STANFORD, Calif. - No. 17 Stanford (8-3, 1-2 ACC) travels to Princeton (8-7) on Thursday, No. 7 NC State (10-1, 4-0 ACC) on Friday and Duke (4-13, 0-5 ACC) on Sunday for its final regular season road trip.
Thursday marks Coach Ayres, Coach Gray and Coach Brucki's return to Princeton. A four-time Ivy League Coach of the Year, Ayres spent 17 seasons at the helm of the program. He built the Tigers into a conference and national contender. Among the many achievements, Ayres produced just the second individual national champion in Princeton history (it’s first since 1951), the program’s first and second four-time All-Americans, and its first Ivy League championship since 1986. His daughter, Chloe, is a senior on the Princeton wrestling team.
Coach Gray spent 12 seasons as an assistant coach under Ayres at Princeton, while Coach Brucki wrestled for the Tigers from 2017-20. He was a two-time All-American, placing fourth for Princeton at 197 pounds in 2019 before earning NWCA First Team honors for the Tigers in 2020. A three-time All-Ivy second team performer, he won the 2019 EIWA title and became just the second Midlands champion in Princeton history.
Also returning to his old stomping grounds this week is Coach Hidlay, who was a five-time All-American and four-time ACC champion at NC State. He finished his career second in Wolfpack history in winning percentage (.909), while his 110 career victories are tied for the third-most wins by an NC State wrestler.
Stanford is ranked No. 17 in this week's NWCA Coaches Poll. The Cardinal boasts eight wrestlers ranked in the InterMat individual polls.
InterMat Individual Rankings
133: Tyler Knox - #7
141: Jason Miranda - #21
149: Jaden Abas - #10
157: Grigor Cholakyan - #28
165: Hunter Garvin - #13
174: Lorenzo Norman - #4
197: Nick Stemmet - #22
285: Peter Ming - #31
Last time out, Stanford was defeated by No. 10 Virginia Tech, 30-13, falling at home for the first time this season. Fifth year Nick Stemmet recorded the highest ranked win of his career, upsetting then-No. 8 Andy Smith, 4-2, at 197 pounds. True freshman Grigor Cholakyan closed out the dual with his team-leading fifth fall of the season.
Stanford won the 60th Ken Kraft Midlands Championships - the first team title in program history at the tournament. The Cardinal crowned three individual champions in the same season for the first time - Tyler Knox (133 pounds), Jaden Abas (149 pounds) and Lorenzo Norman (174 pounds). Also placing for Stanford were Hunter Garvin (3rd - 165 pounds), Jason Miranda (4th - 141 pounds), Nick Stemmet (4th - 197 pounds), Peter Ming (5th - 285 pounds), Grigor Cholakyan (7th - 157 pounds), Brook Byers (7th - 197 pounds) and Collin Guffey (8th - 174 pounds).
Following the tournament, Knox was voted the Dan Gable Men's Outstanding Wrestler, while Norman was named the Jack Leese Champion of Champions.
The Cardinal finished eighth as a team at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational (Dec. 6-7) and had four placewinners - Lorenzo Norman (2nd - 174 pounds), Jaden Abas (3rd - 149 pounds), Tyler Knox (5th - 133 pounds) and Hunter Garvin (6th - 165 pounds).
Last season, Stanford ushered in the Chris Ayres' era, producing a pair of All-Americans and tying for its third-highest finish at the NCAA Championships (16th).
The Cardinal qualified five wrestlers for the 2024 NCAA Championships in Kansas City - Nico Provo (125), Jaden Abas (149), Daniel Cardenas (157), Hunter Garvin (165) and Nick Stemmet (197). Cardenas was the top-finisher for Stanford, placing fourth at 157 pounds to garner his first career All-America honors.
Garvin took sixth at 165 pounds after entering the tournament at the No. 20 seed. He became just the third Cardinal freshman to achieve NCAA All-America status. Stanford now has 26 individual All-Americans who have earned 37 honors overall.
Stanford is under the guidance of Chris Ayres, The Matt Gentry Head Wrestling Coach. He is in his second season on The Farm and 19th season as a collegiate head coach. A four-time Ivy League Coach of the Year, Ayres spent 17 seasons at the helm of the Princeton program.
No. 17 Stanford at Princeton Probable Matchups
125: -- (STAN) vs. Ethan Rivera (PRINCE)
133: #7 Tyler Knox (STAN) vs. Dan Jones (PRINCE)
141: #21 Jason Miranda OR Aden Valencia (STAN) vs. #31 Eligh Rivera (PRINCE)
149: #10 Jaden Abas OR Jack Consiglio (STAN) vs. #12 Ty Whalen (PRINCE)
157: #28 Grigor Cholakyan (STAN) vs. Jake Mann OR Cody Tavoso (PRINCE)
165: #13 Hunter Garvin OR Zach Hanson (STAN) vs. Blaine Bergey (PRINCE)
174: #4 Lorenzo Norman OR Collin Guffey OR Lars Michaelson (STAN) vs. Xavier Giles (PRINCE)
184: Tye Monteiro OR Cole Han-Lindemyer (STAN) vs. #27 Kole Mulhauser (PRINCE)
197: #22 Nick Stemmet (STAN) vs. #16 Luke Stout (PRINCE)
285: #31 Peter Ming (STAN) vs. Sebastian Garibaldi (PRINCE)
No. 17 Stanford at No. 7 NC State Probable Matchups
125: -- (STAN) vs. #3 Vince Robinson OR Louie Gill (NCST)
133: #7 Tyler Knox (STAN) vs. #13 Kai Orine OR Troy Hohman (NCST)
141: #21 Jason Miranda OR Aden Valencia (STAN) vs. Tyler Tracy (NCST)
149: #10 Jaden Abas OR Jack Consiglio (STAN) vs. #22 Koy Buesgens (NCST)
157: #28 Grigor Cholakyan (STAN) vs. #14 Ed Scott (NCST)
165: #13 Hunter Garvin OR Zach Hanson (STAN) vs. #28 Derek Fields OR Luke Ahrberg (NCST)
174: #4 Lorenzo Norman OR Collin Guffey OR Lars Michaelson (STAN) vs. #21 Matty Singleton (NCST)
184: Tye Monteiro OR Cole Han-Lindemyer (STAN) vs. #14 Dylan Fishback (NCST)
197: #22 Nick Stemmet (STAN) vs. #31 Christian Knop OR Andrew Macchiavello (NCST)
285: #31 Peter Ming (STAN) vs. #4 Isaac Trumble (NCST)
No. 17 Stanford at Duke Probable Matchups
125: -- (STAN) vs. Ethan Grimminger OR Riley Rowan (DUKE)
133: #7 Tyler Knox (STAN) vs. Raymond Adams (DUKE)
141: #21 Jason Miranda OR Aden Valencia (STAN) vs. Christian Colman (DUKE)
149: #10 Jaden Abas OR Jack Consiglio (STAN) vs. SP O'Donnell (DUKE)
157: #28 Grigor Cholakyan (STAN) vs. Logan Ferrero (DUKE)
165: #13 Hunter Garvin OR Zach Hanson (STAN) vs. Aidan Wallace (DUKE)
174: #4 Lorenzo Norman OR Collin Guffey OR Lars Michaelson (STAN) vs. Gaetano Console (DUKE)
184: Tye Monteiro OR Cole Han-Lindemyer (STAN) vs. David Hussey (DUKE)
197: #22 Nick Stemmet (STAN) vs. Kwasi Bonsu (DUKE)
285: #31 Peter Ming (STAN) vs. #29 Connor Barket (DUKE)