Slideshow Stanford's Nathan Traxler won twice Thursday to reach the championship quarterfinals. Photo courtesy of Stanford Athletics. Gabriel Townsell is one of three Cardinal wrestlers still alive in the consolation bracket. Photo by John P. Lozano/isiphotos.com. Previous Next

Stanford redshirt sophomore Nathan Traxler won twice Thursday and advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Wrestling Championships at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh. Three other Cardinal wrestlers remain alive in consolation brackets: junior Gabriel Townsell, redshirt senior Mason Pengilly and redshirt sophomore Requir van der Merwe.

Traxler, the No. 8 seed at 197 pounds, posted a 4-1 decision over 24th-seeded Jake Jakobsen to secure his spot in Friday's quarterfinals. Traxler led 2-1 after the first and chose neutral to start the second. The St. Charles, Illinois, native scored another takedown in the second period. Jakobsen chose top to start the third and rode Traxler out, but was unable to turn him or score any points.

Traxler improves to 30-5 on the season and will take on top-seeded Bo Nickal of Penn State.

At 125 pounds, Townsell recorded a 4-2 decision over Oklahoma's Christian Moody to stay alive in the consolation bracket. There was no score after the first and Townsell and Moody were tied 2-2 going into the third. Townsell chose down and quickly notched the escape to start the final period. He was awarded a point for an illegal move by Moody to cap the scoring. Townsell is 19-11 overall and will face 14th-seeded Sean Fausz of NC State.

Pengilly, seeded 31st, knocked off 18th-seeded Gary Wayne Harding of North Carolina in the 133-pound consolation bracket. Pengilly quickly took the lead, scoring a takedown and two near fall points in the opening period. Harding escaped, but Pengilly secured another takedown to hold a 6-1 lead going into the second. Pengilly chose neutral and gave up a takedown to Harding, but earned an escape and was up 7-3 after two. Harding chose down and Pengilly tallied two near fall points while on top. Harding earned a reversal, but Pengilly had 1:58 of riding time for the 10-5 decision.