Rogers Discusses Post-Match Video Game Strategy as he Aims for First Big 12 Title

Chandler Rogers has been playing with his opponents lately, so tonight he’s going to spend some time playing with his new Nintendo Switch.

No. 2 Rogers wants to think about anything but wrestling leading up to his championship match tomorrow against North Dakota State’s No. 4 Andrew Fogarty.

Rogers defeated Fogarty 9-3 earlier this season and has been a runner-up in each of the past Big 12 Wrestling Championships, but instead of thinking about his match around 6 p.m. tomorrow, he’s got his mind on other things.

“Just relaxing and getting my mind off wrestling for a little bit,” Rogers said. “It’s been intense all day, and I never sleep good when I’m just sitting there thinking about wrestling all night.

“It’s not necessarily the most relaxing sport in the world … I just got a Nintendo Switch and I’ve been playing that. I usually play some Mario Kart, which is also super intense, but probably won’t play that tonight. Instead I’m playing Zelda.”

Rogers had a first-round bye before winning via injury default against Air Force’s Alex Lopouchanski. Rogers pinned his next opponent, Demetrius Romero, in the first period of the semifinals on Saturday. It marked Rogers’ 11th pin of the season.

Rogers said pins give him confidence and changes momentum.

“At this point in the year, you have nothing to lose,” Rogers said. “Kinda gotta go for everything.”

Five of those pins have come since Jan. 27th. Rogers said he has been working more on his offense and emphasized the amount of pressure he puts on his opponents.

“Putting pressure on guys tends to make them a little stressed out and they tend to take bad shots and put themselves in bad position,” Rogers said. “I’m pretty good at taking advantage of those bad positions. I’ve just been putting myself in the right place at the right time.”

“It’s be nice to win a Big 12 title, but that’s not my main goal,” Rogers said. “But I guess I have to take one thing at a time. So yeah, right now I have my eyes set on winning a Big 12 title for the first time.”