Stanford wrestlers, Stanford graduates, wrestlers across the country and mixed martial artists all echoed the same message and “SAVE STANFORD WRESTLING” were the three most common words in the back half of the 2021 wrestling season.
Stanford University sent seven wrestlers to the NCAA Championship. Seven wrestlers set out to prove that one of the most prestigious schools in the country was making a huge, short-sighted mistake. The positive and negative of it all was that all eyes would be on those seven wrestlers.
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“I don’t think they fully realized the power of the community,” Wilson said.
One by one, the wrestlers were dropping. It was looking like in the face of all the money and awareness raised, Stanford Wrestling was simply going to dissolve.
With only one man left, the world watched Stanford’s highest seed, Shane Griffith, take the mat over and over with a preface of “this could be the last wrestling match in Stanford history.”
Unexpectedly, however, Griffith kept winning…and winning. Before you know it, the little engine that could was in the National title match with his Stanford Wrestling singlet flipped inside out. The school had no support beyond this match, so Griffith was wrestling for himself, alums like James Wilson and everybody else shouting the three most common words in the back half of the 2021 wrestling season.
“Watching him was giving me goosebumps the entire tournament,” Wilson recalled with a smile. “It was unbelievable and for him to do it rated eighth; it wasn’t like he came in as the favorite. It was unbelievable. Sensational.”
Three seed vs eight seed. Legacy of a program vs impending doom. Jake Wentzel vs Shane Griffith.
The match ended with a coach’s challenge that had the tearing up crowd booing the officials before Griffith’s hands were finally raised in victory. He might not have done backflips in celebration, but he accomplished the impossible and sent a bigger message than any of the tweets, signs and fundraisers ever could.