Stanford secured four spots in the finals, including defending Pac-12 champions Evan Silver (125 pounds) and Wilson (165 pounds). Wrestling in their first conference tournament, redshirt freshmen Connor Schram (133 pounds) and Butler (285 pounds) also reached the finals.
Wilson had a bye in the first round and advanced to the championship with a 9-3 decision against Arizona State’s Jacen Petersen in the semifinals. Wilson will take on Oregon State’s Seth Thomas, who upset third-seeded Adam Fierro (CSU Bakersfield) and second-seed Chris Castillo (Boise State).
Wilson became just the sixth two-time conference champion in program history after Thomas medically forfeited the finals. Wilson moves to 30-4 on the year and has also automatically qualified for the NCAA championships, March 19-21 in St. Louis, Missouri.
Butler dominated Cal Poly’s Nick Johnson, 10-2, in the semifinals to meet Arizona State’s Chace Eskam in the finals. There, Butler took a 1-0 lead into the third period and managed a takedown with less than 30 seconds left while also tacking on riding time for a 4-1 decision over Eskam. Butler, who is just the fourth Cardinal freshman to win a conference title, moves to 28-7 on the year and automatically qualifies for the NCAA championships.
Silver earned his spot in the finals with a 12-3 major decision over Yoshi Funakoshi of Cal Poly and an injury default by Boise State’s Carson Kuhn. The redshirt junior improves to 16-8 overall on the year and is looking to qualify for nationals for the third consecutive year. He will take on Oregon State’s Ronnie Bresser in the finals.
Silver came up short at winning his second straight conference title. He dropped a 6-3 decision to Bresser in the championship. He then fell 6-3 to Arizona State's Ares Carpio in a true second place match, missing out on one of the conference's automatic qualifying spots for NCAAs.
Schram, who earned a bye in the opening round, posted a 6-3 decision over CSU Bakersfield’s Ian Nickell at 133 pounds. The redshirt freshman, who is now 18-2 overall, will face Oregon State’s Jack Hathaway in the championship.
In the finals, Schram fell to Hathaway 4-0. There was no score after the first and then Hathaway rode Schram out in the second. He registered an escape in the third and a late takedown to secure the win for the Beavers. Schram’s second-place finish secures him an automatic qualifying spot for the NCAA Championships.
Stanford's Garrett Schaner and Zach Nevills finished in third place at 149 and 184 pounds, respectively. After Schaner dropped a 4-2 decision to eventual champion Christian Pagdilao of Arizona State, he secured a 7-4 decision over Boise State's Jake Velarde and a 9-6 decision against Coleman Hammond of CSU Bakersfield to claim third.
Schaner then found himself wrestling Oregon State's Abraham Rodriguez in a true second place match which went down to the wire, but Schaner pulled out the 8-7 decision and a spot in the NCAA finals. The fifth-year senior will be making his first appearance in the national tournament.
Nevills fell 6-2 to Arizona State's Blake Stauffer, the eventual champion, in the semifinals. In the consolation semifinals, Nevills posted a 6-2 decision over Austin Dewey of Boise State. He then came out with a 3-2 overtime decision against CSU Bakerfield's Season Pollock to take third.
Nevills also wrestled in a true second place against Oregon State's Taylor Meeks. Mekks came away with true second victory, 5-0, over Nevills.
Redshirt freshman Keaton Subjeck (174 pounds) and true freshman Mason Pengilly (141 pounds) finished fifth for the Cardinal, while Maxwell Hvolbek (157 pounds) and Garet Krohn (197 pounds) took sixth. Hvolbek was injured in his semifinal match and medically forfeited the remiander of the tournament.
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