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Jason Borrelli begins his first season as Stanford's head coach in 2008-09, looking to build on the recent success of the Cardinal program. A former Central Michigan standout, Borrelli came to The Farm as an assistant coach in 2007 and quickly helped guide the Cardinal to one of its most successful seasons in school history. Working with the lower weights, Borrelli helped the Cardinal win 13 duals, post its highest Pac-10 finish in school history, its second-highest national finish and send a program-best five wrestlers to the NCAA Championships. Under Borrelli's guidance, 125-pounder Tanner Gardner captured his second consecutive Pac-10 title, became the school's first three-time All-American with a fifth-place national finish and broke both Stanford's career and single-season win records. Another lightweight, freshman Lucas Espericueta, qualified for the NCAA Championships and finished his rookie season as one of the five winningest freshmen in school history. As a team, Borrelli and the staff led Stanford to a 19th-place finish nationally, matching the program's second-highest finish in school history and just its third all-time top-20 finish. Owning two of the conference's four All-Americans, the Cardinal's 19th place finish was the best in the Pac-10. Prior to coming to Stanford, Borrelli served as an assistant coach at Central Michigan and ran a youth wrestling club. In his first year on the staff, he helped the Chippewas to their ninth consecutive Mid-American Conference Championship. The squad finished the season ranked fifth in the final dual meet rankings and finished 15th at the NCAA Championships in Detroit, Mich. Borrelli also helped guide three CMU wrestlers to All-America honors during the 2006-07 season. A Mt. Pleasant, Mich. native, Borrelli was a two-time Michigan State Champion in high school before beginning his career at Central Michigan in 2001. A four-year starter at 125 and 133 pounds, he was part of five consecutive team Mid-American Conference (MAC) championships. As a junior in 2005, he captured the 133-pound MAC title. Borrelli qualified for the NCAA Championships at 133 pounds twice, in 2005 and 2006, and captained the Chippewa team as a senior. A four-year NWCA All-Academic selection, Borrelli graduated from Central Michigan in December 2005 with a degree in business administration. | |||||||||||||||||
