The Cardinal Wrestling Club (CWC) is a not-for-profit organization providing an environment and instruction that prepares wrestlers for competition at the section, state and national level.
Through wrestling and the role that Stanford student-athletes play, the CWC educates, trains and inspires its members to achieve their educational and athletic best.
Are you looking to train at the Division 1 level? If so, come train with the CWC. In addition to working with some of the premiere student-athletes from around the greater Bay Area, you will receive high-level instruction and training methods from our coaches and the Stanford Wrestling coaching staff. If you aspire for high school wrestling success and an opportunity to compete at the collegiate level, the CWC is the place for you.
Ben Darmstadt
Bio- Former NCAA D1 wrestler who graduated from Cornell University with a Bachelor's degree
in Marketing. During his time at Cornell Benjamin was a 2x NCAA All-American, 2x EIWA
Conference Champion, 2x All-Ivy league First Team, and 2x Cornell team captain. Prior to
Cornell Benjamin was a 2x Ohio D1 Highschool State Champion and Junior Fargo Freestyle
National Champion and was named Fargo Junior Freestyle Most Outstanding Wrestler.
Chris Caldwell
Chris is a former NCAA D1 wrestler who graduated from Boise State with undergraduate degrees
in finance and economics. After graduation, Chris worked for 2.5 years as an investment
banking analyst covering technology companies. Desiring the opportunity to get back on the
mat, Chris spent 1 year in the Middle East coaching for Wrestling4Peace, which is an
initiative launched by USA Wrestling to transcend borders/cultures and bring people together
through the sport of wrestling. Chris was lucky enough to have spent 6 years coaching and
learning under the legendary Ivan Ivanov at Suples Training Systems and looks forward to
continued coaching success at the CWC.
Ahad Javansalehi
Ahad was a two-time Olympian and four-time Asian medalist competing for Iran in
the early 1990s. He was a member of the 2013 U.S. Greco-Roman World Team staff,
and has helped coach U.S. Senior teams at the 2014 World Cup in Iran and the
2014 Granma Cup in Cuba.
For the past 7 years he has worked with Cornell’s Spartan RTC. During this time,
he placed one wrestler on the senior world team, had one Junior silver medalist,
and numerous Cadet World Team members.
Jordan Gray
Jordan is a former Cardinal wrestler and has coached with the Cardinal Wrestling Club since
2022. He is a higher education professional and holds a B.A. in Psychology from Stanford
('13) and a Masters of Education from the University of Illinois ('20). As a coach, Jordan
uses the knowledge, expertise, and best practices he has gained in his academic studies and
professional career to inform his work with the club's elementary, middle, and high school
wrestlers. He is passionate about helping young wrestlers have fun and fall in love with
wrestling, growing CWC student-athletes' mastery of technical wrestling skills and their
application, as well as cultivating the mental practices and dispositions that contribute to
young peoples' healthy personal development and success both on and off the mat. Prior to
wrestling at Stanford, Jordan was a 4x Vermont state finalist and 3x champion, placed 4th
and 5th at the New England Wrestling Championships, and was the 2009 Dave Schultz High
School Excellence Award recipient for Vermont.
Current and former Stanford wrestlers will also occasionally help coach the CWC practices.
Danny Chaid
3rd Place U.S. Senior Open 2019
U23 World Team Trials Runner-Up
2X NCAA Qualifier – North Carolina
2X California State Medalist
Gabriel Townsell
Gabe kicked off the year with an intensive 10 day training camp at the OTC, followed by
earning a win over Azerbaijan at the strong UWW Dan Kolov memorial tournament in Bulgaria.
In April, Gabe earned 7th at the US Open in Freestyle and qualified for the World Team
Trials.
Townsell attended Stanford University from 2016-2020, where he was a 3x NCAA Qualifier,
Junior World alternate, U23 World Team Member, Junior Pan-Am Silver Medalist, and Academic
All-American (2016-19).
Quentin Perez
Quentin, originally an east bay native, enjoyed a great first year with the CA RTC where he
earned bronze at the Bill Farrell, had a strong showing at the US Open and most recently won
his folkstyle bout on the Stalemates card in Iowa.
Perez joins us after a successful collegiate career at Campbell University where he was an
honorable mention NWCA All-American, 3x NCAA qualifier and 2x SoCon tournament champion.
Sean Fausz
A four-time NCAA national qualifier while wrestling at North Carolina State. Fausz finished
third at the 2019 World Team Trials at 61kg.
Since 2005, CWC alumni have earned 6 All-American honors at the NCAA Championships.
Since 2005, CWC members have won 49 California state medals and 10 state championships.