Heights standout wrestler returns for collegiate dual
By Rick Peterson
The Capital-Journal
Published Friday, November 09, 2007

Stanford senior 125-pound wrestler Tanner Gardner is a three-time qualifier for the NCAA tournament and a two-time All-American.

One of the most successful student-athletes in Shawnee Heights history, Gardner already has earned a bachelor's degree in public policy from Stanford and is working on a master's degree in sociology while finishing his college eligibility.




David Gonzales / Submitted
Former Shawnee Heights standout wrestler and two-time collegiate All-American Tanner Gardner, in red, leads his Stanford Cardinals tonight at Heights against Fort Hays State and former teammates Tyler Gonzales, Blake Malloy and Phil Hart.

Gardner was a first-team Academic All-American last season, received Stanford's Bill Walsh male athlete of the year award and has accepted a job as a management consultant in Dallas when he's done at Stanford.

Tonight, Gardner will be back where his success story started when he and his Stanford teammates face Fort Hays State in a 7 p.m. college dual at Heights.

"I'm really excited,'' Gardner said. "It's going to be great to wrestle in the Heights gym one more time.''

Gardner lobbied Stanford coach Kerry McCoy to schedule tonight's match, which will re-unite him with former Heights state champs Tyler Gonzales, Blake Malloy and Phil Hart, who all now wrestle for Fort Hays State. Hart is sidelined with an injury, but Gonzales and Malloy will be in Fort Hays' lineup.

Gardner, seventh in last year's NCAA meet, was a star, both in the classroom and on the wrestling mat, long before he signed with Stanford, winning two Class 5A state championships for former Heights coach Bob Gonzales.

But Gardner said that Stanford, located in Palo Alto, Calif., has been just the place to help him further himself in all areas.

"It's been an unbelievable experience out here,'' Gardner said in a phone interview, "and if I had to go back and make my choice I'd definitely make this choice again.

"It really has lived up to its billing and been everything I've expected and more, just great people, great academics, great wrestling, great coaches. Just the whole community they've built out here has been a real blessing.''

McCoy, a two-time Olympian, said that Gardner also has lived up to his part of the deal.

"I didn't recruit him,'' McCoy said. "He was on the team when I got here, but I had a pretty good idea who he was. I knew he was a tough guy, and when I got here, he was one of the first to buy into the system that I brought.

"It's just great to have a guy that is so committed, so dedicated and is sort of the stereotypical Stanford student.''

About the only thing still missing from Gardner's impressive resume is an NCAA title. McCoy said he thinks his standout can take care of that omission this season.

"Tanner's doing a great job, one of the hardest working guys I've ever been associated with,'' McCoy said. "It's really great, because it's going to pay off. Our expectation for him is to challenge for a national title this year.

"It's not a situation where, 'Oh, let's see what happens.' Our plans are for him to be an NCAA champ and do everything to make that happen.''

Like his coach, Gardner said he thinks his best is yet to come.

"Last year overall was a great year, but the ending was pretty disappointing,'' he said. "I didn't perform as well at the NCAA tournament as I would have liked to, for whatever reason. But it's been good motivation for this year.

"I'm just focusing on getting better every day and I think if I do that, that's going to allow me to achieve the goal that I want, which is a national title.''

Rick Peterson can be reached at (785) 295-1129 or rick.peterson@cjonline.com.


Richard D. Salyer