In July 2020, Stanford wrestling was one of 11 varsity sports programs cut by the University due to financial strains exacerbated by the pandemic. All 11 programs were reinstated in May 2021 — but not before former wrestling head coach Jason Borrelli took a job elsewhere.

When new head coach Chris Ayres took the reins of the program last summer, he aimed to instill a culture of delayed gratification among his players — a lesson he learned from his own wrestling career. Three seasons after they first faced discontinuation, the wrestling team is now ranked among the top 20 nationally, a serious contender to win the Pac-12 championship.

‘Gentle pressure, relentlessly applied’

Ayres’s career in wrestling was not one of immediate success — he failed to place at state in high school and had to walk on to his college team. But by the end of his time at Lehigh, Ayres had become an All-American and placed sixth at the NCAA tournament. He was given a coaching position at the university after graduating and helped the program train two national champions. 

When Ayres was offered a coaching position at Princeton a few years later, he became the second-youngest head wrestling coach in the country. However, just like his wrestling career, the start of his coaching career at Princeton was rocky.

“We didn’t win a match my first two years at Princeton,” Ayres says of his time in the Ivy League. “It was a building process.”

But he didn’t give up on the team, and in 2020, helped Princeton win their first Ivy League title in over 30 years — something Ayres had promised the athletic director when he was hired. 

To stay focused and achieve his long-term goals, Ayres stuck to his coaching mantra: “gentle pressure, relentlessly applied.” 

“A lot of people nowadays go into something and expect instant gratification,” he said. “Things don’t happen overnight, and so I have a long-term vision.”

Throughout his career, Ayres held on to these long-term visions until they materialized, from placing high in the NCAA tournament as a collegiate wrestler to winning an Ivy League title with Princeton. Now he is chasing one with Stanford’s program: winning a national title.

‘A new energy’

In addition to being cut for a year, Stanford’s wrestling program has gone through several coaching changes. Players say that although it has been a rollercoaster, Ayres’s leadership has played a crucial role in stabilizing the team.

“Being a senior and having our previous coach leave to another school in the late summer was hard,” said Jason Miranda ’24. “But after the first week of [Ayres] being here, I realized he was the perfect fit. From his focused yet lighthearted personality, to his strategic training cycles, it feels like he has been here for much longer than six months.”

Assistant wrestling coach Ryan Deakin said he noticed a “new energy” with Ayres, having been with Stanford’s program for two years.

“His leadership style is a partnership, not a dictatorship,” Deakin said. “The guys really bought it and respected the fact that he came in and guided them, but also wanted them to have some buy-in to the choices that they’re making.”

For senior Nick Stemmet, Ayres embodies a “lead from the front” philosophy. “He knows what a successful program looks like, and what kind of team culture it takes to get there,” Stemmet said.

The team’s success under Ayres is a testament to the energy the veteran coach has brought to Stanford. The Cardinal are currently 10-4, with impressive wins against No. 14 Little Rock and Cal Poly. But Ayres’s most important coaching impact may perhaps be not on the wrestling mat, but in the classroom.

‘An invisible leader’

Ayres came to Stanford with the philosophy that academics and athletics can positively impact one another: “The character traits required to be great at wrestling are the same exact things required to be great in school,” he said.

He believes that the lessons learned from wrestling can translate more broadly to an athlete’s everyday life too.

“The ultimate goal is to have a kid come in as a kid and leave as a mature adult,” Ayres said. “Someone who’s ready to be excellent in the workforce and an amazing family person. Hopefully, when they leave, they can point to their experience in our program as a big catalyst for being the person they are today.”

But the head coach isn’t one to dictate what players get out of the program.

“I want things to emerge from the group. Eventually, hopefully, I become sort of an invisible leader, where the team is leading more than I am,” Ayres said. “I’m interested in the long term and what develops within the group culture-wise.” 

For the program’s athletes, the wrestling team is “truly one of one,” Stemmet said. “Our support system is massive and can be felt all the time.” 

Ultimately, Ayres is confident Stanford’s wrestling program will become a force to reckon with. “We can be California’s team,” he said. “I’m pretty excited about being the only show in town.”