STANFORD, Calif. - The Stanford wrestling team celebrated another successful season at its annual awards banquet on Saturday night. The Cardinal recognized numerous wrestlers with team awards and bid farewell to its seven seniors, Ryan Davies, Maxwell Hvolbek, Thomas Kimbrell, Jesus Loza, Dylan Morris, Evan Silver and Michael Sojka, who gave memorable speeches during the event.
Stanford finished the 2015-16 campaign 11-4 overall in duals, marking the third-highest winning percentage in program history. For the first time in school history, Stanford crowned multiple conference champions in three consecutive seasons with Connor Schram (125 pounds), Joey McKenna (165 pounds) and Jim Wilson (165 pounds) returning to The Farm with hardware in 2016.
Under the direction of eighth-year head coach Jason Borrelli, Stanford finished fourth at the conference championship, just one point shy of third place CSU Bakersfield, and set a program-record with six wrestlers qualifying for the NCAA Championships in New York City’s Madison Square Garden. McKenna and Schram became the program’s 18th and 19th All-Americans, placing third and eighth, respectively. McKenna became the first freshman All-American in school history, and the first Cardinal to place third at the national tournament, while Schram is the ninth Cardinal underclassman to achieve All-America status.
McKenna, a native of Towaco, New Jersey, took home the Vern Jones Most Outstanding Wrestler award and the Outstanding Newcomer award. The Pac-12 Newcomer/Freshman of the Year went 27-3 overall, ranking seventh on the program’s freshman wins list. He became the fifth Stanford freshman to win an individual Pac-12 title, and the third in the past three seasons. He is the first Cardinal wrestler to win a conference championship at 141 pounds.
Redshirt sophomore Keaton Subject was named the team’s Most Dominant wrestler for 2015-16, given to the wrestler that scores the most bonus points. The 174-pounder finished the season 21-9 overall and tied for the team lead with eight falls on the year. An NCAA qualifier, he scored bonus points in 14 matches. He won the U.S. Collegiate Open (Feb. 21), placed third at the Pac-12 Championships, fourth at the Reno Tournament of Champions (Nov. 15) and fifth at the Hokie Open (Nov. 8).
Schram and fellow redshirt sophomore Garet Krohn shared the program’s Most Improved award. Schram, who won his first Pac-12 title, went 23-8 on the year and collected his first career All-America honors. The 125-pounder won the Roadrunner Open (Nov. 15) and placed eighth at the Southern Scuffle (Jan. 1-2). Krohn, who received an at-large bid to the NCAA Championships, went 21-10 overall and took third at the Pac-12 Championships. He also won the Roadrunner Open and the U.S. Collegiate Open, while taking eighth at the Southern Scuffle.
Wilson and redshirt freshman Paul Fox were the recipients of the BAGUBA Award, given to the individual that best exemplifies what the coaches look for in a Stanford wrestler. Wilson finished one win shy of his second career NCAA All-America honors, falling in the Round of 12 at the national tournament. He was 27-8 on the year and became the first Cardinal wrestler to win three individual conference titles. Fox, who was 22-7, had his rookie campaign cut short with a season-ending knee injury suffered against Duke (Jan. 16). He was the runner-up at the Roadrunner Open at 149 pounds, placed third at the Hokie Open and the Reno Tournament of Champions, and placed seventh at the Southern Scuffle.
The Coaches Award, given to the individual(s) that made significant contributions to the well-being of the team in terms of attitude, improvement or special leadership, was presented to Peter Galli, Trevor Rasmussen and Brian Rossi. Galli, a redshirt junior, went 16-9 on the year and finished fourth at the Roadrunner Open at 184 pounds and sixth at the Hokie Open. Rossi was 13-10 in his redshirt freshman season, competing at 125 and 133 pounds for the Cardinal. He was the runner-up at the Hokie Open at 125 pounds. Rasmussen, a heavyweight from Prineville, Oregon, redshirted his first season on The Farm, going 8-7 in four tournaments.
Six wrestlers were recognized with the Tod Surmon Award for their outstanding performance at a home dual this season. The winners were as follows: McKenna (Penn State, Cal Baptist), Nathan Butler (CSU Bakersfield), Galli (Utah Valley), Walker Dempsey (Duke), Schram (Oregon State) and Sojka (Boise State).
Stanford wrestlers continued to excel in the classroom this year. McKenna garnered Outstanding Scholar-Athlete honors, given to the wrestler that best combines academics and athletics as he posted a 4.15 GPA in his first quarter. Stanford again led the conference with 11 wrestlers earning Pac-12 All-Academic honors. First-team selections were Nathan Butler, Paul Fox and Brian Rossi, while Dempsey, Galli, Mason Pengilly, Schram, Sojka and Subjeck picked up second team accolades. Wilson and Tommy Pawelski were honorable mention honorees.