McKenna Moves On

NEW YORK CITY - Joey McKenna secured his place in Stanford wrestling history by becoming the first Cardinal freshman to earn All-America honors. The 141-pounder advanced to the semifinals of the 2016 NCAA Championships, Friday, in Madison Square Garden.

McKenna, the tournament's No. 2 seed at 141 pounds, posted a 6-1 decision over No. 7 seed Solomon Chishko of Virginia Tech in the quarterfinals. McKenna led 3-0 going into the final period in which Chisko chose to start in the neutral position. Chishko was called for stalling, pushing McKenna's lead to 4-0. He sealed the win with another takedown. 

McKenna, a native of nearby Towaco, New Jersey, becomes the 18th All-American in program history. He is now 25-2 on the year and tied for seventh on the program's freshman season wins list with Lucas Espericueta (2007-08) and Ryan Mango (2009-10).

.@Joey_McKenna becomes the first freshman in program history to secure All-America honors! #GoStanford #D1WRnotes pic.twitter.com/8mPfDxu7dt

— Stanford Wrestling (@CardWrestling) March 18, 2016

Also wrestling in the quarterfinals for Stanford was redshirt sophomore Connor Scrham. The 125-pounder was pinned in 5:40 by American's David Terao in the quarterfinals.  He will face 11th-seeded Ronnie Bresser of Oregon State in the consolation bracket Friday evening for a chance to secure All-America status. Schram is 2-0 against Bresser this season, including a win that earned him his first Pac-12 title.

In the consolation bracket, redshirt junior Jim Wilson posted a come-from-behind 6-5 decision over Kent State's Tyler Buckwalter at 165 pounds. Wilson, the No. 13 seed, scored a takedown with two seconds left in the match to secure the victory. 

Wow wow wow!!! So stoked for Jim Wilson @CardWrestling !! Amazing last second takedown for the 6-5 win! #NeverGiveUp

— Caleb J. Anthony (@thecalebanthony) March 18, 2016

Wilson followed up that performance with a 3-2 decision over 11th-seeded John Stuadenmayer of North Carolina. Tied 2-2, Wilson scored the escape in the third and held off Staudenmayer for the victory. He now has 96 career victories, one shy of breaking into the school's career top 10 list. The Lodi, California native will take on the No. 10 seed Austin Wilson of Nebraska in the Round of 12 Friday evening for the right to become an All-American.

Heavyweight Nathan Butler also picked up a win in his first match of the day. He posted a 1-0 decision over Garrett Ryan of Columbia. The redshirt sophomore scored an escape in the second period to take the lead. Ryan chose to start the third period in the neutral position, but failed to record a takedown. 

Butler then dropped a 5-1 decision to ninth-seeded Michael Kroells of Minnesota to be eliminated from the tournament with a 2-2 record. Butler finished his redshirt sophomore campaign with a 27-9 record.

Redshirt sophomore Garet Krohn was eliminated from the tournament after dropping an 11-4 decision to ninth-seeded Matthew Miller of Navy at 184 pounds. Krohn finishes the year with a 21-10 overall record.

Friday's evening session begins at 5 p.m. PT and will be televised live on ESPN. Additionally, all matches will be streamed on WatchESPN (espn3.com).

Stanford's Tournament Results