Broadcast Information
- Quarterfinals will be aired live on ESPNU/ESPN360.com Friday, March 21, at 11 a.m.
- Semifinals will be aired live on ESPNU Friday, March 21, at 7 p.m.
- Medal Rounds will be aired live on ESPNU Saturday, March 22, at 11 a.m.
- Championships will be aired live on ESPN/ESPN360.com Saturday, March 22, at 8:30 p.m.
March 17, 2008
WASHINGTON - The American University wrestling team will travel to St. Louis, Mo., this week for the NCAA Championships being held this year at the Scottrade Center, March 20-22. Four Eagles will make the trip to the Gateway City after qualifying for the NCAA's at last week's EIWA Tournament. Senior Josh Glenn, the defending 197 lbs. National Champion, is making his fourth trip to the tournament and will be accompanied by two-time qualifier Mike Cannon and first-time qualifiers Jasen Borshoff and Christopher Stout.
"This is an exciting time of year for us," AU Head Coach Mark Cody said. "These four guys that we are sending to nationals wrestled very well at the EIWA Tournament and we are really looking forward to seeing what they can do on the biggest stage. We are hoping for strong showings out of each of them. If they wrestle they way they are capable of we should be in very good shape when the tournament ends."
AU's four representatives qualified for the NCAA Championships while helping American to a sixth-place finish at last week's EIWA Tournament. Glenn won his third-consecutive EIWA Championship at this year's tournament, earning his fourth trip to nationals. Cannon placed third at 165 lbs. to earn his second straight trip to the tournament and Borshoff took fourth at 125 lbs. to qualify for his first time. Stout placed fifth at 157 lbs. and was given one of seven EIWA wild cards to qualify for his first tournament.
Glenn has been tabbed as the top seed at 197 lbs. and has been given a first-round bye in the tournament. Glenn has compiled a 15-0 record this season and has already won two tournaments, the Midlands Championships and the EIWA Tournament. Glenn's first opponent will be Lock Haven's Ben Hepburn who is unseeded and was also given a first-round bye.
Last year, Glenn won American University's first Div. I National Championship with a 6-4 sudden victory overtime win over Iowa State's Kurt Backes in the finals. Glenn also defeated UNI's Andrew Anderson, 14-2 MD, Illinois' Patrick Bond, 3-0, Nebraska's Craig Brester, fall (6:36), and Chris Weidman, fall (4:27), en route to the title.
Cannon has been tabbed the No. 10 seed at 165 lbs. and will wrestle North Carolina's Keegan Mueller in the first round. Cannon is 26-3 on the year and has placed in two tournaments, including a first-place finish at the Keystone Classic and a third-place finish at the EIWA Tournament.
Cannon won two matches at last year's NCAA Championships before being eliminated on Day Two. Cannon earned victories over Nebraska's Stephen Dwyer, 8-4, and Cal-State Fullerton's Bryan Tice, 16-1 TF.
Borshoff and Stout both will enter the NCAA's unseeded. Borshoff has an overall record of 17-15 this year and will wrestle Anthony Mustari of Northern Colorado in the second round after both received first-round byes. Stout is 24-13 on the year and will face 11th seeded Tyler Sherfey from Boise State in the first round. Borshoff and Stout each took second place earlier this year at the Millersville Open and placed fourth and fifth, respectively, at the EIWA Tournament.
American has sent at least four wrestlers to the NCAA Tournament each of the last three years and has crowned at least one All-American each year as well. In 2005, AU sent four wrestlers to the tournament, including Daniel Waters who became American's first All-American by placing eighth. In 2006, the Eagles sent a program best five qualifiers to the tournament and crowned two All-Americans in third-place finisher Muzaffar Abdurakhmanov and fourth-place finisher Glenn. Last year, American again sent four wrestlers to the NCAA's and again crowned an All-American in Glenn, who became the program's first NCAA Champion and first two-time All-American.
American has finished in 17th place each of the previous two years, marking the highest ever finish for the team at the NCAA Championships.
ESPNU/ESPN360.com will air the quarterfinals live at 11 a.m. (ET) on Friday, March 21. Additionally, ESPNU will be producing and syndicating live coverage of the semifinals beginning at 7 p.m. (ET) that same day. On Saturday morning, ESPNU will carry the medal rounds live at 11 a.m. (ET). ESPN/ESPN360.com will air the championships live later that evening at 8:30 p.m. (ET).
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