The Stanford wrestling team (3-2, 0-1 Pacific-10 Conference) is getting used to wrestling on the road, but this weekend it will finally get to stay in the Bay Area, if only briefly, for the Menlo College Invitational.

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Adrian Gaitan

Junior Larry Ozowara could compete close to home this weekend before hitting the road .

The Cardinal last competed on their home mats Nov. 23 in a 35-14 win against Division II opponent San Francisco State. Since then, they have traveled to dual meets and open tournaments in Reno, Nev., Evanston, Ill., and most recently Grand Prairie, Tex. with mixed results.

“Traveling takes a toll on your wrestling,” said junior 174-pound Imad Kharbush. “It makes you a bit sluggish.”

A tournament in nearby Menlo Park is a welcome respite from the long travel, especially as it gives the team a chance to recharge and gear up for an extended road trip in January.

The Cardinal will travel to Iowa and Bakersfield, Calif., and make a three-stop swing through Oregon, all before the end of the month.

Stanford will not wrestle at home again until Fresno State and Arizona State visit the Farm on Feb. 4 and 5, respectively. Only then will Stanford finally get a true break from its massive road trip.

Spectators at the Menlo College Invitational will see quite a different line-up from the wrestlers that the Cardinal sent to invitationals earlier this season. Unlike tournaments where Stanford sent only some of its elite wrestlers, such as the Midlands Invitational, many of the Cardinal’s top wrestlers will sit out.

“The Menlo tournament is going to be fairly small,” said head coach Steve Buddie. “It will be a chance for us to rest some of our starters before our travel schedule gets a little hectic, while at the same time providing us more matches which will get us the mat time we need.”

Finding the perfect balance between gaining experience and getting rest may be the most difficult part of the open tournament. Stanford has unique interests in both respects; the team has young talent that needs the experience, but the Cardinal have already seen wrestlers injured in open tournaments this winter. Kharbush, who has since returned to the mat, suffered a broken nose in the Tournament of Champions in Reno.

All indications so far are that the team will err on the side of caution and give key wrestlers time to recover from illness and injury, even though Buddie and the coaching staff have not yet released the invitational’s roster.

The return dates for senior captain Matt Gentry and 197-pound sophomore Ian Bork are unknown as yet. Gentry, an NCAA defending champion at 157 pounds, was sick this weekend and did not compete, while Bork is nursing a hyper-extended elbow.

Though the Cardinal would like to have their star back, they are unlikely to rush him back — the stellar performance of junior Ray Blake this past weekend highlighted Stanford’s depth.

“It’s always great having Matt in the lineup, not only because of his talent, but his leadership as well,” Buddie said. “But we also have a team full of many leaders now, as well as talented wrestlers like Ray who are ready to step in and perform.”

Another possible adverse effect of resting the team this week is the loss of focus, determination and momentum that the team has gained recently. Buddie called last week’s practice sessions “the best” he has seen in seven years. The effects showed up in two important wins this past weekend against Harvard (0-4) and Air Force (0-3), and in a great physical effort against a tough No. 4 Michigan (5-1) squad.

“We are not peaking yet,” Buddie said. “For us to come away with the results we did for this time of year is very encouraging. And, yes, our practices did yield great results ,because I’m confident in saying we wore down every team we wrestled physically, even in the loss to Michigan.”

Losing its recent momentum would be a huge detriment to Stanford, as one of its toughest tests of the season looms next week when it faces No. 3 Iowa State (9-0) in Ames, Iowa.

In order to challenge the dominant Cyclones, Stanford will need to be at full strength and will need to have reached its full stride.

That is most likely where the Menlo College Invitational fits into the big picture of the season; it’s Stanford’s stop back home to refuel and tune up for the challenges that face them on the road ahead.