My college coach used to joke, the key to happiness in life is lowering your expectations until they are already met. I guess I was not very coachable on that one, as my expectations were sky high heading into the early part of the season. But this first month has tested us. We have had some of our best guys in and out of the lineup with injuries. Nico Provo, Lorenzo Norman, Tyler Knox and others have all been limited at different points. That is never how you draw it up. But here is what I see every day. Our group shows up with the right attitude, handles adversity without excuses, and keeps leaning into the work. That is the Champions Way for us. Attitude, discipline, perseverance, family, growth (newsletter on The Vision of Stanford Wrestling). Those words are not on a poster. They are what this group is living right now.
Four competitions in four weeks
We opened at Utah Valley and fell 19 to 12 in that dual. Hats off to Utah Valley as they have a scrappy team that came to wrestle. We were missing several All Americans, including Daniel Cardenas and Hunter Garvin who were competing at the All-Star Classic, but this allowed us to get some of our athletes in the lineup that might not otherwise get the opportunity. We got wins from Tyler Knox at 133, EJ Parco at 157, Collin Guffey at 174 and true freshman Angelo Posada at 197. Those four found a way to get their hand raised and gave us a good picture of who we can be when we wrestle with urgency for seven minutes.
The next week we walked into Gallagher Iba Arena to face a top five Oklahoma State team in front of nearly 8,000 spectators. The final score did not go our way, but there were big time individual moments. Knox came from behind to beat eighth ranked Richard Figueroa at 133, and Aden Valencia dominated second ranked Casey Swiderski with a thirteen to three major decision at 149. Those are the kinds of wins that tell you our guys belong with the best in the country. The rest of the night was a reminder that if you are off by even a little against that level of opponent, the scoreboard will let you know.
From there we went to Riverside and picked up our first dual win of the season over California Baptist, 29 to 12. That one felt like a step forward. Every Stanford win came with bonus points. Daniel Cardenas and Abraham Wojcikiewicz came away with first period falls. Hunter Garvin added an 11 to 3 major at 165. Aden Valencia finished things with a 21 to 2 tech at 149. True freshman Edwin Sierra and redshirt freshman Jack Consiglio both picked up their first wins of the year and did it in convincing fashion. That is the kind of depth and scoring mentality we want to build through the whole lineup.
A few days later we sent a group to the Roadrunner Open in Bakersfield and came home with five placewinners. Grigor Cholakyan and Collin Guffey both finished as runners up, while true freshman Dylan Pile placed third at 165, Tye Monteiro took third at 184 and Luke Duthie finished fifth at 197. That event was important because it showed what is coming behind our headliners.
All Star Classic
We also had two Cardinal on the big stage at the NWCA All Star Classic. Daniel Cardenas and Hunter Garvin were both selected to represent Stanford, which is a sign of how people in the sport view our program.
Although it was a low scoring bout until overtime, Daniel wrestled a wild match with Ty Watters of West Virginia at 157. It was a back and forth match, with a bunch of exchanges for “almost scores”, but the bout eventually went to overtime, and Dan got hit in a feet to back move in sudden victory. It was not the result he wanted, but it is the kind of early season test that sharpens you for March.
Hunter closed the night for us with a 4 to 1 win over Max Brignola of Lehigh at 165. When I first talked to Hunter about his possible participation in the All-Star match and if he wanted to wrestle, he stated, “heck yeah, I need to avenge my loss from last year.” When I kindly reminded him that it would not be the same opponent, he shot back, “Well, I want to avenge the All-Star Classic Event!” And avenge he did. Hunter stayed composed in a tight match, got to his leg attack when it mattered, and finished with a statement takedown late. Watching our singlet on that stage, in those matchups, reinforces that Stanford wrestlers belong in every conversation about the best in the country.
Turning toward Vegas
Now we head to the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. If you follow college wrestling, you know this weekend is a major checkpoint. CKLV has long been viewed as the toughest in-season tournament in the country, with more than one hundred ranked wrestlers and many of the top teams in the nation in the same gym.
For us, Vegas is about a few simple things.
It is about toughness. Two long days, multiple high level matches, and very little room to breathe. While not as many days, the tournament has a similar feel to the NCAA’s.
It is about scoring. We want our guys to take what we have been doing in the room and let it fly on the mat. When we attack and wrestle freely, we can wrestle with anyone in the country.
And it is about growth. While some guys are going to be in the event for their first competition of the season, we will unfortunately be without Hunter, Lorenzo, and Jackson due to injury. Lorenzo has been wrestling live in the room, but just didn’t have enough solid training to be ready for this type of tournament. Expect to see him at the Duals in Nashville and Midlands. Hunter and Jackson are TBD. CKLV will give us a clear snapshot of where we are right now and what we need to sharpen before conference and nationals.
Lineup for CKLV:
125: #11 Nico Provo (likely 4 seed based on ranked wrestlers in the weight)
133: #6 Tyler Knox (likely 2 seed)
141: #32 Jack Consiglio (likely 13 seed)
149: #14 Aden Valencia (likely 7 seed)
157: #3 Daniel Cardenas (likely 2 seed)
165: UR Zach Hanson
174: UR Collin Guffey
184: UR Abe Wojcikiewicz
197: UR Angelo Posada
285: UR Luke Duthie
A final thought
We all know this is not the start we envisioned. A team like ours, with the talent and leadership we have in that room, expects to open stronger. But sometimes the season gives you what you need more than what you want. The injuries and lineup shuffling forced us to lean on a lot of guys who might not have had this many early opportunities. That has been a gift. We learned things about our depth, our freshmen and the future of this program that we would not have seen if our full starting group had been intact.
These matches, these moments, these growing pains will pay off down the road. A lot of our wrestlers gained experience, confidence and urgency that only come from being thrown into real competition. Our guys who were injured get a shortened season, which can be a blessing sometimes. When we get fully healthy, I believe this stretch will end up being one of the most important parts of our season.
With Thanksgiving still on my mind, I’m thankful that our team has faced the adversity that it has. We are building something together and the early hard tests are shaping us into something better. I look forward to the rest of the season to see what this team can achieve.
