Stanford Wrestling Picks Up Three Wins At Northwestern Duals

Three wrestlers post 3-0 records for the Cardinal on Saturday.

EVANSTON, Ill. - Stanford wrestling opens the 2009-10 season with three wins at the Northwestern Duals, Saturday, at Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston, Ill. The Cardinal edged Purdue, 19-16, in its first dual before dismantling host Northwestern, 27-6. Stanford concluded the day with a 22-9 win over Northern Iowa.

Three Cardinal wrestlers went undefeated as redshirt juniors Justin Paulsen and Zack Giesen and redshirt sophomore Nick Amuchastegui all recorded 3-0 records. Five other Stanford wrestler's posted 2-1 records - senior Jake Johnson, junior Dylan rush, redshirt freshman Mike Kent and true freshmen Bret Baumbach and Ryan Mango.

Stanford began the day winning six of the 10 bouts versus Purdue for the team's first win of the season. Stanford's heavyweight Rush picked up the Cardinal's first points with a 2-0 decision against Adam Walls. After Mango dropped an 11-5 decision to the Boilermakers' Matt Fields at 125 pounds, Stanford picked up three more wins as Paulsen (133) and Kent (149) tallied decisions and Baumbach earned a major decision against Purdue's Tommy Churchard at 141 pounds.

The Cardinal forfeited at 157 pounds, but Amuchastegui (165) added to the Stanford lead with a 6-4 decision over Jason Morton. Giesen collected the Cardinal's final points in the dual with a 12-6 decision against Nick Corpe at 184 pounds.

Against host Northwestern, the Cardinal came up victorious in all but two bouts versus the Wildcats. At heavyweight, Rush earned his second win of the day as he defeated Ben Kuhar with a 3-1 decision. At 125 pounds, Mango earned his first career dual win, edging the Wildcats' Levi Mele with a 10-9 decision. Paulsen recorded another win with a 7-4 decision over Eric Metzler at 133 pounds, while Baumbach earned the win by forfeit at 141 pounds.

Kent fell in a 13-6 decision to Northwestern's Andrew Nadhir, but his next four teammates, Lucas Espericueta (157), Amuchastegui (165), Johnson (174) and Giesen (184) all captured decisions to put the Wildcats away.

Stanford took on Northern Iowa in its final dual of the day. Rush fell in a 3-1 decision to Christian Brantley, but Mango evened the score with a 4-3 decision at 125 pounds over Caleb Flores. Paulsen continued his undefeated day with a 5-1 decision over Ryan Jauch at 133 pounds.

Baumbach (141) and Espericueta (157) both dropped 10-5 decisions to the Panthers, but the Cardinal bounced back as Kent (149), Amuchastegui (165) and Johnson (174) all posted solid wins for Stanford. Giesen registered a 10-2 major decision over Andy O'Loughlin to conclude the scoring for the Cardinal.

Up next, Stanford travels to Riverside, Calif., for a dual at Cal Baptist, Friday, Nov. 20 at 7 p.m. The Cardinal will also participate in the Fullerton Open, Saturday, Nov. 21.

The following is a complete list of Stanford scores at the Northwestern Duals:

* Stanford 19, Purdue 16
HWT: Dylan Rush (STAN) dec. Adam Walls (PUR), 2-0 (STAN 3, PUR 0)
125: Matt Fields (PUR) dec. Ryan Mango (STAN), 11-5 (STAN 3, PUR 3)
133: Justin Paulsen (STAN) dec. Akif Eren (PUR), 11-5 (STAN 6, PUR 3)
141: Bret Baumbach (STAN) MD Tommy Churchard (PUR), 9-0 (STAN 10, PUR 3)
149: Mike Kent (STAN d) dec. Nick Bertucci (PUR), 5-0 (STAN 13, PUR 3)
157: Colton Salazaar (PUR) Forfeit (STAN 13, PUR 9)
165: Nick Amuchastegui (STAN) dec. Jason Morton (PUR), 6-4 (STAN 16, PUR 9)
174: Luke Manuel (PUR) dec. Jake Johnson (STAN), 9-4 (STAN 16, PUR 12)
184: Zack Giesen (STAN) dec. Nick Corpe (PUR), 12-6 (STAN 19, PUR 12)
197: Logan Brown (PUR) MD Richard Kessler (STAN), 10-1 (STAN 19, PUR 16)

* Stanford 27, Northwestern 6
HWT: Dylan Rush (STAN) dec. Ben Kuhar (NU), 3-1 (STAN 3, NU 0)
125: Ryan Mango (STAN) dec. Levi Mele (NU), 10-9 (STAN 6, NU 0)
133: Justin Paulsen (STAN) dec. Eric Metzler (NU), 7-4 (STAN 9, NU 0)
141: Bret Baumbach (STAN) Win by Forfeit (STAN 15, NU 0)
149: Andrew Nadhir (NU) dec. Mike Kent (STAN), 13-6 (STAN 15, NU 3)
157: Lucas Espericueta (STAN) dec. Dominic Marella (NU), 10-3 (STAN 18, NU 3)
165: Nick Amuchastegui (STAN) dec. Robert Kellogg (NU), 8-4 (STAN 21, NU 3)
174: Jake Johnson (STAN) dec. Frank Battaglia (NU), 7-0 (STAN 24, NU 3)
184: Zack Giesen (STAN) dec. Aaron Jones (NU), 7-3 (STAN 27, NU 3)
197: John Schoen (NU) dec. Richard Kessler (STAN), 8-3 (STAN 27, NU 6)

* Stanford 22, Northern Iowa 9
HWT: Christian Brantley (UNI) dec. Dylan Rush (STAN), 3-1 (UNI 3, STAN 0)
125: Ryan Mango (STAN) dec. Caleb Flores (UNI), 4-3 (STAN 3, UNI 3)
133: Justin Paulsen (STAN) dec. Ryan Jauch (UNI), 5-1 (STAN 6, UNI 3)
141: Trent Washington (UNI) dec. Bret Baumbach (STAN), 10-5 (STAN 6, UNI 6)
149: Mike Kent (STAN) dec. Jamal Lawrence (UNI), 14-8 (STAN 9, UNI 6)
157: Tyson Reiner (UNI) dec. Lucas Espericueta (STAN), 10-5 (STAN 9, UNI 9)
165: Nick Amuchastegui (STAN) dec. David Bonin (UNI), 5-1 (STAN 12, UNI 9)
174: Jake Johnson (STAN) dec. Soctt Hazen (UNI), 9-4 (STAN 15, UNI 9)
184: Zack Giesen (STAN) MD Andy O'Loughlin (UNI), 10-2 (STAN 19, UNI 9)
197: Dustin Bauman (UNI) dec. Richard Kessler (STAN), 3-1 (STAN 22, UNI 9)
Giesen Splits Matches in Poland

WARSAW, Poland-- Stanford's Zack Giesen split his two wrestling matches in the 185-pound weight class on Friday at the Ziolkowski International.

Giesen, a two-time participant in the NCAA Tournament, pinned Poland's Bartosz Sofinski in the opening round, before falling to Russia's Anzor Urishev. Urishev went onto capture the bronze medal.

The United States, who set 10 competitors, finished in 11th place with 13 points, while Iran, followed by Russia and Azerbaijan finished in the top-three in the team competition.

Stanford wrestling under second-year head coach Jason Borrelli gets under way in November. Borrelli's incoming recruiting class is ranked amongst the best in the nation. This past year, Stanford won eight duals, had four top-three Pac-10 placers for the first time in more than two decades and sent two wrestlers to compete for a national title at the NCAA Championships in St. Louis. Giesen is slated to be a senior on this year's team after redshirting last year.

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Niall T. Adler
Stanford Athletics Communications
(650) 725-2959
nadler@stanford.edu

Giesen Set to Grapple in Poland

WARSAW, Poland-- Stanford junior Zach Giesen will open up against Poland's Bartosz Sofinski in the 185-pound weight class of the Ziolkowski International starting on Friday in the Eastern European Republic.

A former Pac-10 Freshman of the Year, Giesen (Grants Pass, Ore.) has twice earned a trip to the NCAA Tournament, posting a 55-28 overall record and 23-7 dual mark over two varsity seasons. He redshirted last year's NCAA season, winning the Fullerton Open with three pins and a major decision, while going 5-2 overall. His 29 wins as a freshman, were third-best for a Cardinal wrestler all-time. Griesen also finished second at the University Nationals in 2008.

The Ziolkowski International is a two-day senior men's freestyle tournament, which the U.S. is sending 10 competitors to.

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Niall T. Adler
Stanford Athletics Communications
(650) 725-2959
nadler@stanford.edu

Stanford Wrestling Ranks Among Nation's Best Academic Programs

Stanford Wrestling Ranks Among Nation's Best Academic Programs
Cardinal listed third nationally in team GPA with two NWCA Academic All-Americans.

The Stanford wrestling team was listed among the nation's best academic programs when the National Wrestling Coaches Association announced its annual Division I All-Academic Top 30 and individual all-academic wrestling teams for the 2008-09 season. Stanford came in third among all Division I programs with a 3.2574 GPA.

Junior Jake Johnson and redshirt freshman Nick Amuchastegui were named NWCA Academic All-Americans. Amuchastegui boasted the highest GPA of all Division I wrestlers, sitting atop the all-academic list at 3.93.

Rounding out the top five individuals were Liberty’s Christian Smith (3.92), Tucker Lane (3.92) of Nebraska, Jeffrey Newby (3.82) of Utah Valley and Jarrod King (3.78) of Edinboro.

Johnson, a management science and engineering major with a 3.46 GPA, went 31-15 and claimed third place in the Pac-10 this season. One of four team co-captains, the junior 184-pounder placed in all five tournaments he competed in, led the team with nine major decisions and was the only Cardinal wrestler to post a 30-win season. He was named a first-team Pac-10 All-Academic selection in April, garnering a conference academic award for the second consecutive year.

Amuchastegui, a mechanical engineering major who was also named to the Pac-10 All-Academic First Team, finished his redshirt freshman season with a 29-8 record, matching teammate <http://www.gostanford.com/sports/m-wrestl/mtt/giesen_zack00.html>Zack Giesen's 2007 effort as the third-winningest rookie in school history. In the course of his notable freshman campaign, the Talent, Ore. led the team with 75 dual points, was the Pac-10 runner-up at 165 pounds and earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Championships. He upended two ranked opponents during the year, including a stunning upset of fifth-seeded Nick Marable in his first career NCAA Championship match.

As a team, Stanford finished third among Division I squads behind American and Harvard. The Cardinal moved up one place from last year, after finishing fourth in 2007-08.

The team GPA is comprised of 12 student athletes, including the 10 wrestlers that were entries in the NCAA tournament conference qualifier. If teams had less than 10 entries for their respective qualifier, they may fill those spots with wrestlers that competed in at least one varsity dual during the season.

Individually, wrestlers must have at least a 3.2 cumulative GPA, been an NCAA qualifier or won 60 percent of his total schedule – and must have competed in at least 60 percent of the team’s schedule. The other way to qualify is to have a 3.0 cumulative GPA and be an NCAA All-American.

The 2008-09 NWCA Academic All-Americans are highlighted by a total of 51 NCAA qualifiers, 17 NCAA All-Americans, eight NCAA finalists and five NCAA champions. In total 73 individuals representing 45 schools were honored.


Kendall Johnson
Assistant Media Relations Director
Stanford Athletics
(650) 723-0996 (Office)
(650) 725-2957 (Fax)
kendallj@stanford.edu