STANFORD, Calif. -The Stanford wrestling team (11-4, 3-2 Pac-12) has completed the regular season and is ready for this year’s ultimate showdown - the 2016 Pac-12 Championships. The tournament will be hosted by Arizona State in Wells Fargo Arena on Saturday, Feb. 27. Ten wrestlers from each school will compete for conference titles and berths to next month’s NCAA Championships. Wrestling gets underway at 10:30 a.m. PT with a second session beginning at 3:30 p.m. PT, and the finals at 5 p.m. PT.
CATCH THE CARDINAL: Fans can watch the finals of the Pac-12 Championships live on the Pac-12 Networks at 5 p.m. PT. Stanford’s Facebook page (Stanford Wrestling) and Twitter account (@CardWrestling) will also provide updates throughout the day. The other rounds of the tournament will be live streamed: Mat 1 | Mat 2 | Mat 3
TICKETS TO THE CHAMPIONSHIPS: Tickets to the championships are $30 for general admission all-session passes. Students/Youth/Seniors are $20. Single session tickets are $20 for general admission and $15 for students/youth/seniors. Tickets can be purchased at the door or online at thesundevils.com/tickets.
THE FIELD: All six teams will be fighting for the conference crown Sunday. Oregon State has won four-straight Pac-12 titles and enters the weekend as the highest ranked team at No. 22 in the USA Today/NWCA Coaches Poll. The Pac-12 boasts 11 individually ranked wrestlers in the InterMat top 20 polls.
WHAT’S AT STAKE: In addition to competing for team and individual conference titles, wrestlers will be looking to qualify for the 2016 NCAA Championships, held this year at Madison Square Garden in New York City March 17-19.
REGULAR SEASON RECAP: The Cardinal finished the regular season with an 11-4 overall record in duals. Stanford went 3-2 in Pac-12 duals, including wins at Cal Poly, at Arizona State and versus Boise State. Stanford finished second at the Hokie Open in early November, took third at the Reno Tournament of Champions and came in ninth as a team at the Southern Scuffle. Heavyweight Nathan Butler leads the squad with 23 wins this season, including a team-best eight falls.
TOURNAMENT EXPERIENCE: Stanford’s active wrestlers have made a combined 19 appearances at the conference championships. Seven of the 10 Cardinal projected to compete this weekend have wrestled in the conference tournament, but only redshirt juniors Jim Wilson (165) and Zach Nevills (197) have been there twice.
STANFORD AT THE CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS: Stanford has competed in NCAA wrestling since at least 1933, but has yet to win a conference championship as a team. Since the conference became the Pac-10 in 1980, the Cardinal’s highest finish has been second, coming in 2008 and 2014. Last season, Stanford finished third overall with 100.0 teampoints. Jim Wilson (165 pounds) and Nathan Butler (285 pounds) took home titles for the Cardinal. Wilson became just the sixth two-time conference champion in program history, while Butler was just the fourth Cardinal freshman to win a conference title.
NCAA HOPES: Stanford has sent a program-high five wrestlers to the NCAA Championships on five occasions, including 2015. Last season, Evan Silver (125 pounds), Connor Schram (133 pounds), Garrett Schaner (157 pounds) Jim Wilson (165 pounds) and Nathan Butler (285 pounds) represented the Cardinal in St. Louis. The group finished 35th overall with 8.0 points with Wilson (8th) becoming the 17th All-American in program history. Wilson is seeking his third berth to the NCAA Tournament, while Schram and Butler are looking to make their second consecutive appearances this season.
THE WILSON FILE: Redshirt junior Jim Wilson (165 pounds) holds a 90-21 career record during his time on The Farm. His 90 wins are the most by any of the current Cardinal and is just seven away from breaking into the program’s top-10 for career wins. He is a two-time NCAA qualifier, 2015 All-American and two-time Pac-12 champion. He was also the Pac-12 Newcomer of the Year in 2014. He is looking to become the first three-time conference champion in program history.
FRESHMAN PHENOM: Stanford 141-pounder Joey McKenna enters the conference championships as the Cardinal’s highest ranked wrestler, coming in at No. 2 nationally. The Towaco, New Jersey native is 19-2 on the year and 11-1 in duals with both of his losses coming in overtime to top-ranked Dein Heil of Oklahoma State. He is looking to become the third straight Cardinal freshman to win a conference title, joining Jim Wilson (2014) and Nathan Butler (2015), and just the fifth overall.
SCHRAM IN THE RANKINGS: Redshirt sophomore Connor Schram comes in at No. 15 at 125 pounds in the InterMat top-20 this week. He holds a 17-5 overall record this season, including a top-10 win over then-No. 6 Ronnie Bresser of Oregon State (Feb. 4). Of his five losses, four have come at the hands of ranked opponents. Schram is a returning NCAA qualifier and finished as the runner-up at 133 pounds at last year’s Pac-12 Championships.
HEAD COACH JASON BORRELLI: Stanford is under the guidance of eighth-year head coach Jason Borrelli. During his time on The Farm, Borrelli has accrued a 81-66-3 record and sent 13 wrestlers to the NCAA Championships a total of 25 times. Borrelli, a former Central Michigan standout, first came to Stanford as an assistant coach in 2007 and has quickly turned the Cardinal into a national contender. Under Borrelli, the Cardinal has finished in the top 20 at the NCAA Championships twice, including a program-best 11th at the 2011 tournament in Philadelphia, Pa.
