STANFORD, Calif. – Stanford head coach Jason Borrelli and his staff have signed six promising high school seniors to wrestle for the Cardinal starting next season. The class includes four top-100 recruits.
"We are very excited about this recruiting class. It's not that often that we are able to put together a short list of recruits and then land nearly all of them," explained Borrelli. "However, that's just what happened with this class."
Stanford’s incoming class consists of Jake Barry (Poly Prep Country Day School), Brandon Dallavia (Blair Academy), Brandon Kier (Poway High School), Gabe Townsell (Oak Park and River Forest High School), Nathan Traxler (Marmion Academy) and Requir Van der Merwe (Blair Academy).
"A good argument can be made that this is the most talented class in my eight years with the program," said Borrelli. "This group of six wrestlers includes four top-100 overall recruits and brings with them a plethora of wrestling accolades to The Farm. Undoubtedly, these young men will help Stanford wrestling continue on our upward trajectory and we are really excited for each of their futures."
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Stanford Wrestling Class of 2020
Jake Barry • New York, N.Y. • Poly Prep Country Day School Projected to wrestle at 157 or 165 pounds
National Prep All-American
New York Private School State Champion
Multiple-time Ivy League Champion
Brandon Dallavia • Youngstown, N.Y. • Blair Academy Projected to wrestle at 165 pounds
Ranked No. 3 in the nation by InterMat
Ranked No. 4 in the nation by Flowrestling
No. 27 overall 2016 prospect by Associated Wrestling Press
No. 39 overall 2016 prospect by InterMat
No. 52 overall recruit by Flowrestling
National Prep Runner-Up
Two-time National Prep All-American
Fargo Junior Freestyle All-American
Fargo Cadet Freestyle National Champion
Two-time Fargo Cadet Freestyle All-American
UWW Cadet Freestyle All-American
Two-time Walsh Ironman Medalist
Beast of the East Medalist
NHSCA Freshman National Champion
Brandon Kier • Poway, Calif. • Poway High School Projected to wrestle at 133 pounds
California State Medalist
Freakshow Champion
Clovis World Challenge Champion
San Diego Section Champion
Reno Worlds All-American
Gabe Townsell • Oak Park, Ill. • Oak Park and River Forest High School Projected to wrestle at 125 or 133 pounds
Ranked No. 14 in the nation by InterMat
No. 76 overall 2016 prospect by InterMat
Two-time Illinois State Medalist
Fargo Junior Greco National Champion
Fargo Cadet Greco National Champion
Fargo Cadet Freestyle National Runner-Up
Two-time FILA Cadet National All-American
Two-time Illinois Dual Team State Champions
Dual Team National Champions
Nathan Traxler • St. Charles, Ill. • Marmion Academy Projected to wrestle at 197 pounds
Ranked No. 4 in the nation by InterMat, Associated Wrestling Prep and Flowrestling
No. 23 overall 2016 prospect by Flowrestling
No. 25 overall 2016 prospect by Associated Wrestling Prep
No. 27 overall 2016 prospect by InterMat
Illinois State Champion
Two-time Illinois State Medalist
Two-time Fargo Junior Freestyle National All-American
FILA Cadet National All-American
Preseason National Champion
Cheesehead Tournament Champion
Walsh Ironman Medalist
Super 32 Medalist
Requir Van der Merwe • Mountain Lakes, N.J. • Blair Academy Projected to wrestle at 133 or 141 pounds
Ranked No. 8 in the nation by InterMat
Ranked No. 10 in the nation by Associated Wrestling Press
Ranked No. 12 in the nation by Flowrestling
No. 66 overall 2016 prospect by Associated Wrestling Press
No. 82 overall 2016 prospect by InterMat
No. 94 overall 2016 prospect by Flowrestling
National Prep Runner-Up
Two-time National Prep All-American
Fargo Junior Freestyle All-American