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 six seniors, Eric Cramer, Peter Galli, Josh Marchok, Peter Russo, Jim Wilson and Zach Nevills, who gave memorable speeches during the event.
Stanford finished the 2016-17 campaign 10-3 overall and 4-1 in Pac-12 duals. For the first time in school history, Stanford crowned multiple conference champions in four consecutive seasons with Nevills (184) and sophomore Joey McKenna (141 pounds) earning hardware at home in Maples Pavilion.
Under the direction of ninth-year head coach Jason Borrelli, Stanford matched its highest finish at the conference championships, coming in second for the fourth time in school history. The Cardinal sent a program-record nine wrestlers to the NCAA Championships in St. Louis, Missouri, surpassing its previous record of six set in 2016. Sophomore Paul Fox, who entered the tournament unseeded, placed seventh at 157 pounds to become the program's 20th different wrestler to achieve All-America status.
McKenna, a native of Towaco, New Jersey, took home the Vern Jones Most Outstanding Wrestler and the Most Dominant wrestler awards. He was 31-3 overall and undefeated in duals at 10-0. He led the team with 10 falls, tying for 10th on the program's single season list. McKenna, who is 58-6 in two seasons on The Farm, became just the seventh wrestler in school history to win multiple conference titles.
Fox and Galli shared the program's Most Improved award. Fox was 29-15 on the season and is the 10th underclassman to become an All-American, defeating four seeded wrestlers at the NCAA Championships. Galli went 26-8 overall wrestling at 165 and 174 pounds. He finished third at the Pac-12 Championships and earned an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in his career.
Fox was also the recipient of the BAGUBA Award, given to the individual that best exemplifies what the coaches look for in a Stanford wrestler.
True freshman Gabriel Townsell took home the Newcomer of the Year honors. The Oak Park, Illinois native finished 18-11 and 7-1 in duals at 125 pounds. He took fifth at the Southern Scuffle in Chattanooga, Tennessee, defeating three top-15 opponents in the process. He earned an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament after finishing fourth at the Pac-12 Championships.
The Chris Horpel 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 Marchok and redshirt freshman Austin Flores. Dropping down to 197 pounds for his final season on The Farm, Marchok was the runner-up at the Pac-12 Championships and earned an automatic berth to his first NCAA Championships. Flores was 4-3 in his rookie season, winning the California Collegiate Open on Jan. 28.
Seven wrestlers were recognized with the Tod Surmon Award for their outstanding performance at home competitions this season. The winners were as follows: Keaton Subjeck (Cal Poly), Marchok (Purdue), Galli (Princeton), Brandon Kier (Air Force), Nathan Butler (Arizona State), Tommy Pawelski (San Francisco State) and Nevills (Pac-12 Championships).
Stanford wrestlers continued to excel in the classroom this year. McKenna garnered the team's Outstanding Scholar-Athlete honors for the second straight year, given to the wrestler that best combines academics and athletics. Stanford again led the conference with nine wrestlers earning Pac-12 All-Academic honors, including Galli being named the scholar-athlete of the year for wrestling. Additionally, the Cardinal led the nation with seven NWCA Academic All-Americans.