Stanford wrestling (8-2, 3-1 Pac 12) overcame an early deficit to beat Arizona State (7-6, 2-2 Pac 12), 18-13 at Maples Pavilion on Sunday. The dual match saw a series of close contests, with nine of the 10 bouts ended by decision.

Arizona State got off to an early lead thanks to national championship hopeful Blake Stauffer. The No. 6 wrestler in the country at 184 pounds, Stauffer won a 10-1 major decision over redshirt sophomore Ryan Davies, giving the Sun Devils a quick 4-0 advantage. Josh DaSilveira built on Stauffer’s performance by taking a 7-6 decision over the Cardinal’s Garet Krohn at 197 pounds.

Stanford’s first points of the day came in an unusual matchup in the heavyweight division. The Cardinal’s redshirt freshman Nathan Butler won a 3-2 decision over Chance Eskam, who at 5-foot-11 was giving up 5 inches to Butler. The smaller Eskam made up for his height and weight disadvantage with deft defensive play and good quickness, but Butler’s takedown in the waning seconds of the bout secured three much-needed points for Stanford.

Butler’s victory was the first of a four-bout winning streak for the Cardinal. Redshirt junior Evan Silver, ranked 15th at 125 pounds, closed Stanford’s deficit to 7-6 with a 5-2 decision over Ares Carpio.

The Cardinal then took the lead on the strength of a solid performance from Connor Schram. The redshirt freshman’s quick takedown of Judson Preskitt helped him get off to a 5-0 lead, eventually leading to a 9-4 final margin. Isaiah Locsin helped push the Cardinal’s lead to 12-7 with a 9-5 decision over the Sun Devils’ Matt Kraus at 141 pounds.

Arizona State ended the Cardinal’s run with a strong showing from Christian Pagdilao. The 149-pound freshman, who has established himself over the season as an emerging talent in the Pac-12, appeared on track to earn a major decision for the Sun Devils but had to settle for a 9-5 decision over Garrett Schaner.

On a day where nine matches ended in a decision, the most exciting of the matches was at 157 pounds, where the Cardinal’s Maxwell Hvolbek dueled Oliver Pierce into a sudden victory. In the sudden death format, Hvolbek won three points for the Cardinal with an efficient takedown of Pierce.

Stanford’s Jim Wilson secured the team victory with a dominating win over Jacen Petersen. The redshirt sophomore was poised to post a shutout, and potentially earn four points in a major decision, before conceding his only point on a foul.

The day’s final bout was another close contest, with the Sun Devils’ Ray Waters parlaying a late escape into a 5-3 decision over the Cardinal’s Keaton Subjeck.

Stanford’s victory keeps them a game behind conference leaders Oregon State. The Cardinal has only one more conference match before traveling to Corvallis, Oregon for the Pac-12 Championships on March 1.

Contact Sanjay Srinivas at sanjay_srinivas ‘at’ stanford.edu.