This year in Pac-12 Wrestling
After competing for the Conference wrestling title since 1963, the STANFORD Cardinal finally earned its first-ever Pac-12 crown, edging host ARIZONA STATE by two points. It was the closest team competition since Oregon State edged Boise State by two points in 2010. The Cardinal posted 81.5 points behind two individual Pac-12 champions – Requir Van Der Merwe (149) and Nathan Traxler (197). Arizona State picked up 79.5 points behind individual titles from Christian Pagdilao (157), Josh Shields (165) and Zahid Valencia (174), while OREGON STATE finished third just two points behind the Sun Devils with 77.5 points. The Beavers picked up four individual titles from Ronnie Bresser (125), Grant Willits (141), Bob Coleman (184) and Amar Dhesi (285).
CSU Bakersfield, behind Sean Nickell’s (133) second conference title, finished fourth with 49.5 points. CAL POLY was fifth with 15.0 points. Valencia was named the Most Outstanding Wrestler of the Championships after he posted a pair of wins, both by Technical Falls.
Valencia becomes the third Pac-12 wrestler to be named Pac-12 Wrestler of the Year three times. The junior successfully defended his NCAA title at 174 pounds to finish the year with 31-2 record. The three-time All-American became the seventh Pac-12 wrestler to post back-to-back NCAA titles. He was recipient of The Hammer award presented by Amateur Wrestling News. The award is presented to the wrestler who wins the national title at what the writers at AWN decide is the most competitive weight class.
Oregon State’s Wilits was named Pac-12 Freshman of the Year after capturing the Pac-12 title at 141 pounds and qualifitied for the NCAA Championships. He finished with a 18-9 record. Stanford’s Jason Borrelli was named Pac-12 Coach of the Year by his peers after leading the Cardinal to its first-ever Pac-12 title. Along the way, the Cardinal defeated three ranked opponents during the season and sent five wrestlers to the NCAA Championships.
2019 PAC-12 CONFERENCE WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPS TEAM RESULTS
1. Stanford - 81.5
2. Arizona State - 79.5
3. Oregon State - 77.5
4. CSU Bakersfield - 49.5
5. Cal Poly - 15.0
2019 NCAA WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPS (Top-10 and Pac-12 teams)
1. Penn State - 137.5
2. Ohio State - 96.5
3. Oklahoma State - 84.0
4. Iowa - 76.0
5. Michigan - 62.5
6. Missouri - 62.0
7. Cornell - 59.5
8. Minnesota - 53.5
9. Rutgers - 51.5
10. Nebraska - 51.0
12. ARIZONA STATE - 42.0
21. OREGON STATE - 28.0
34. STANFORD - 5.5
33. CSU BAKERSFIELD - 5.0
62. CAL POLY - 2.0