Defending National Champion senior Josh Glenn looks to defend his heavyweight division crown when the AU wrestling team heads to the NCAA wrestling championships this weekend in St. Louis, Mo.
Glenn, along with fellow Eagles junior Christopher Stout and sophomores Mike Cannon and Jasen Borshoff, qualified for the national tournament due to strong performances at the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association tournament.
Glenn heads into the tournament as the No. 1 seed after he captured his third straight conference title by defeating Rutgers' Lamar Brown 10-1 in the championship match. Glenn also took home the prestigious Fletcher Award at the conference meet, an honor given to a senior wrestler who has accumulated the most points at the conference meet over the course of his career.
Cannon will make his second straight appearance in the NCAAs, this time as a No. 10 seed, in the 165-lb. class after taking third in the conference. Cannon lost in the semifinals to University of Pennsylvania's Zach Shanaman 5-1, but took out Cornell's Justin Kerber 3-1 in the consolation match. Cannon won two matches at last year's NCAA tournament before losing on day two.
Borshoff and Stout will make their first-ever trip to the national championships after taking home wild-card berths from the conference meet. Borshoff finished fourth in the 125-lb. weight class, while Stout was fifth in the 157-lb. division. Both wrestlers enter the tournament unseeded.
This marks the third consecutive year that AU will send four wrestlers to the national tournament, a stretch that has also seen the team gain at least one all-American selection those three years.
Glenn looks to become the program's first-ever three-time all-American while defending his national champion title. Glenn gained his first all-American selection in 2006 with a fourth-place showing and his second in 2007 during his national championship run.
The tournament starts on Friday morning with quarterfinal action starting at 11 a.m. Coverage of the tournament can be seen on ESPNU or online at ESPN360.com.
