In front of a raucous crowd at Maples Pavilion on Friday night, No. 13 Stanford wrestling (3-5, 1-1 ACC) narrowly lost 21-20 to No. 6 NC State Wolfpack (10-3, 2-0 ACC), highlighted by a stunning upset from Stanford’s Nico Provo over returning national champion and No. 1 ranked Vincent Robinson.

The highly anticipated duel featured seven top-10 wrestlers across both teams. Stanford entered the duel following a 35-10 win over the Duke Blue Devils in its ACC opener at home on Jan. 9. NC State, who have won seven of the last eight ACC Championships, was also coming off a narrow home win over Virginia. 

The Wolfpack came out strong, winning the first two matchups and gaining a sizable advantage. The Cardinal attempted to orchestrate a late comeback but were unable to muster up enough points to win the duel. 

The first bout of the night was in the 141-pound weight class. Stanford’s No. 17 Jack Consiglio lost to No. 12 Ryan Jack, who pinned Consiglio in the second period, ending the match after just two minutes and 50 seconds. The Wolfpack earned 6 points in the team classification as a result.

The second matchup went no better for the Cardinal. No. 6 Aden Valencia at 149 pounds fell 13-5 to No. 5 Koy Buesgens in what could be a matchup we see again at the NCAA Championship. NC State earned four more team points for this effort to establish a 10-0 early lead.

A brief surge for the Cardinal came when No. 9-ranked redshirt junior Dan Cardenas soundly defeated Brogan Tucker by technical fall. During the first period, the crowd began chanting Dan’s name — a moment he later credited as a source of momentum. 

“My freshman year there was hardly anyone in here,” Cardenas said. “So for there to be a crowd here, screaming my name, it was very cool.” 

By the third period, Cardenas held an 18-5 advantage, needing just one more takedown to seal the technical fall. As the crowd erupted into chants of “one more takedown,” Cardenas delivered, finishing the bout with a decisive 21-5 win. The victory helped Stanford cut its deficit to 5-10.

From there, the Cardinal suffered two more setbacks. Redshirt freshman EJ Parco suffered a close 6-5 loss at the hands of No. 16 Will Denny. With under two minutes to go in the match while the two were tied 5-5, a controversial call gave Denny a one point lead, and Parco was unable to recover. At 174 pounds, redshirt freshman Collin Guffey lost 7-2 to No. 5 Matty Singleton. By this point, Stanford trailed in team points 16-5 and things looked bleak for the Cardinal. That narrative, however, was about to be turned on its head.

At 184 pounds, Abraham Wojcikiewicz edged the Wolfpack’s Don Cates 7-5. The momentum carried into the next bout at 197 pounds, where No. 19 Stanford freshman Angelo Posada recorded a fall against No. 27 Patrick Brophy, 1:36 into the first period, ending the match immediately and posting six team points. Posada’s emphatic maneuver, slamming Brophy to the mat to secure the fall, was met with a thunderous roar from the crowd.

Now trailing 16-14 with three matches left, the Cardinal were in a real position to make a comeback happen. A tough loss for redshirt junior Luke Duthie to No. 2 Isaac Trumble by technical fall, however, derailed those plans. In the final two bouts, the Cardinal would have to make up a seven point deficit to tie or win.

In the penultimate — and perhaps best — match of the night, No. 13 Stanford redshirt junior Nico Provo delivered a display of grit and athleticism at 125 pounds, earning a decision upset over returning national champion and No. 1 Vincent Robinson. The bout was unusually low-scoring, with both wrestlers finishing regulation tied at 1-1, sending the match into overtime. There, Provo secured a decisive takedown, scoring three points to seal a 4-1 victory. 

“I genuinely felt that I was after something bigger than myself, and that’s something that you don’t feel too often,” Provo said after the match.

The victory drew a deafening roar from Maples, one that echoed long after the final whistle. Provo’s win catapulted the Cardinal to within striking distance of the upset. 

Needing four points to tie the duel, tension ran high inside Maples as Stanford’s No. 7 Tyler Knox faced Zach Redding at 133 pounds. Knox needed at least a major decision to even Stanford with NC State, but was limited to a 6-3 decision victory, earning only three team points. That narrow margin allowed the Wolfpack to escape with the duel win.

After the surge fell just short, head coach Chris Ayres struck a candid tone in his post-match remarks, praising the team’s intensity while acknowledging the frustration of the result. 

“Effort was great,” Ayres said. “I was just telling the guys that we found a way to lose. It’s tough to take. There were so many opportunities for us to win and we just didn’t get it done.” 

His comments come at a moment of transition and promise for the program’s broader ecosystem, as the California Regional Training Center (RTC) — based at Stanford and closely tied to the team — welcomes Takuto Otoguro, the Japanese Olympic gold medalist, for a two-year coaching apprenticeship. While not officially part of the Stanford varsity wrestling coaching staff, Otoguro’s presence around the team signals an influx of elite experience and perspective as the Cardinal look to turn narrow losses like this into wins.

Next up, the Cardinal takes on Virginia Tech and Virginia in a road doubleheader next weekend.