CORVALLIS, Ore. - Redshirt freshman Jaden Abas was crowned the 149-pound champion at the Pac-12 Championships, while Stanford finished third as a team, Sunday, in Gill Coliseum.
Stanford finished with 115.5 team points, finishing behind champion Arizona State (138.0) and second-place Oregon State (123.0). It marks the fifth time since 1980 that the Cardinal has taken third as a team at the conference tournament.
Joining Abas as automatic qualifiers for the NCAA Championships were Jackson DiSario (125 pounds), Shane Griffith (165 pounds), Nick Stemmet (197 pounds) and Nathan Traxler (285 pounds). It marks the eighth straight year in which the Cardinal has had at least five NCAA qualifiers. The NCAA at-large bids will be announced on March 10.
The Cardinal had five finalists and seven wrestlers finished in the top 3 at their respective weight classes. Abas became just the eighth freshman to win a conference title for Stanford.
Abas, who is ranked No. 18 nationally at 149 pounds, registered a 7-4 decision over Arizona State's Cory Crooks in the semifinals. In the finals, he knocked off No. 13 Legend Lamer of Cal Poly, 10-5, handing the Mustang his first loss of the season. Abas is now 8-2 on the season.
Finishing as runners-up for the Cardinal were DiSario, Real Woods (141 pounds), Griffith and Traxler. Woods made his season debut at the conference tournament. Griffith suffered the first loss of his career, but bounced back with a 10-0 major decision against Oregon State's Matt Olguin in a true second place match to automatically qualify for nationals. Griffith's 34-consecutive wins, spanning two seasons, was the best start to a career in program history and the second-longest winning streak by a Stanford wrestler.
Redshirt senior Requir van der Merwe (157 pounds) and Stemmet both placed third for the Cardinal. True freshman Jason Miranda (133 pounds) and fifth-year senior Jared Hill (184 pounds) took fifth, while true freshman Elijah Cleaver (174 pounds), who had wrestled at 149 pounds all season, was sixth.
Stanford will travel to St. Louis for the NCAA Championships, March 18-20, at the Enterprise Center.
Jackson DiSario, 125 pounds | 1-1 (2nd)
| Opponent | Result |
|---|---|
| dec. Brandon Kaylor (Oregon State) | 7-3 |
| lost to #3 Brandon Courtney (Arizona State) | 6-2 |
Jason Miranda, 133 pounds | 2-2 (5th)
| Opponent | Result |
|---|---|
| maj. dec. Benny Martinez (Cal Poly) | 9-0 |
| lost to Devan Turner (Oregon State) | 4-3 (TB-1) |
| lost to Paul Bianchi (Little Rock) | 7-1 |
| maj. dec. Benny Martinez (Cal Poly) | 9-0 |
Real Woods, 141 pounds | 2-1 (2nd)
| Opponent | Result |
|---|---|
| dec. Angelo Martinoni (CSU Bakersfield) | 3-2 |
| dec. Lawrence Saenz (Cal Poly) | 3-2 |
| lost to #15 Grant Willits (Oregon State) | F4:42 |
#18 Jaden Abas, 149 pounds | 2-0 (1st)
| Opponent | Result |
|---|---|
| dec. Cory Crooks (Arizona State) | 7-4 |
| dec. #13 Legend Lamer (Cal Poly) | 10-5 |
Requir van der Merwe, 157 pounds | 2-2 (3rd)
| Opponent | Result |
|---|---|
| lost to #12 Jacori Teemer (Arizona State) | 7-5 |
| fall Brock Rogers (CSU Bakersfield) | F4:59 |
| maj. dec. Brawley Lamer (Cal Poly) | 10-1 |
| True Second: lost to #14 Hunter Willits (Oregon State) | 3-1 |
#2 Shane Griffith, 165 pounds | 2-1 (2nd)
| Opponent | Result |
|---|---|
| dec. Adam Kemp (Cal Poly) | 8-3 |
| lost to #5 Anthony Valencia (Arizona State) | 7-1 |
| True Second: maj. dec. Matt Olguin (Oregon State) | 10-0 |
Elijah Cleaver, 174 pounds | 0-3 (6th)
| Opponent | Result |
|---|---|
| inj. def. to Albert Urias (CSU Bakersfield) | Inj. def. (0:03) |
| inj. def. to Triston Wills (Little Rock) | Inj. def. |
| lost to Colton Beisley (Oregon State) | 19-3 (6:46) |
Jared Hill, 184 pounds | 2-2 (5th)
| Opponent | Result |
|---|---|
| maj. dec. Tanner Mendoza (Little Rock) | 14-2 |
| lost to Ryan Reyes (Oregon State) | 9-5 |
| lost to Dylan Miracle (Cal Poly) | 10-5 |
| dec. Tanner Mendoza (Little Rock) | 5-2 |
Nick Stemmet, 197 pounds | 3-1 (3rd)
| Opponent | Result |
|---|---|
| maj. dec. Trevor Tinker (Cal Poly) | 12-4 |
| lost to #4 Kordell Norfleet (Arizona State) | 15-0 (7:00) |
| maj. dec. Dylan Johnson (Little Rock) | 10-2 |
| dec. Trevor Tinker (Cal Poly) | 10-4 |
Nathan Traxler, 285 pounds | 1-1 (2nd)
| Opponent | Result |
|---|---|
| fall Sam Aguilar (Cal Poly) | F1:02 |
| lost to #5 Cohlton Schultz (Arizona State) | 3-1 |