March 9, 2008

Lancaster, Pa. - American University senior wrestler Josh Glenn advanced to the finals of the 104th Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association Tournament Sunday morning with a first period fall in the semifinal round. Glenn, along with third-place finisher Mike Cannon and fourth-place finisher Jasen Borshoff, have automatically qualified for the NCAA Tournament with their top-four finishes.

Glenn advanced to his fourth-consecutive EIWA Tournament Finals with a first period fall over Penn's Thomas Shovlin at 197 lbs. Glenn took Shovlin down early in the period and rode him out for more than one minute. As Shovlin attempted an escaped Glenn rolled through and locked in a cradle. After holding Shovlin defenseless on his back for several seconds the official finally called the match at 1:50.

Glenn, a two-time EIWA Champion, advanced to the semifinals on Saturday with a first round by and a 15-2 major decision over Navy's Matthew Parsons. Glenn will face Rutgers' Lamar Brown in the finals. Brown advanced Sunday morning with a 3-1 decision over Cornell's Justin Kerber.

Cannon qualified for the NCAA Tournament by placing third at 165 lbs. Cannon began the day in the championship hunt but lost in the semifinal round, 5-1, to Penn's Zach Shanaman. In the wrestlebacks Cannon defeated Navy's Justin Jacobs by fall just 55 seconds into the first period, securing himself an NCAA berth. In the consolation finals Cannon took down Andy Rendos from Buckenll, 5-2, to finish in third.

This will be Cannon's second straight trip to the NCAA's after automatically qualifying last year as a freshman with a second-place finish at the EIWA's.

Borshoff earned his first NCAA Tournament appearance by placing fourth at 125 lbs. Borshoff, like Cannon, lost his first match of the day in the semifinals to Fernando Martinez from Army, 8-1. In the consolation semifinals Borshoff defeated Princeton's Tony Comunale, 8-6, with a last second takedown and nearfall. Borshoff lost again though in the consolation finals, 11-6, to Mike Rodriguez from Cornell to place fourth.

This will be Borshoff's first career trip to the NCAA Tournament. As a freshman last year Borshoff placed sixth at the EIWA's.

Junior Christopher Stout placed fifth at 157 lbs. and can still qualify for the NCAA Tournament as a wildcard. Stout began the day in the semifinals but was pinned in the second period by Jordan Leen from Cornell to drop him out of championship contention. Stout lost his second match of the day as well, this time to Christian Snook of Rutgers in the consolation semifinals. Stout came back in the fifth-place match though and against Penn's Robert Hitschler took a 9-6 decision to place fifth.

This is Stout's first career podium finish at the EIWA's and could potentially be his first NCAA Tournament appearance as well.

Kyle Borshoff was the Eagles fifth and final placewinner of the tournament, finishing in sixth place at 141 lbs. K. Borshoff lost his first match of the day in the semifinals, 6-4, to Penn's Richard Rappo and then lost again in the consolation semis to Cornell's Adam Frey. In the fifth-place match Borsoff dropped his third in a row, this time to Steve Adamcsik from Rutgers, 5-3.

Upon the last team score announcement AU was in sixth place, only a few points behind fifth-place Lehigh. The final team scores will be tallied after tonight's finals.

The EIWA conference has 47 bids into the NCAA Tournament. The top four placewinners at each of the 10 weight classes automatically qualify for the tournament. The remaining seven bids are chosen by the conference coaches as wildcard entries.

The finals of the 104th EIWA Tournament will begin tonight at 6:30 p.m. Eagles fans unable to watch Glenn compete for his third-consecutive EIWA Championship in person tonight are encouraged to follow all the action live over the internet by clicking here