Stanford Wrestling Claims historic Midlands Title, Eyes Continued Success
EVANSTON, IL - The Stanford Cardinal wrestling team made history in December 2024, capturing the Ken Kraft midlands Championships team title for the first time in program history. The Cardinal’s extraordinary performance, highlighted by individual championships from Tyler Knox (133 pounds), Jaden abas (149 pounds), and Lorenzo Norman (174 pounds), marks a new high for the program under Head Coach Chris Ayres. Knox was named the Dan Gable Most Outstanding wrestler, and Norman earned the Jack Leese Champion of Champions award.
The 2024-25 season began with strong individual showings at the NWCA All-Star Classic on November 1 at Rutgers.Hunter Garvin defeated Lehigh’s Max Brignola, 4-1, at 165 pounds. While Cardenas fell in sudden victory, 7-2, too West Virginia’s Ty Watters at 157 pounds.
Stanford’s recent success builds on a strong 2023-24 campaign, which saw the Cardinal finish in the top 20 at the NCAA Championships and produce two All-Americans. The team finished with a 10-5 overall record and a 2-4 mark in ACC duals, despite not fielding a wrestler at 125 pounds. Stanford placed fifth at the ACC Championships in Durham, North Carolina, with Garvin (165) and Nick Stemmet (197) earning All-ACC honors. Garvin became the first Stanford wrestler to win an individual ACC title, claiming the 165-pound crown.
At the 2024 NCAA Championships in Philadelphia, Stanford qualified eight wrestlers and finished 18th as a team, securing multiple All-American honors for the second consecutive season. This marked the fifth time in six years Stanford has had multiple All-Americans and the 11th time overall in program history.
Hunter Garvin reached the quarterfinals and placed sixth at 165 pounds, becoming a two-time NCAA All-American. Tyler Knox, seeded 13th, finished eighth at 133 pounds, becoming the fourth freshman NCAA All-American in school history, joining Joey McKenna (2016), Jaden Abas (2021), and Garvin (2024). Knox is the 27th individual All-American for Stanford, contributing to the program’s 39 All-America honors overall.
Chris Ayres is in his third season as the Matt Gentry Head Wrestling Coach at Stanford and his 20th season as a collegiate head coach. Prior to Stanford, Ayres spent 17 seasons as the head coach at Princeton, earning four Ivy League Coach of the year awards.
