Woodbridge wrestler overcomes injury to cap Stanford career
Woodbridge resident and All-American wrestler Jim Wilson, a three-time Pacific-12 conference champion, was the poster boy for Stanford heading into his senior year last November.
But a knee injury at a tournament in Tennessee derailed his season on New Year’s Day, and a controversial coaching decision after Wilson had been medically cleared to return abruptly ended his career in Palo Alto.
Head coach Jason Borrelli informed Wilson before the Pacific-12 conference championships that he had elected to go with second-string senior Peter Galli, a backup who had fashioned a 10-1 record in the 174-pound class in taking over after Wilson’s absence.
It was a disappointing setback for Wilson, who feverishly rehabbed his injury, a Grade II strain of the left medial collateral ligament that usually takes six to eight weeks or longer to heal, so quickly that he was cleared to resume competition on Feb. 1 by Stanford team physician Dr. Jason Dragoo.
“Our long-standing practice for earning starting positions has been that, whenever possible, starting spots are determined by performance in competition, as opposed to a wrestle-off,” Borrelli said. “This is communicated throughout the wrestling season, and was applied in the case of Jim.”
As such, Borrelli denied Wilson’s request for a wrestle-off with Galli, even after Wilson requested to enter a tournament in Colorado to pick up the number of matches and necessary wins required by a complex formula to establish postseason eligibility.
According to Wilson, it would have met the three conditions necessary for reinstatement and a chance at a fourth consecutive Pac-12 championship on Feb. 26.
“If I had wrestled at Colorado, I’d have wrestled in the last 30 days, had as many, if not more, Division I matches as Galli and had wins almost as good as his,” said Wilson, who was 12-4 at the time of his injury. “I thought it would be a fair way to decide the better wrestler that could help us at the Pac-12’s. Galli had never beaten me in four years except once as a freshman. It would prove I was healthy to at least compete for a spot. But I never got the chance.”
Wilson and his family, including his father, Paul, and mother Lynn, then appealed to the associate athletic director in charge of wrestling, Earl Koberlein. The Wilsons said Koberlein told them that even if the younger Wilson went to Colorado to qualify, Borrelli and his coaching staff still would not allow a wrestle-off because they still felt Galli’s chances were better. Koberlein stood by Borrelli’s decision.
But then, according to Wilson’s father, Paul, came a sudden, and questionable, aboutface from Borrelli.
“Borrelli told Jim to challenge (senior) Zach Nevills in a wrestle-off at 184 pounds if he wanted to go to the Pac 12’s,” the elder Wilson said. “Jim refused because he believed he had earned the right to wrestle off at 174 pounds and that Nevills was deserving of the opportunity to qualify for the national tournament.”
Nevills confirms Paul Wilson’s account, despite Borrelli’s claim that it was not a standard practice at Stanford. “It’s true,” said Nevills.
It didn’t help matters that Wilson and Nevills were also best friends and teammates who felt they were being pitted against each other unfairly and the younger Wilson’s refusal led to Borrelli allegedly telling Wilson that he could not practice with the team any longer.
But the team protested the dismissal of its captain, and Borrelli relented, allowing Wilson to stay and help prepare the squad for the conference championships.
Nevills, who had struggled through a 3-6 mark in duals up to that point, blossomed under Wilson’s guidance and captured the Pac-12 title in a stunning upset to qualify for the NCAA tourney. Nevills was deeply appreciative of Wilson’s efforts.
“Jim could have been treated better if the coaches had told him of their intentions much earlier,” Nevills said. “Jim meant everything to us as a teammate. He was everything a Stanford wrestler should embody. He was the face of our team and the most dependable guy in our lineup.”
Wilson, a graduate of McNair High School, finished his career with 108 wins, good for eighth place all-time in Cardinal wrestling history. He was Stanford’s first three-time Pac12 champion and the university’s 17th All-American, a feat he accomplished as a sophomore with a 35-8 record. Wilson also graduated from Stanford with a degree in psychology this spring.
His achievements were not lost on Borrelli, who defended his decision to bench Wilson, unfairly or not.
“It definitely was not an easy thing to do. The role of a coach often requires us to make emotionally difficult decisions,” Borrelli said. “Jim has meant so much to the Stanford wrestling program and while we are deeply saddened by the way his competitive career ended, this takes absolutely nothing away from his accomplishments on The Farm.”
Undeterred, Wilson’s speech at the team’s awards banquet last month was an inspirational nod to his polarizing season.
“Life is a storm and what defines your character is what you do when the storm comes. The ability to allow wrestling to shape you and make you instead of break you will define who you are,” Wilson said.