Cardinal Knocks Off Tar Heels

STANFORD, Calif. – Stanford wrestling opened its home schedule with a 21-11 upset win over No. 17 North Carolina, Saturday, in Burnham Pavilion.

The Cardinal (1-1) won seven of the 10 bouts against North Carolina (1-1), including three wins over individually ranked Tar Heels.

Tyler Eischens, a redshirt freshman from Anoka, Minnesota, trailed No. 16 A.C. Headlee 2-1 after the opening period at 157 pounds. Headlee went down to start the second and a strong ride by Eischens kept the score 2-1. Eischens tied it up with an escape to start the third before scoring the winning takedown to seal the upset.

Ranked eighth at 165 pounds, redshirt freshman Shane Griffith posted a 9-4 decision over No. 17 Kennedy Monday. Griffith fell behind 4-0 before scoring nine unanswered to remain undefeated on the season at 6-0.

With the dual win already locked, redshirt senior David Showunmi registered a 4-3 decision over No. 20 Andrew Gunning at heavyweight. Showunmi scored a takedown in the opening period, an escape in the second and finished with 1:23 of riding time in the victory.

The dual began at 125 pounds, where true freshman Jackson DiSario earned a come-from-behind 8-5 decision over Joey Melendez. Trailing 4-2 going into the final period, DiSario put six on the board to complete the comeback. It is the first collegiate dual win for the McDonough, Georgia, native.

At 141 pounds, No. 13 Real Woods found a way to win in the final seconds against Zach Sherman. There was no score in the opening period and Woods rode Sherman for the entire 2:00 second period. Woods earned an escape to start the third for the first point of the bout. Sherman scored a takedown late in the third period, but Woods managed to escape as time expired and had 1:43 of riding time for the 3-2 decision.

True freshman Nick Addison also picked up his first collegiate dual win with a dominating 6-0 decision over Chasen Blair at 184 pounds. Addison scored a takedown in the first and racked up over 2:00 of riding time in the opening period. The Fair Haven, New Jersey, native quickly escaped to start the second to go up 3-0 after two. Blair chose neutral to begin the third and Addison tacked on another takedown and finished with 3:10 of riding time.

Redshirt junior Nathan Traxler, who is ranked No. 9 at 197 pounds, solidified the dual victory with an 8-2 decision over Brandon Whitman. Traxler scored a takedown in the first and rode out Whitman in the second for a 2-0 advantage. He posted an escape to start the third and added two more takedowns and 2:50 riding time in the win.

Up next, Stanford takes on San Francisco State on Sunday at 3 p.m. in San Francisco.

Stanford 21, No. 17 North Carolina 11