STANFORD, Calif. – Paul Fox, Peter Galli, Connor Schram, Keaton Subjeck and Gabriel Townsell were five of 53 wrestlers to receive at-large berths into the 2017 NCAA Tournament, the NCAA announced today. Stanford has set a program record with nine individual NCAA qualifiers in 2016-17 with its previous record being six (2015-16).
Joining the at-large qualifiers in St. Louis, Missouri, March 16-18 are Nathan Butler, Josh Marchok, Joey McKenna and Zach Nevills. McKenna (141 pounds) and Nevills (184 pounds) both won Pac-12 titles, while Marchok (197) finished as the runner-up and Butler (285 pounds) took third at the conference tournament to receive automatic bids into the championships.
Fox, a redshirt sophomore, is third on the team this season with 25 wins at 157 pounds. He was third at the Pac-12 Championships and is a first-time NCAA qualifier. He holds a 47-20 career record after going 22-7 as a redshirt freshman before his rookie campaign was cut short with a season-ending knee injury in 2016.
Galli is 26-6 overall, ranking second on the team in total wins and falls (8). He finished third at the Pac-12 Championships at 174 pounds and will be making his first NCAA Tournament appearance in his final year on The Farm. He boasts a 61-29 career record for the Cardinal.
Schram is 17th in the nation at 133 pounds with a 14-4 overall record. A returning All-American, he was the runner-up at the Pac-12 Championships and won the Reno Tournament of Champions back in December. He will be making his third straight NCAA Championships appearance and looking to become just the sixth two-time All-American in program history.
Subjeck, who is 22-7 and ranked 15th nationally at 165 pounds this season, placed third at the Pac-12 Championships on Feb. 26. At 63-28 for his career, the redshirt junior will be making his second consecutive postseason appearance.
Townsell, a true freshman from Oak Park, Illinois, propelled himself into the national rankings in January with a fifth-place finish at the Southern Scuffle. At 16-9 overall, Townsell has defeated three top 15 opponents at 125 pounds.
The at-large selections were made by the Division I Wrestling Committee using the following selection criteria: head-to-head competition, quality wins, results against common opponents, winning percentage, rating percentage index, coaches ranking, qualifying event placement, and number of matches contested at that weight class.
