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After 17 years at the helm of Princeton wrestling, Head Coach Chris Ayres is venturing west to lead the Stanford wrestling program as its new head coach. During his tenure at Princeton, Ayres has produced All-Ivy wrestlers, All-Americans, and a National Champion, and in 2020 notably led Princeton to its first Ivy League title since 1986. In 2023, Princeton placed 13th at the NCAA Championships, the highest finish in program history. 

Ayres is the most recent longtime coach to depart this year, after Men's Track and Field Coach Fred Samara.

Ayres joins a Stanford program that has undergone challenges in recent years. In the summer of 2020, Stanford announced that wrestling and 10 other sports programs would be cut after the due to financial challenges caused by COVID-19. The team nevertheless maintained momentum, with Stanford wrestler Shane Griffith winning the 2021 NCAA 165-pound championship title despite the program’s anticipated cancellation. The program was officially reinstated in May of that year.

Ayres, recognized by many for putting Princeton wrestling on the map, hopes to take the Stanford program to new heights. “I am ready for a new challenge,” Ayres said, stating that his experience at Princeton has “uniquely prepared [him]” to elevate the Stanford program. “Stanford is historically the best athletics department in the country, consistently winning the most national titles of any school in the country, and there is absolutely no reason the wrestling program can’t do the same,” he added. 

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Analysis by Michelle Miao

Today’s Briefing:

Princeton’s School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA) purchased an office space in Washington D.C. last spring, marking “the first time in the University’s history that its policy and international affairs school has had a dedicated, physical presence in the nation’s capital.” The new space, located in the Dupont Circle neighborhood, provided a venue for Princeton in Washington (PIW), which connects students and alumni located in the D.C. area during the summer. Students who participated gave positive feedback about the program. “I found this to be incredibly rewarding because I felt like the alumni were highly invested in walking us through their career decisions and passed down a lot of advice on how to get by in D.C.,” said Braiden Aaronson ’25. 

In the face of comparing alumni outcomes with the school’s motto of service, various Opinion columnists shared their thoughts on how they believe a Princeton education prepares them for their ambitions in the world. Contributing Columnist Siyeon Lee argued that “every Princeton graduate should share one universal aim: to use the privilege associated with this degree to make similar opportunities available to a larger group of people.” Meanwhile, Columnist Anna Ferris shares the insight that "a Princeton education ought to teach us that service and success are not mutually exclusive, and that there is no one right way to go about achieving both of these goals.” Columnist Alex Norbook emphasized incorporating morality into career development and Ashley Olenkiewicz, associate Opinion editor, wrote to encourage alumni to think about their work’s impact on broader society.

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