This Saturday, the Stanford wrestling squad will determine its starters going into the season in the annual wrestle-offs. It is likely that only four of 10 weight classes will be uncontested as the team moves into the 2006-2007 season.

Key matches will take place in at least three weight classes. At 133 pounds, redshirt freshman Matt Kim takes on true freshman Cameron Teitelman, and at 184 pounds Zack Giesen will square off against Jake Johnson in a battle of true freshmen. Meanwhile, at 165 pounds junior Scott Loescher will face newly-minted team captain, senior Brian Perry. The first two matchups pit relatively unknown athletes against one another, as none of the four saw any action with the Cardinal last season. The bout at 165 pounds, on the other hand, sees a key contributor from last season taking on a team captain to fill the vacancy in the lineup left by the departure of last year’s star senior captain, Ray Blake.

On Oct. 19 the squad elected its captains for the season. Along with second-year coach Kerry McCoy, Perry, junior Tanner Gardner and sophomore Jared Boyer will lead the Cardinal in competition this season. McCoy is setting the bar high for his team.

“We’ve had a lot of very positive things happen with the program this year,” McCoy said. “I learned a lot in my first year. As a second-year head coach, I have a much better idea of what to expect and that will make it easier to achieve our goals. We are ready to make Stanford the best program in the West and one of the top programs nationally.”

Saturday’s wrestle-offs will be held at 2:00 in Burnham Pavilion. The team will open the regular season with the Avalon Duals on Nov. 4 in Edinboro, Penn.