Traxler went 4-1 in the tournament, which included a 9-7 win over 11th-ranked Dakota Geer of Oklahoma State in the semifinals, and is 17-4 this season. His runner-up finish was the highest by a Cardinal since Joey McKenna in 2016, who also finished second.

Traxler faced top-ranked Bo Nickal of Penn State in the 197-pound final and was pinned in the first period. Nickal won his third consecutive Southern Scuffle title in his third different weight class.

The Cardinal had a program-record nine wrestlers reach the podium. The team score did not include points from Woods and fellow freshman Shane Griffith, who were both wrestling unattached. With their points, the Cardinal would have placed third.

Redshirt sophomore Nathan Traxler and freshman Real Woods each reached the championship match of their respective wrestling divisions to help Stanford to its best-ever finish at the Southern Scuffle, presented by Compound Sportswear, on Wednesday at McKenzie Arena in Chattanooga.

The sophomore's beat teammate Paul Fox, 5-2, to advance to the third-place bout as he moves to 17-5 on the year.

Dominick Mandarino placed third at 157 pounds, losing only to top-ranked Jason Nolf of Penn State in the semifinals. He beat Ohio's Zac Carson, 12-10, in sudden victory in the third-place, winning six of seven bouts overall.

Woods pulled off a 3-1 decision over No. 18 Nick Gil of Navy in a second sudden victory period in the semifinals and is 9-1 overall.

Trailing 5-2 to start the third, Woods cut into the lead with an escape. However, injury time for Woods gave Lee choice and he went down and was able to escape in the final period to win it 6-3.

Woods wrestled tough in the finals at 141 pounds against No. 4 Nick Lee of Penn State. He scored the first takedown of the bout but gave up a point for locked hands before Lee escaped.

He began the day with a 3-0 decision over Oklahoma State's Dusty Hone and then held off No. 17 Jared Prince of Navy, 4-3. van der Merwe, 13-6 this season, advanced to the third-place bout with a 16-0 technical fall over CSU Bakersfield's Russell Rohlfing.

Requir van der Merwe had a solid showing in Chattanooga, placing fourth with a 5-2 record at 149 pounds. The redshirt sophomore dropped a 5-2 decision to 10th-ranked Brady Berge of Penn State in the third-place bout.

He earned a spot in the third-place bout after Oklahoma State's Chandler Rogers defaulted due to injury, with Griffith leading 6-1 after 4:54. Griffith knocked off No. 20 Jesse Dellavecchia of Rider, 7-2, in his final match and improved to 20-2 overall.

The 165-pound Griffith was also 6-1 in the tournament and placed third. His loss was to two-time defending national champion and No. 1 Vincenzo Joseph of Penn State.

He began Wednesday with a 13-4 major decision over Air Force's Sidney Flores before coming up short in a 9-7 decision to Chattanooga's Alonzo Allen in the second set of tiebreakers. He is 12-6 on the year.

Junior Gabriel Townsell finished eighth for Stanford at 125 pounds after medically forfeiting the seventh-place bout. He was 3-2 overall in the tournament.

Maley was 5-2 in the tournament, moving him to 16-7 on the season. It was the third podium finish of the season for the redshirt freshman, who won the Princeton Open (Nov. 4) and took fourth at the Roadrunner Open (Nov. 18).

He fell into the fifth-place bout with an 11-4 setback to No. 15 Roman Bravo-Young of Penn State. Pengilly came up short, 4-2, in the fifth-place bout against Iowa State's Todd Small.

Fifth-year senior Mason Pengilly was 3-3 overall, taking sixth for the Cardinal. He began the day with a 9-5 decision over Rider's Chris Wright before earning a 7-2 decision against Lehigh's Nick Farro.

Fox's 11-1 major decision against Duke's Ben Anderson put Fox in the consolation semifinals against Mandarino. Fox moves to 16-4 this season and has 90 career victories.

Fox went 6-2 in the tournament, taking fifth at 157 pounds. The fifth-year senior earned a 9-4 decision over Oklahoma State's Jonce Blaylock in the fifth-place bout.

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Stanford wrestlers start year with a successful showing