Redshirt freshman Aden Valencia captured the 149-pound title in overtime at the NCAA Championships, Saturday, at Rocket Arena.

Valencia is the third individual national champion in program history, joining Matt Gentry (2004) and Shane Griffith (2021). The Morgan Hill native is the first Cardinal freshman to win an NCAA crown.

Facing No. 1 seed Shayne Van Ness of Penn State, Valencia, the 10 seed, registered the first takedown of the match, leading 3-1 going into the second. Van Ness closed the gap, cutting Valencia’s lead to 5-4 heading into the final frame.

Van Ness registered an escape to start the third, knotting things up at 5-5 as neither wrestler was able to score for the remainder of regulation. In a sudden victory, Valencia kept to his offense and wrapped up Van Ness for the winning takedown.

Stanford produced four All-Americans in Cleveland and finished sixth as a team with 67.5 points – all of which are program records. Stanford's previous highs at the national tournament were set in 2011 with three All-Americans and an 11th-place team finish.

Joining Valencia on the podium were two-time All-American Tyler Knox (133), redshirt junior Nico Provo (125), and true freshman Angelo Posada (197).

It is the sixth time in the past seven seasons Stanford has produced multiple All-Americans in the same season and the 12th time overall. Valencia and Posada are the fifth and sixth Cardinal freshmen to achieve NCAA All-America status, respectively.

Following the conclusion of the tournament, Chris Ayres, the Matt Gentry Head Wrestling Coach, was named the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) Division I National Tournament Coach of the Year.