DETROIT - Shane Griffith is clutch. The redshirt junior scored a takedown in the final seconds to advance to the NCAA finals for the second straight season, defeating No. 1 seed Evan Wick of Cal Poly.
The fourth time was a charm for the Westwood, New Jersey, native as he and Wick previously met three times this season. Griffith is the second Cardinal wrestler to reach the finals in back-to-back seasons, joining Nick Amuchastegui (2011, 2012).
Behind a last second takedown, Shane Griffith advances to Saturday and will defend his title!
— NCAA Wrestling (@NCAAWrestling) March 19, 2022
?? ESPN#NCAAWrestling x @CardWrestling pic.twitter.com/EYhz4Tmxj1
Griffith began the day with a 10-4 decision over No. 4 seed Dean Hamiti of Wisconsin in the quarterfinals, securing All-America honors. The 165-pounder is the sixth Stanford wrestler to be a multiple-time NCAA All-American. He is now 19-4 on the season and 59-5 in his Cardinal career and will meet No. 2 seed Keegan O'Toole of Missouri on Saturday night.
Joining Griffith in the semifinals was redshirt junior Real Woods. Woods registered a 16-0 technical fall in 4:06 over No. 12 seed CJ Composto (Penn) in the quarterfinals, giving Stanford to semifinalists for the first time in school history.
Woods dropped a 3-2 decision to the top seed at 141 pounds, Penn State's Nick Lee in the semifinals. He will wrestle No. 3 seed Sebastian Rivera of Rutgers for a spot in the third-place match on Saturday morning.
Saturday's morning session will begin at 8 a.m. PT on ESPNU. The finals are set for 4 p.m. PT on ESPN.
(33) Logan Ashton, 125 pounds | 1-2
| Opponent | Result |
|---|---|
| dec. (32) Patrick McCormick (Virginia) | 2-0 |
| lost to (1) Nick Suriano (Michigan) | 16-3 |
| lost to (16) Drew Hildebrandt (Penn State) | 3-1 |
(4) Real Woods, 141 pounds | 3-1
| Opponent | Result |
|---|---|
| maj. dec. (29) Connor McGonagle (Lehigh) | 8-0 |
| maj. dec. (20) Parker Filius (Purdue) | 8-0 |
| tech. fall (12) CJ Composto (Penn) | 16-0 (4:06) |
| lost to (1) Nick Lee (Penn State) | 3-2 |
(23) Jaden Abas, 149 pounds | 1-2
| Opponent | Result |
|---|---|
| lost to (10) Ridge Lovett (Nebraska) | 4-2 |
| dec. (26) Josh Edmond (Missouri) | 9-3 |
| lost to (9) Kaden Gfeller (Oklahoma State) | F2:49 |
(5) Shane Griffith, 165 pounds | 4-0
| Opponent | Result |
|---|---|
| tech. fall (28) Cael Carlson (Minnesota) | 18-2 (5:13) |
| dec. (12) Zach Hartman (Bucknell) | 7-3 |
| dec. (4) Dean Hamiti (Wisconsin) | 10-4 |
| dec. (1) Evan Wick (Cal Poly) | 7-6 |
(26) Tyler Eischens, 174 pounds | 1-2
| Opponent | Result |
|---|---|
| dec. (7) Ethan Smith (Ohio State) | 13-12 |
| lost to (10) Clay Lautt (North Carolina) | 13-4 |
| lost to (8) Michael O'Malley (Drexel) | F2:46 |