By DENIS GRIFFIN

As most of Stanford’s student body was dispersing for Spring Break, five Cardinal wrestlers were making their way to St. Louis, Mo. for the NCAA Championships. And for Stanford’s pair of standout seniors, Tanner Gardner and Josh Zupancic, it was the last such trip they would have the opportunity to make in their collegiate careers.

For both Gardner, wrestling at 125 pounds, and Zupancic, at 157 pounds, the tournament was to be their last in a Stanford singlet. And after all the pair had done to draw attention to a burgeoning program in the Pac-10, it was fitting that they each earned yet another All-American honor with their highest finishes yet on the national level to cap a pair of stellar careers on the Farm.

For Gardner, the finish was bittersweet. The Berryton, Kans. native who set new records for career victories and single season pins for Stanford wrestlers this season had his sights set on a national title as early as last year, but fell short in his trips to the NCAA tournament. Still, with his fifth place finish, the highest of his career, Gardner became the first Stanford wrestler ever to earn All-American honors three times and seemed at peace with the conclusion of his wrestling career for the Cardinal.

“You know, it was good and bad,” Gardner said. “I definitely wanted to win the national title, but I really don’t have any regrets. I went to nationals and wrestled the best I could, but it just wasn’t meant to be that week. I think the top six guys were all capable of winning it. I think if you wrestled the tournament [again] this weekend I could win it and the other five guys could as well.”

Zupancic meanwhile, finished sixth nationally, becoming just the fifth wrestler in program history this year to reach 100 career victories and only the third to earn two or more All-American finishes. With two of the conference’s four total All-Americans in its lineup, the Cardinal finished the NCAA tournament with the highest finish in the Pac-10 at 19th overall.

Zupancic, too, sounded content with the way his time as a Cardinal wrestler came to a close.

“[The tournament] was a lot like last year — I guess that’s a good thing, though,” Zupancic said.

“I felt like I went as far as I could,” he continued. “I got kind of worn out, towards semis feeling kind of sore and stuff, but that’s just wrestling. I went as far as I could go.”

While the Cardinal’s other three wrestlers to make the trip and compete in St. Louis did not finish as highly as their senior comrades, junior Luke Feist at 174 pounds, sophomore Zack Giesen at 184 pounds, and redshirt freshman Lucas Espericueta at 149 pounds are a big part of the air of optimism that surrounds the program’s future. But also at the roots of the hope for the future of Stanford wrestling are the recent performances of its athletes, which have served to greatly improve the program’s profile on the national scene.

“I know that when myself and Josh Zupancic and [fellow senior] Phil Doerner came in here our freshman year, we all had a strong commitment to really improving the program and putting it on the right path,” Gardner said. “I think it’s safe to say that the program’s made leaps and bounds since that year and that’s a combination of our success as well as coach Steve Buddie and coach Kerry McCoy and all the assistant coaches and other guys that were here as well. So I feel like the program’s headed in the right direction, absolutely.”

Head coach Kerry McCoy also expressed an unsurprisingly positive view of his team’s future.

“We had an incredible year,” McCoy told GoStanford.com. “A lot of records were broken, a lot of standards were raised and we’re very happy about that. Although there was some disappointment, when you step back and look at what we accomplished — two All-Americans, finishing second at Pac-10s, nine conference placers, 13 dual wins, five NCAA qualifiers, a top-20 NCAA finish — it’s all pretty good.

We have a lot of good, young guys coming back, as well as three NCAA qualifiers, which gives us a great mixture of experience and youth. We look forward to having a good summer and will pick up where we left off.”

But for Gardner and Zupancic, their future paths in the sport will, in all likelihood, carry them away from Stanford. While Zupancic plans to return home to Akron, Ohio and help coach his old high school team while attending graduate school, Gardner’s plans may yet lead him back to the mats.

“[My plans are] still up in the air,” he said. “For the Olympics in Beijing this year, U.S. Nationals are coming up in a few weeks and I’m still undecided if I’m going to wrestle in that. I could [also] see myself coming back in 2012, but I’m going to take a little break from it for a while and see where it goes from there.”

“I think definitely [I’ll always remember] the team aspect of [wrestling at Stanford],” Gardner went on. “This year is, I think, the best year of my five years here. Everybody really is a strong competitor, and we all united behind a common goal, and we broke barriers. We did things that no other Stanford team has ever done. I think I’m going to remember the guys that I competed with and the coaches that helped me out so much.”

It’s likely that the program will remember Gardner and Zupancic, too.

Contact Denis Griffin at djgriff

@stanford.edu.޾