March 31, 2008

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Stanford, Calif. - Five Stanford wrestlers were honored by the Pac-10 when the conference announced its 2008 All-Academic Teams this week. Cardinal seniors Tanner Gardner and Josh Zupancic, as well as sophomore Peter Miller, were first-team honorees, while junior Luke Feist and sophomore Jake Johnson were named to the second team.

Gardner, who has already completed a BA in Public Policy and is finishing his master's in Sociology, was honored on the first team for the third straight year. Boasting a 3.73 undergraduate GPA and a 4.00 graduate GPA, Gardner won his second-straight Pac-10 Championship at 125 pounds this year and became Stanford's first three-time All-American with a fifth place finish at the NCAA Championships. The redshirt senior also shattered Stanford's career win record, bested his own single-season win record and topped the school's single-season pin record this season.

Zupancic, an American Studies major with a 3.70 GPA, also earned a spot on the first team for the third consecutive year. The Akron, Ohio native finished third in the Pac-10 at 157 pounds, before claiming his second All-America honor with a sixth place national finish. Zupancic finished his senior season with a 39-9 record, and etched his named in the record books as the third winningest wrestler in school history.

Miller, a redshirt sophomore with a 3.81 GPA in Mechanical Engineering, posted a 14-11 record at 165 pounds this season before being sidelined by injury prior to the Pac-10 Championships. Miller posted seven major decisions in his first season as a starter for the Cardinal, third most on the team.

Feist, a Civil Engineering major with a 3.15 GPA, was an honorable mention pick last year. He finished the year with a 17-12 record, a third-place Pac-10 finish and made his second NCAA Championships appearance.

Johnson, an undeclared major with a 3.39 GPA, went 25-14 and claimed sixth place in the Pac-10. The sophomore finished third on the team with 59 dual points in his first season as the team's 197-pound starter.

To be eligible for selection to an academic team, a student- athlete must have a minimum 3.0 overall grade-point average and be either a starter or significant contributor.