CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - Three Cardinal wrestlers placed at the 2017 Southern Scuffle, presented by Compound Clothing, Monday at McKenzie Arena. Stanford finished 10th as a team with 55.5 points. Oklahoma State (198) was first with four champions, followed by Missouri (126) and Lehigh (124.5).
Sophomore Joey McKenna finished third at 141 pounds, the highest placing Cardinal in the tournament. A tough 7-1 sudden victory loss to eighth-ranked Joey Ward of North Carolina in the semifinals put McKenna in the consolation bracket Monday morning. The Towaco, New Jersey native bounced back with a 5-2 decision over Oklahoma State's Tristan Moran before pinning 10th-ranked George DiCamillo (Virginia) in 1:06 in the third-place match. He is now 18-1 on the season.
Heavyweight Nathan Butler came in fourth for Stanford after falling to sixth-ranked Michael Kroells of Minnesota in the semifinals, 6-2. He registered a 2-0 decision over Hofstra's Mike Hughes to move into the third-place match, where he fell 5-2 to No. 11 Austin Schafer (Oklahoma State). Butler is now 14-5 on the year at 285 pounds.
True freshman Gabriel Townsell was one of the surprises of the entire tournament. The 125-pounder knocked-off three top-15 opponents and finished fifth overall. Two of his upsets came on the first day, putting him in a semifinal showdown with No. 11 Jack Mueller of Virginia. Mueller earned the fall in 1:50 over Townsell to send him to the consolation bracket. A 5-1 loss to sixth-ranked Darian Cruz of Lehigh pitted Townsell against Oklahoma State's Nick Piccininni in the fifth-place match.
There was no score after the first between Townsell and Piccininni, who is ranked 12th nationally. Piccininni got on the board first with an escape to start the second. Townsell then tallied his first takedown of the match before Piccininni quickly escaped again to tie it 2-2. Another takedown by Townsell would prove to be the difference for the rookie, who chose neutral to start the third and was able to defend any last-second shots by Piccininni as he held on for the win.
Stanford will be back in action on Sunday, Jan. 8 as it travels to Bakersfield, California for a Pac-12 dual against the Roadrunners. Wrestling begins at 5 p.m. PT.
Brian Rossi, 125 pounds | 1-2
| Opponent | Result |
|---|---|
| lost to Darian Cruz (Lehigh) | F3:47 |
| dec. Tyrone Klump (North Carolina) | 6-1 |
| lost to Jay Schwarm (Northern Iowa) | F5:41 |
Gabriel Townsell, 125 pounds | 4-2
| Opponent | Result |
|---|---|
| dec. Patrick Kearney (Citadel) | 9-4 |
| dec. #3 Dylan Peters (Northern Iowa) | 9-7 |
| dec. #13 Nathan Kraisser (Campbell) | 6-5 |
| lost to #11 Jack Mueller (Virginia) | F1:50 |
| lost to #6 Darian Cruz (Lehigh) | 5-1 |
| dec. #12 Nick Piccininni (Oklahoma State) | 4-3 |
Peter Russo, 133 pounds | 0-2
| Opponent | Result |
|---|---|
| lost to Cole Baumgartner (Duke) | 13-2 |
| lost to Chris Debien (Chattanooga) | 9-2 |
Brandon Kier, 141 pounds | 0-2
| Opponent | Result |
|---|---|
| lost to AC Headlee (North Carolina) | 8-1 |
| lost to Trence Gillem (Cornell) | 12-6 |
#2 Joey McKenna, 141 pounds | 5-1
| Opponent | Result |
|---|---|
| fall Lyle Plummer (Air Force) | F4:01 |
| maj. dec. Ryan Pomrinca (Lehigh) | 10-0 |
| dec. Jared Prince (Navy) | 7-3 |
| lost to #8 Joey Ward (North Carolina) | 7-1(SV) |
| dec. Tristan Moran (Oklahoma State) | 5-2 |
| fall #10 George DiCamillo (Virginia) | F1:06 |
Walker Dempsey, 149 pounds | 0-1
| Opponent | Result |
|---|---|
| lost to Carson Brolsma (Minnesota) | 8-3 |
| medical forfeit to Cole Graves (Gardner Webb) | MFF |
Paul Fox, 157 pounds | 3-2
| Opponent | Result |
|---|---|
| lost to Kent Lane (Lehigh) | F4:57 |
| won by forfeit over Andrew Shomers (Edinboro) | FF |
| dec. #19 May Bethea (Penn) | 9-5 |
| dec. Ryan Mosley (Gardner Webb) | 5-3 |
| lost to Mitch Finesilver (Duke) | 5-3 |
Peter Galli, 165 pounds | 2-2
| Opponent | Result |
|---|---|
| dec. Quentin Perez (Campbell) | 7-6 |
| lost to Austin Rose (Drexel) | 6-2 |
| fall Dakota Greene (Drexel) | F4:36 |
| lost to #17 Brandon Womack (Cornell) | 13-2 |
#18 Keaton Subjeck, 165 pounds | 2-2
| Opponent | Result |
|---|---|
| lost to Cole Walter (Lehigh) | 13-5 |
| dec. Drew Daniels (Navy) | 5-3 |
| maj. dec. Fritz Hoehn (Edinboro) | 13-4 |
| lost to Mitch Minotti (Lehigh) | 4-2 |
#16 Jim Wilson, 174 pounds | 1-0
| Opponent | Result |
|---|---|
| tech. fall Devon Pingel (Cleveland State) | 19-4 (6:39) |
| defaulted to Connor Bass (Duke) | 2:07 |
| medical forfeit to Christopher Pfarr (Minnesota) | MFF |
Josh Marchok, 197 pounds | 1-2
| Opponent | Result |
|---|---|
| lost to Owen Scott (Cornell) | 5-4 |
| maj. dec. Willie Bivens (Campbell) | 16-8 |
| lost to Stevie Cervantes (Navy) | 7-5 |
#9 Nathan Butler, 285 pounds | 4-2
| Opponent | Result |
|---|---|
| dec. Cary Miller (Appalachian State) | 6-1 |
| dec. Carter Isley (Northern Iowa) | 8-2 |
| dec. #12 Jared Johnson (Chattanooga) | 3-2 |
| lost to #6 Michael Kroells (Minnesota) | 6-2 |
| dec. Mike Hughes (Hofstra) | 2-0 |
| lost to #11 Austin Schafer (Oklahoma State) | 5-2 |
Trevor Rasmussen, 285 pounds | 3-2
| Opponent | Result |
|---|---|
| lost to #11 Austin Schafer (Oklahoma State) | 9-1 |
| dec. Tyler Hall (Penn) | 7-4 |
| maj. dec. Mike Furbee (Cleveland State) | 9-1 |
| won by medical forfeit over Craig Scott (Cornell) | MFF |
| lost to Cory Daniel (North Carolina) | 10-2 |