Kerry McCoy on Gardner: "Tanner is one of the hardest working student-athletes I have ever seen. He is always working to improve and wants to be the best at everything he does. This is going to be a huge year for him. I know he can be a National Champion."
2007-08 Season (Senior): Stanford's starter at 125 pounds ... Posted his highest career finish (5th) at the NCAA Championships to become Stanford's first three-time All-American ... Topped four ranked wrestlers at the championships, including No. 4 Charlie Falck in the fifth place bout ... Broke the Stanford career win record at the Pac-10 Championships and completed his career with a school-record 145 wins ... Also shattered the Stanford single-season pin record with 19 on the year ... Became the first Stanford wrestler to post more than one 40-win season ... Topped his own single-season win record in the final match of his career with 43 wins ... Captured the 125-pound Pac-10 title and was named the Most Outstanding Wrestler at the Pac-10 Championships ... Pinned two opponents and bested a top-20 opponent on his way to the title ... The first Stanford wrestler in more than two decades to win back-to-back conference titles ... Completed the year with a 43-3 record ... Went undefeated in duals (17-0) ... Paced the team with 93 dual points on the year ... Led the team in wins, pins and technical falls ... Earned bonus points if 30 matches ... Posted a perfect 9-0 record in Pac-10 bouts ... Consistently ranked among the nation's top-10 by Intermat, and finished at No. 5 nationally ... Led the Pac-10 in both wins and pins, and finished among the top-five nationally in both categories ... Pinned his first five opponents of the year ... Opened the year with a 20-match win streak, capturing titles at the Central Missouri Open, the Fullerton Open and the Las Vegas Invitational ... Finished second and suffered season's only loss at the Reno Tournament of Champions ... Pinned five consecutive opponents in mid-January.
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2006-07 Season (Junior): Team co-captain ... Became Stanford's second two-time All-American with a seventh place finish at the NCAA Championships ... Posted a 4-2 record at the championships and topped three ranked opponents ... Earned 100th career win at the NCAA Championships and stands as one of four athletes in Cardinal history to hit the mark ... Now has 102 career wins, third all-time ... Finished the season ranked No. 4 in the nation ... Won Stanford's first Pac-10 individual title since 2004 on Feb. 25 ... Tied a Stanford single-season win record with 42 wins and finished the season at 42-5 overall ... Undefeated in dual matches, with a perfect 16-0 record ... Led the team with 14 pins and seven wins by technical fall ... Also won five matches by major decision ... Posted a team-best 83 dual points ... Placed in every tournament he competed in, winning titles at the Pac-10 Championships, Bison Open and the Reno Tournament of Champions ... Placed fourth at the Las Vegas Invitational and second at the Southern Scuffle ... Faced 11 ranked opponents and went 8-3 against them ... Longest winning streak was 18 matches between Jan. 5 and Mar. 16 ... A Pac-10 All-Academic First Team Selection ... An ESPN Academic First Team All-American for the Men's At-Large University Division ... Also selected to the ESPN Academic All-District Men's At-Large First Team in District 8 ... An NWCA Academic All-American ... Named the team's Most Valuable Wrestler ... Also earned the Outstanding Scholar-Athlete Award ... Recipient of the Conference Male Athlete of the Year and Bill Walsh Awards ... Earned the Tod Surmon Award in duals against San Francisco State and UC Davis ... Qualified for the US National Championships in April ... Won the University National Freestyle Championship in Akron, Ohio in late April.
2005-06 Season (Sophomore): Earned All-America honors at 125 pounds, just the 13th time a Stanford wrestler has earned the accolades ... Took eighth place at the NCAA Championships in Oklahoma City with four wins ... Team Co-Captain ... Finished the season with 37 wins, including 12 dual victories ... Ended the season with a No. 12 ranking by InterMat ... Placed at all seven tournaments he competed in, winning the title at the Central Missouri Open and placing second at the Pac-10 Championships ... Snagged fifth place at the Reno Tournament of Champions with five victories ... Also placed fifth at Midlands ... Opened the season with nine-straight wins ... Led the team with six wins by technical fall ... Selected to the ESPN Academic All-America Men's At-Large First Team in District 8 ... Named to the National Wrestling Coaches Association All-Academic Team and the Pac-10 All-Academic First Team ... Did not compete in the spring as he was studying abroad in Spain.
2004-05 Season (Redshirt): Competed unattached throughout the season ... Captured the 125 pounds title at the Central Missouri Open ... Posted five straight wins, including two major decisions and a fall, to win the crown ... Claimed second place at the California Open ... Took a pair of wins at Midlands ... Tallied four wins to capture fourth place at the University National Championships at 55 kg in Freestyle ... Followed up with a fourth-place finish at the 2005 FILA Junior National Championships in Freestyle.
2003-04 Season (Freshman): Ranks fourth all-time in school history with 23 wins in his freshman season ... Earned a trip to the NCAA Tournament after placing fifth at the conference championships ... Placed first at the Aggie Open ... Picked up two victories at the Lone Star Duals ... Took second at the All Cal Invitational with two wins ... Scored a pin during the Oregon State dual meet to spark Stanford's 18-17 win, the Cardinal's first-ever against the Beavers ... Posted two wins at the Pac-10 Championships to finish in fifth place ... Finished second in Greco and third in Freestyle at the Junior World Team Trials at 55 kg.
High School: A two-time Kansas state champion ... Went undefeated in his last two seasons with an 80-0 record ... Won the 2002 Greco-Roman Junior National Championship, while earning All-American Honors in Freestyle with a third place finish ... Placed fifth at the Greco-Roman Junior Nationals in 2003 ... Won double titles in Freestyle and Greco-Roman in the Western Junior Regionals, securing the Outstanding Wrestler Award in the Freestyle division ... Named to Wrestling USA's Academic All-American Dream Team ... Coached by Robert Gonzales at Shawnee Heights High School.
Personal: A Public Policy major.
Gardner's Year-by-Year Statistics
| Year | Record | Dual Record | Falls | Tech. Falls | |
| 2004 | 23-17 | 8-6 | 4 | 2 | |
| 2005 | Redshirted | ||||
| 2006 | 37-13 | 12-2 | 3 | 6 | |
| 2007 | 42-5 | 16-0 | 14 | 7 | |
| 2008 | 43-3 | 17-0 | 19 | 5 | |
| Career Totals | 145-38 | 53-8 | 40 | 20 | |