STANFORD, Calif. - No. 12 Stanford opens its 2025-26 campaign on Saturday, traveling to Utah Valley to take on the Wolverines at 6 p.m. PT.
Stanford and Utah Valley met last season on The Farm. The Cardinal defeated the Wolverines, 29-12, capturing wins in seven of the nine bouts contested, including four by bonus points.
Stanford is ranked No. 14 in the first NWCA Coaches Poll of the season. The Cardinal boasts seven wrestlers ranked in the Preseason InterMat individual polls. As a team, the Cardinal is No. 12 in both the Tournament and Dual rankings by InterMat.
InterMat Individual Rankings
125: Nico Provo - #11
133: Tyler Knox - #7
141: Aden Valencia - #24
149: EJ Parco - #18
157: Daniel Cardenas - #4
165: Hunter Garvin - #4
174: Lorenzo Norman - #17
Stanford redshirt juniors Daniel Cardenas and Hunter Garvin will be missing from the Cardinal lineup in the season opener. The All-Americans will be representing Stanford at the NWCA All-Star Classic on Nov. 1 at Rutgers University. Cardenas will face West Virginia’s Ty Watters in the 157-pound bout. Garvin, who is making his second appearance at the event, will take on Lehigh’s Max Brignola at 165 pounds. Action begins at 4 p.m. PT on Flowrestling.
Last season, Stanford produced a pair of All-Americans and turned in another top 20 finish at the NCAA Championships. The Cardinal was 10-5 overall and 2-4 in ACC duals in 2024-25 despite not wrestling a 125-pounder all season. Stanford finished fifth at its first ACC Championships in Durham, North Carolina. Earning All-ACC honors for Stanford were Garvin (165) and Nick Stemmet (197). Garvin captured the 165-pound title becoming the first individual ACC champion for the Cardinal.
Stanford qualified eight wrestlers to the NCAA Championships in Philadelphia. The Cardinal was 18th as a team and had multiple All-Americans in back-to-back seasons. It was the fifth time in the past six years Stanford has produced multiple All-Americans in the same season, and the 11th time overall.
The No. 7 seed, Garvin reached the quarterfinals at the NCAA Championships, placing sixth at 165 pounds for a second consecutive season. He became the seventh multiple-time NCAA All-American in program history. Tyler Knox went from the No. 13 seed to an eighth-place finish at 133 pounds. He battled his way back through the consolation bracket to become just the fourth freshman NCAA All-American in school history, joining Joey McKenna (2016), Jaden Abas (2021) and Garvin (2024). The redshirt freshman became the 27th individual All-American for the Cardinal, which now boasts 39 All-America honors overall.
For the first time in program history, Stanford won the Ken Kraft Midlands Championships team title in 2024, claiming three individual crowns. Knox (133), Abas (149) and Lorenzo Norman (174) were the first Stanford individuals to win a Midlands title since Ryan Mango in 2012. Knox was voted the Dan Gable Most Outstanding Wrestler, while Norman took home the Jack Leese Champion of Champions award.
Stanford is under the guidance of Chris Ayres, The Matt Gentry Head Wrestling Coach. He is in his third season on The Farm and 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 before taking over the reins at Stanford.
No. 12 Stanford at Utah Valley Probable Matchups
125: #11 Nico Provo OR Edwin Sierra (STAN) vs. Bridger Ricks OR Yusief Lillie (UVU)
133: #7 Tyler Knox (STAN) vs. Geronimo Rivera (UVU)
141: Jack Consiglio (STAN) vs. Haiden Drury OR Smokey McClure (UVU)
149: Aden Valencia (STAN) vs. #19 David Evans (UVU)
157: EJ Parco OR Jason Mara (STAN) vs. Mark Takara OR Ian Fritz (UVU)
165: Zach Hanson (STAN) vs. Zyoon Trujillo (UVU)
174: #17 Lorenzo Norman OR Collin Guffey (STAN) vs. Tanner Lofthouse OR Hudson Rogers (UVU)
184: Abraham Wojcikiewicz (STAN) vs. Caleb Uhlenhopp (UVU)
197: Angelo Posada (STAN) vs. Kael Bennie OR Christian Slack (UVU)
285: Jackson Mankowski (STAN) vs. Jack Forbes (UVU)