Stanford wrestling coach Chris Ayres releases eye-opening statement amid Cardinal wrestlers in transfer portal
Chris Ayres and Stanford wrestling had a historic NCAA Wrestling Championships in Cleveland, finishing 6th as a team and had individual national champion Aden Valencia . Unfortunately, four wrestlers entered the transfer portal once the season concluded: Nico Provo (125), Tyler Knox (133), Hunter Garvin (165) and Lorenzo Norman (174). Ayres acknowledged his wrestlers, particularly the ones who graduated early from the university, had the opportunity to enter the portal and explore their worth.
Garvin and Norman were also ruled out for the season due to injury and didn’t even wrestle in the postseason, otherwise, Stanford and Ayres might’ve been celebrating a team trophy. Amid the speculation as to where these Stanford wrestlers could end up, Ayres noted there is a conceited effort to retain each of his athletes. He set the record straight this weekend.
“Fourteen days ago Aden Valencia, with the Stanford ‘S’ on his chest, let out a primal roar after he scored the winning takedown to realize his dream of winning an NCAA National title,” Ayres wrote in a statement . “After getting his hand raised he had multiple choices for his first celebratory embrace. The coaches were waiting with open arms and the closest choice, but he chose his teammates, who rushed the platform despite security’s efforts to stop them.
In the embrace were six All-Americans, Provo, Knox, Cardenas, Garvin, Posada, and our newly crowned National Champion, Valencia. It was a special moment. No other team raced to greet their National Champion.
“That’s our culture. That’s love. I hope we can keep it.
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