STANFORD, Calif. - Eight Cardinal wrestlers - redshirt juniors Nico Provo (125) and Daniel Cardenas (157), redshirt sophomores Tyler Knox (133) and Abraham Wojcikiewicz (184), redshirt freshmen Jack Consiglio (141), Aden Valencia (149) and EJ Parco (165), and true freshman Angelo Posada (197) - will travel to the NCAA Championships at Rocket Arena in Cleveland, March 19-21.
CATCH THE CARDINAL: ESPN is providing coverage of every match in every session via ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN+. Live scoring will be available on Trackwrestling. Below is the broadcast schedule with ESPN+ (WatchESPN) carrying individual mat feeds throughout the entire tournament.
Thursday, March 19 - 9 a.m. PT - Session 1 (ESPNU)
Thursday, March 19 - 4 p.m. PT - Session 2 (ESPN)
Friday, March 20 - 9 a.m. PT - Quarterfinals (ESPNU)
Friday, March 20 - 5 p.m. PT - Semifinals (ESPN2)
Saturday, March 21 - 8 a.m. PT - Medal Round (ESPNU)
Saturday, March 21 - 3:30 p.m. PT - Championship Finals (ESPN)
WHAT’S AT STAKE: Each Cardinal wrestler will be competing in a 33-man bracket for the individual national title in their respective weight class. The top-eight finishers in each weight class will earn 2026 NCAA All-America status.
HOW THEY GOT THERE: All eight Cardinal earned automatic berths into the NCAA Tournament based on their placement at the ACC Championships, including individual champions Jack Consiglio (141) and Daniel Cardenas (157), and runners-up Nico Provo (125), Tyler Knox (133) and Angelo Posada (197). Aden Valencia (149), EJ Parco (165) and Abraham Wojcikiewicz (184) all placed third at the conference tournament.
STANFORD AT THE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS: Stanford’s highest team finish at the NCAA Championships came in 2011 when the Cardinal placed 11th in Philadelphia. Stanford has turned in top-20 team performances 10 times. In 2021, Shane Griffith became just the second Cardinal to win an individual championship, bringing home the title at 165 pounds in St. Louis. Matt Gentry was the first Cardinal to win an individual title, capturing the 157-pound crown in 2004. In 2012, Nick Amuchastegui (‘12) became just the second three-time All-American at Stanford, reaching the finals in back-to-back seasons (2011, 2012). Griffith (2021, 2022) joined Amuchastegui as the only two-time finalists in program history.
2025 NCAA REWIND: Stanford had eight wrestlers qualify for the NCAA Championships in 2025. Hunter Garvin was the top finisher, placing sixth at 165 pounds for a second consecutive season - becoming the seventh multiple-time All-American in program history. Tyler Knox took eighth at 133 pounds after entering the tournament as the No. 13 seed. He became just the fourth Cardinal freshman to achieve NCAA All-America status. As a team, Stanford was 18th overall - the fifth-highest finish in school history.
STANFORD ALL-AMERICANS: Stanford has a history of producing All-American wrestlers that dates back more than six decades. In 1967, sophomore teammates Len Borchers ‘69 and Terry Crenshaw ‘69 finished fourth nationally in their respective weight classes and became the school’s first All-Americans. Since then, 24 more Cardinal wrestlers have accomplished that feat, and the program now boasts 26 NCAA All-Americans with 36 combined awards. Including National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) honors, the Cardinal has 27 All-Americans with 39 combined awards.
REPEAT APPEARANCES: Redshirt juniors Daniel Cardenas (157) and Nico Provo (125) are making their third appearances at the national tournament. A returning All-American, Cardenas placed fourth in Kansas City in 2024 and reached the Round of 12 as a freshman in Tulsa in 2023. Returning All-American Tyler Knox (133) is making his second trip.
REGULAR SEASON RECAP: Stanford finished the regular season with a 7-6 overall record, including a 4-2 mark in ACC duals. The Cardinal closed out the dual season on a four-match winning streak. Stanford was third as a team at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational (Dec. 5-6). Five Cardinal reached the podium individually, including third-place outings from Nico Provo (125), Jack Consiglio (141) and Daniel Cardenas (157). Stanford finished 16th as a team at the 61st Ken Kraft Midlands Championships (Dec. 29-30) in Evanston, Illinois. Three Cardinal turned in podium finishes - true freshman Brokton Borelli (4th - 197 pounds), redshirt sophomore Abraham Wojcikiewicz (5th - 184 pounds) and redshirt sophomore Zach Hanson (6th - 165 pounds).
HERE TO STAY: Alumni and friends of the program came together in 2021 to create three new coaching endowments to help sustain the future of the sport at Stanford. Two of the coachships honor Matt Gentry, ‘05, who represented Canada in freestyle in the 2008 and 2012 Olympics, and Patricia Miranda, ‘01, who won bronze in freestyle for the United States in the Athens Olympics in 2004 and became the first American woman to receive an Olympic medal in wrestling. Chris Ayres is the second Matt Gentry Head Wrestling Coach, while The Patricia Miranda Assistant Coachship is held by Patrick Brucki. Sean Gray’s position has been endowed by an anonymous donor.
HEAD COACH CHRIS AYRES: Stanford is under the guidance of Chris Ayres, who was appointed the 32nd head coach in Stanford history on September 11, 2023. He is in his 20th 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. Among his 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. The Tigers had their first NCAA finalist since 2002, producing two in the same season in 2022. In his first season on The Farm (2023-24), Stanford produced a pair of All-Americans and tied for its third-highest finish at the NCAA Championships (16th) in Kansas City with five NCAA qualifiers. Last season, the Cardinal again had two All-Americans and turned in another top 20 finish at the NCAA Championships (18th) with eight NCAA qualifiers - only shy of the program record.