Pac-12 announces 2023 Pac-12 Wrestling honors

SAN FRANCISCO - The Pac-12 Conference announced today the 2023 Pac-12 Wrestling honors, as voted on by the league's coaches. ARIZONA STATE redshirt senior Brandon Courtney (125) was selected Pac-12 Wrestler of the Year, STANFORD's Daniel Cardenas (157) earned Pac-12 Freshman/Newcomer of the Year, and CAL POLY head coach Jon Sioredas garnered the Pac-12 Coach of the Year accolade.

2023 PAC-12 WRESTLER OF THE YEAR: Brandon Courtney, R-Sr., ARIZONA STATE (125, Goodyear, Ariz.)

• Earned a No. 1 seed at the Pac-12 Championships and No. 10 seed at the 2023 NCAA Championship at 125 lbs. following a 10-4 regular season. 
• Finished runner-up at the 2023 Pac-12 Championships and placed third in the 2023 NCAA Championships - tied for the highest national finish of any Pac-12 wrestler - to become only the fifth Sun Devil to earn four career All-America honors and first since Eric Larkin in 2003.
• Courtney defeated several quality opponents en route to his third-place NCAA finish, including a 4-2 sudden victory over Lock Haven's Anthony Noto in the third-place match. Noto, ranked No. 4 by Intermat, was 29-2 in the regular season.
• Courtney becomes Arizona State's second consecutive Pac-12 Wrestler of the Year with heavyweight Cohlton Schultz winning the award in 2022.

2023 PAC-12 FRESHMAN/NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR: Daniel Cardenas, Fr., STANFORD (157, Arvada, Colo.)

• Cardenas enjoyed a stellar debut season, going 24-3 overall and 5-0 in duals. His 24 wins were second-most on the team, trailing only All-American Shane Griffith's 28, with nine coming by bonus points and four over ranked opponents. 
• Became only the ninth Stanford freshman to win an individual conference title after going 2-0 to claim the 157-pound crown at the 2023 Pac-12 Championships.
• Entered the NCAA Championships as a No. 6 seed and reached the quarterfinals with a pair of ranked victories. 
• He is the seventh Stanford wrestler to be named Pac-12 Freshman/Newcomer of the Year.

2023 PAC-12 COACH OF THE YEAR: Jon Sioredas, CAL POLY 

• In April 2016, Sioredas inherited a Cal Poly program that not only was 11-55 in dual meets and hadn't produced a national qualifier in the previous four seasons, but that had also taken last at the Pac-12 Championships each season from 2013 to 2016.  
• Under Sioredas, Cal Poly has seen a major improvement in nearly every performance category: 
  • In 2022, the Mustangs placed fourth at the Pac-12 Championships, and in 2023 they finished third, only 11.5 points out of first place.
  • Sioredas' squad went 5-0 in Pac-12 dual meets this year.
  • Eight of Cal Poly's 10 wrestlers finished third-or-higher at the 2023 Pac-12 Championships.
  • For the first time since the 2011-2013 seasons, Cal Poly crowned a Pac-12 individual champion three consecutive years: Bernie Truax first in 2021, then Evan Wick in 2022, and Truax again in 2023.
• Coached Bernie Truax to a third consecutive All-America honor - rising weight classes each year - with a fourth-place showing at 197 lbs. at the 2023 NCAA Championships.
• First career Pac-12 Wrestling Coach of the Year honor.