STANFORD, Calif. - The NCAA released its brackets for the 2021 NCAA wrestling championships, which begins March 18 in St. Louis. Stanford has seven wrestlers qualified for the postseason - its second-most in program history.
Redshirt freshman Jaden Abas and redshirt sophomore Shane Griffith are Stanford's highest seeded wrestlers at No. 8 at 149 and 165 pounds, respectively.
Abas, the 2021 Pac-12 champion, will face Northwestern's Yahya Thomas (8-5) in the first round of the tournament. The San Diego native is 8-2 on the season and has two wins over ranked opponents this season.
Griffith is 6-1 on the year and 34-1 in two seasons with the Cardinal. He begins his first national tournament against Michigan State's Jake Tucker (5-7), the No. 25 seed at 165 pounds after earning the tournament's No. 3 seed in 2020.
Fifth-year senior Requir van der Merwe (7-3) earned the No. 17 seed at 157 pounds. He takes on No. 16 seed Justin McCoy (9-2) of Virginia in the opening round. van der Merwe, the 2019 Pac-12 champion at 149 pounds, is 50-20 in his Cardinal career and will make his second appearance at the national tournament.
Redshirt sophomore Real Woods (4-1) is the No. 21 seed at 141 pounds. He will have a rematch of the Pac-12 finals against No. 12 seed Grant Willits of Oregon State in the first round. Woods is now 23-2 in his collegiate career and will make his first appearance in the national tournament after securing the No. 3 seed a year ago.
Sophomore Jackson DiSario (7-3), the tournament's No. 26 seed at 125 pounds, faces No. 7 seed Taylor Lamont (9-1) of Utah Valley in the opening round. The McDonough, Georgia, will make his postseason debut after qualifying for his second straight NCAA championships. He is 28-12 in two seasons for Stanford.
Fifth-year senior Nathan Traxler (6-2), now a four-time NCAA qualifier, is the No. 26 seed at heavyweight. He faces the No. 7 seed Ethan Laird (8-1) of Rider in the first round. Traxler is 75-26 for his career.
True freshman Nick Stemmet (7-2) is the No. 27 seed at 197 and opens the national tournament against No. 6 seed Nino Bonaccorsi (9-1) of Pittsburgh.
The NCAA Championships are being held at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis, Missouri, March 18-20.
