CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - For the first time in program history, Stanford crowned champions at the Southern Scuffle, presented by Compound Sportswear in McKenzie Arena.
Real Woods (141 pounds), Jaden Abas (149 pounds) and Shane Griffith (165) won titles, while Nathan Traxler (197 pounds) finished as a runner-up and Requir van der Merwe (149 pounds) placed sixth.
Stanford finished third as a team with 99.5 points - its highest finish at the Southern Scuffle. The three Cardinal champions were the most by an individual school. Oklahoma State won the tournament with 116 points, while NC State was second with 109 points.
First three ?? @LetsScuffle champs in program history.
— Stanford Wrestling (@CardWrestling) January 3, 2020
Third-place team finish - highest in school history ??#LetsScuffle #CardinalCaliber #NextStartsNow #GoStanford pic.twitter.com/WJhAjO3tuF
The finals started at 149 pounds, where Abas defeated 18th-ranked Andrew Alirez of Northern Colorado, 3-2. Tied 1-1 in the third period, Abas scored the winning takedown with 15 seconds on the clock to secure the championship. It is the second consecutive tournament win for the true freshman, who was wrestling unattached. He is now 18-4 on the season.
Griffith was up next and all he needed was an escape and a stalling point to hold off 10th-ranked Tanner Skidgel of Navy at 165 pounds. The redshirt freshman has opened the season 17-0, moving him into 10th all-time in program history for consecutive wins. He is just eight wins away from breaking into the Cardinal's top 10 for freshman wins.
Woods closed out the finals session at 141 pounds with a dominating 6-1 decision over ninth-ranked Kaden Gfeller of Oklahoma State. Woods is now 12-1 on the season with his lone loss coming to top-ranked Luke Pletcher of Ohio State in sudden victory.
Stanford is back in action on Friday, Jan. 17 for its Pac-12 opener at Cal Poly. Wrestling is slated for 6:30 p.m. from Mott Gym in San Luis Obispo.
Logan Ashton, 125 pounds | 0-2
| Opponent | Result |
|---|---|
| lost to Joe Thomas (West Virginia) | 4-2 (SV) |
| lost to Louis Newell (Pittsburgh) | 9-0 |
Jackson DiSario, 125 pounds | 2-2
| Opponent | Result |
|---|---|
| fall Carson Smith (Appalachian State) | F2:42 |
| dec. Logan Treaster (Navy) | 9-2 |
| lost to #7 Nic Aguilar (Rutgers) | 13-4 |
| lost to Jakob Camacho (NC State) | 11-4 |
#20 Gabriel Townsell, 125 pounds | 1-1
| Opponent | Result |
|---|---|
| dec. Aden Reeves (Iowa State) | 8-4 |
| lost to Jonathan Tropea (Rider) | 11-5 |
Brandon Kier, 133 pounds | 0-2
| Opponent | Result |
|---|---|
| lost to #18 Reece Witcraft (Oklahoma State) | 3-2 |
| lost to Richie Koehler (Rider) | 15-2 |
#12 Real Woods, 141 pounds | 5-0 (1st)
| Opponent | Result |
|---|---|
| fall Sawyer Degen (North Dakota State) | F0:33 |
| fall Caleb Rea (West Virginia) | F2:12 |
| maj. dec. Evan Cheek (Cleveland State) | 12-3 |
| dec. Dusty Hone (Oklahoma State) | 6-2 |
| dec. #9 Kaden Gfeller (Oklahoma State) | 6-1 |
Fabian Santillan, 141 pounds | 1-2
| Opponent | Result |
|---|---|
| dec. #20 Cole Matthews (Pittsburgh) | 3-1 (SV) |
| lost to Jojo Aragona (Rutgers) | 2-0 |
| lost to Riley Gurr (Oregon State) | Inj. Def. |
Jaden Abas (unattached), 149 pounds | 6-0 (1st)
| Opponent | Result |
|---|---|
| dec. Sam Matzek (Cleveland State) | 8-1 |
| maj. dec. Jacob Mariakis (Chattanooga) | 11-0 |
| dec. Josh Finesilver (Duke) | 5-3 |
| dec. Jason Kraisser (Campbell) | 10-3 |
| dec. Colston DiBlasi (George Mason) | 3-1 |
| dec. #18 Andrew Alirez (Northern Colorado) | 3-2 |
Dawson Sihavong (unattached), 149 pounds | 1-2
| Opponent | Result |
|---|---|
| maj. dec. Spencer Leonhardt (Campbell) | 12-0 |
| lost to Aj Leitten (NC State) | 15-5 |
| lost to Matthew Swanson (Binghamton) | 12-11 |
#15 Requir van der Merwe, 149 pounds | 4-1 (6th)
| Opponent | Result |
|---|---|
| maj. dec. Jaden Van Maanen (North Dakota State) | 17-5 |
| tech. fall Zach Barnes (Campbell) | 20-5 (6:33) |
| lost to Jonathan Milner (Appalachian State) | 4-3 |
| tech. fall Troy Nation (Campbell) | 15-0 (3:17) |
| maj. dec. Jaden Van Maanen (North Dakota State) | 10-1 |
Tyler Eischens, 157 pounds | 4-2
| Opponent | Result |
|---|---|
| fall Grant Speer (The Citadel) | F3:14 |
| dec. Grant Stotts (Iowa State) | 4-1 |
| lost to Michael Vanbrill (Rutgers) | 9-6 |
| maj. dec. Scout Skidgel (Navy) | 11-3 |
| dec. Wyatt Pfau (Duke) | 4-2 |
| lost to Jared Franek (North Dakota State) | 10-4 |
Ethan Woods, 157 pounds | 2-2
| Opponent | Result |
|---|---|
| dec. Will Lawrence (VMI) | 6-3 |
| dec. Caleb Cas (Cleveland State) | 6-3 |
| lost to #2 Hayden Hidlay (NC State) | F2:00 |
| lost to Jack Stanton-Taddeo (Navy) | 7-3 |
#7 Shane Griffith, 165 pounds | 5-0 (1st)
| Opponent | Result |
|---|---|
| maj. dec. RJ Mosley (Gardner Webb) | 9-1 |
| dec. Evan Barczak (Drexel) | 11-4 |
| maj. dec. Chase Straw (Iowa State) | 11-2 |
| dec. Travis Wittlake (Oklahoma State) | 4-1 |
| dec. #10 Tanner Skidgel (Navy) | 2-1 |
Foster Karmon, 174 pounds | 1-2
| Opponent | Result |
|---|---|
| lost to Neal Richards (VMI) | 16-6 |
| maj. dec. Trent Knight (Campbell) | 14-6 |
| lost to Jared Siegrist (Lock Haven) | 7-4 |
Nick Addison, 184 pounds | 1-2
| Opponent | Result |
|---|---|
| lost to Anthony Montalvo (Oklahoma State) | 10-2 |
| won by medical forfeit over Billy Janzer (Rutgers) | MFF |
| lost to Colt Doyle (Oregon State) | F6:53 |
#8 Nathan Traxler, 197 pounds | 4-1 (2nd)
| Opponent | Result |
|---|---|
| tech. fall Parker McClellan (Lock Haven) | 18-0 (4:07) |
| maj. dec. Bear Hughes (Oklahoma State) | 12-3 |
| dec. Jacob Cardenas (Finger Lakes WC) | 11-4 |
| dec. Michael Beard (Penn State) | 9-7 |
| lost to #13 Noah Adams (West Virginia) | F2:22 |
Trevor Rasmussen, 285 pounds | 0-2
| Opponent | Result |
|---|---|
| lost to Brandon Ngati (West Virginia) | 7-3 |
| lost to Cole Rickert (Pittsburgh) | 6-2 |
David Showunmi, 285 pounds | 1-2
| Opponent | Result |
|---|---|
| dec. Kayne Hutchison (Air Force) | 4-2 |
| lost to Lewis Fernandes (Finger Lakes WC) | 7-1 |
| lost to Michael Burchell (Appalachian State) | 14-8 |