'm going to get to wrestle in the national tournament this year. I can't wait."
On what it's going to take to finish as an All-American:
"Just doing the right things at the right time and win the right matches. Some of the national tournament depends on the draw, but for the most part it's just a matter of doing it."
On the team's excitement for the Beauty and the Beast event:
"Beauty and the Beast is really cool. Sometimes wrestling can get a little stagnant to watch, but then you have gymnastics going on which is always really cool. It's going to be an exciting dual.
"We'll be working hard, so if everyone cheers hard it should be a good atmosphere."
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