STANFORD, Calif. – The 12th-ranked Stanford wrestling team opens the 2016-17 season on Saturday, Nov. 5 as it host Pac-12 foe Cal Poly at 10:30 a.m. The outdoor dual, just the second to be held on The Farm, will take place at Football Fan Fest prior to the Stanford football game versus Oregon State.
The Cardinal is coming off an 11-4 campaign in 2015-16 in which it produced two All-Americans in 141-pounder Joey McKenna (3rd) and 125-pounder Connor Schram (8th). Stanford sent a program-record six wrestlers to the NCAA Championships, finishing 19th overall (24.0 points) at New York City's Madison Square Garden in March. It marked the sixth top-20 finish in program history.
Stanford boasts four ranked wrestlers in the InterMat Preseason Polls – No. 3 McKenna, No. 4 Schram, No. 11 Nathan Butler (285 pounds) and No. 12 Jim Wilson (174 pounds). Redshirt sophomore Paul Fox (157 pounds) and redshirt junior Keaton Subjeck (165 pounds) are ranked No. 20 by FloWrestling and WIN Magazine, respectively.
McKenna, Schram and Wilson all won conference titles at the Pac-12 Championships in Tempe, Arizona. Wilson became the first Cardinal wrestler to win three conference titles. Butler, who won a conference crown as a redshirt freshman in 2015, finished as the runner-up a year ago.
McKenna, who was tabbed the Pac-12 Newcomer of the Year in 2015-16, finished 27-3 overall and 11-1 in duals as a rookie. Placing third at NCAAs, the Towaco, New Jersey native became the first freshman All-American in school history.
Schram's eighth-place standing as a sophomore was just the ninth Stanford All-America finish by an underclassman. The Cardinal produced two All-Americans in the same season for the first time since 2012. Fifteen of Stanford's 26 All-America finished have come since 2004.
Cal Poly, which is under the guidance of first-year head coach Jon Sioredas, will open its season on Thursday, Nov. 3 with an outdoor dual against San Francisco State before hosting Indiana inside at Mott Gym in San Luis Obispo.
The Mustangs were 3-9 in duals last season, finished sixth at the Pac-12 Championships and had no national qualifiers. Stanford defeated Cal Poly 35-6 last year in its season opener.
Stanford is set to host the 2017 Pac-12 Championships on Sunday, Feb. 26 at Maples Pavilion. Tickets go on-sale on Saturday, Nov. 5. Fans in attendance at the outdoor dual on Saturday's will have the opportunity to purchase tickets at a discounted rate. For more information visit gostanford.com/tickets.
Stanford vs. Cal Poly
| Weight | Matchup |
|---|---|
| 125 | #4 Connor Schram (STAN) vs. David Gonzalex (CP) |
| 133 | Mason Pengilly (STAN) vs. Yoshito Funakoshi (CP) |
| 141 | #3 Joey McKenna (STAN) vs. Colton Schilling (CP) |
| 149 | Tommy Pawelski (STAN) vs. Joshy Cortez (CP) |
| 157 | Paul Fox (STAN) vs. Colt Shorts (CP) |
| 165 | Keaton Subjeck (STAN) vs. Blake Kastl (CP) |
| 174 | #12 Jim Wilson (STAN) vs. Matt Wilhelm (CP) |
| 184 | Austin Flores (STAN) vs. Thomas Lane (CP) |
| 197 | Josh Marchok (STAN) vs. J.T. Goodwin (CP) |
| 285 | #11 Nathan Butler (STAN) vs. Spencer Empey (CP) |