Paul_Fox_JPL_02162018_0071Paul_Fox_JPL_02162018_0071
John P. Lozano/Stanford Athletic
Wrestling

Pac-12's Next


Stanford (7-5, 3-1 Pac-12) at Pac-12 Championships • Sunday • 10:30 a.m. PT
Television • Pac-12 Networks
Live Statistics • TrackWrestling.com

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THIS WEEK: The Stanford wrestling team (7-5, 3-1 Pac-12) has completed the regular season and is ready for this year's ultimate showdown - the 2018 Pac-12 Championships. Oregon State hosts the 56th annual tournament in Gill Coliseum on Sunday, Feb. 25. Ten wrestlers from each school will compete for conference titles and berths to next month's NCAA Championships. Wrestling gets underway at 10:30 a.m. PT and the finals will start at 6 p.m. PT.

TICKETS TO THE CHAMPIONSHIPS: Tickets to the championships are $30 for adult all-session passes. Students/Youth/Seniors are $20. Single session tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for students/youth/seniors. Tickets can be purchased at the door, by calling (800) GO-BEAVS or online at beavertickets.com.

THE FIELD: All five teams will be fighting for the conference crown Sunday. Arizona State is the defending champion, while host Oregon State won five-straight titles prior to last season. Arizona State enters the weekend as the highest ranked team at No. 10 in the InterMat Tournament Rankings, while Oregon State comes in at No. 24. The Pac-12 boasts 13 individually ranked wrestlers in the InterMat top 20 polls.

WHAT'S AT STAKE: In addition to competing for team and individual conference titles, wrestlers will be looking to qualify for the 2018 NCAA Championships, held this year at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, March 15-17.

REGULAR SEASON RECAP: The Cardinal finished the regular season with a 7-5 overall record in duals. Stanford went 3-1 in Pac-12 duals with its only miscue coming at then-No. 9 Arizona State. Stanford finished third at the Hokie Open, came in ninth as a team at the Southern Scuffle and finished 10th at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. Redshirt senior Keaton Subjeck leads the team with 24 wins, while redshirt junior Isaiah Locsin has a team-best six pins. 
 


TOURNAMENT EXPERIENCE: Stanford's projected wrestlers have made a combined 10 appearances at the conference championships. Three of the 10 Cardinal who will compete this weekend have wrestled in multiple conference tournaments. It will be the fourth appearance for both Keaton Subjeck (174) and Nathan Butler (285), and the third for Mason Pengilly (133).

STANFORD AT THE CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS: Stanford has competed in NCAA wrestling since at least 1933, but has yet to win a conference championship as a team. Since the conference became the Pac-10 in 1980, the Cardinal's highest finish has been second, coming in 2008, 2014 and 2017. Last season, the Cardinal was the runner-up with 122.5 team points. Joey McKenna (141) and Zach Nevills (184 pounds) took home titles for Stanford. McKenna became the seventh Cardinal to win multiple conference championships.

NCAA HOPES: Stanford sent a program-high nine wrestlers to the NCAA Championships last season. Gabriel Townsell (125 pounds), Connor Schram (133 pounds), Joey McKenna (141 pounds), Paul Fox (157 pounds), Keaton Subjeck (165), Peter Galli (174 pounds), Zach Nevills (184), Josh Marchok (197 pounds) and Nathan Butler (285 pounds) represented the Cardinal in St. Louis. The group finished 24th overall with 16.0 points as Fox (7th) became the 20th All-American in program history. 
 


SEEKING A SECOND TITLE: Stanford heavyweight Nathan Butler is the only active Cardinal with a Pac-12 title to his name (Connor Schram, who is out for the season, won one in 2016). Butler earned his crown as a redshirt freshman in 2015 in Corvallis. Butler became just the 10th wrestler in school history to record 100 career wins with his major decision over Cal Poly's Spencer Empey on Jan. 26.

INCOMING CARDINAL: Stanford signed six wrestlers to the team for next fall. The class consists of Gabe Dinette (Golden, Colo.), Tyler Eischens (Andover, Minn.), Alex Escudero (Los Gatos, Calif.), Shane Griffith (Westwood, N.J.), Colbey Harlan (Waterford, Calif.) and Real Woods (Albuquerque, N.M.), and is rated No. 7 in the nation by FloWrestling in its early rankings.

WRESTLER OF THE WEEK: Redshirt senior Nathan Butler (285) were recognized as the Pac-12 Wrestler of the Week on Jan. 10, marking his second career honor. He went 6-1 on the week, including a third-place finish at the Southern Scuffle in Chattanooga, Tennessee. At the Scuffle, Butler recorded a 4-2 decision in the second sudden victory period over No. 12 Jordan Wood (Lehigh) to advance to the semifinals. His 12 second pin over No. 13 Thomas Haines (Lock Haven) earned him a spot in the third-place bout, where he knocked off No. 3 Nick Nevills (Penn State) for his highest career finish at the tournament.
 


HEAD COACH JASON BORRELLI: Stanford is under the guidance of 10th-year head coach Jason Borrelli. During his time on The Farm, Borrelli has accrued a 98-74-3 record and sent 25 wrestlers to the NCAA Championships a total of 36 times. Borrelli, a former Central Michigan standout, first came to Stanford as an assistant coach in 2007 and has quickly turned the Cardinal into a national contender. Under Borrelli, the Cardinal has finished in the top 20 at the NCAA Championships three times, including a program-best 11th at the 2011 tournament in Philadelphia.