Three AU wrestlers climbed the podium and earned All-American status in the NCAA Championships, the most in school history, Sunday in Omaha, Neb.
Red shirt senior Mike Cannon placed third at 184 pounds, junior Steve Fittery took fifth at 157 pounds and senior Kyle Borshoff claimed eighth at 149 pounds, to help AU to a 14th place team finish.
Cannon claimed his third All-American honor with a 7-2 decision at 184 pounds. In 2008, he took sixth at 165 pounds, and in 2009 he took eighth at 174 pounds. Only 13 other athletes in NCAA history have earned All-American status at three different weight classes.
After an 11-2 loss to the top ranked wrestler in the 184-pound weight class, Cannon came from behind against second ranked John Dergo of Illinois University in the consolation semifinals. The match was scoreless in the second period before an escape and takedown by Dergo gave the Illinois wrestler a 3-0 lead. Cannon evened the match in the third with an escape and takedown. He then tacked on two back points to earn the decision by a score of 7-5.
Cannon led throughout the third place match against seventh ranked Joe LeBlanc of Wyoming. He took down LeBlanc 13 seconds into the match and again in the second period to move the score to 4-2. For a third time, Cannon took down his opponent in the third to make the score 6-2. Cannon was able to use the remaining time to his advantage and defeated his opponent by a final score of 7-2.
The victory is Cannon’s last at AU. He finishes his five-year career with 122 wins, second all-time.
Fittery took home fifth place in the 157-pound weight class with a 15-6 major decision over fourth ranked Cyler Sanderson of Penn State.
Sanderson took down Fittery three times in the first period for a 6-3 lead. Fittery fought back in the second with a takedown of his own and then three back points to move the score to 8-6. Fittery earned three more points with a single leg, then three more with nearfall points to earn the major decision 15-6.
The victory gave Fittery his team-best 34th win in his first season at AU. The 157-pounder was a two-time Division II All-American at Shippensburg University, before transferring to AU.
Kyle Borshoff became an All-American for the second time with his eighth place finish.
Borshoff lost 5-0 to ninth ranked Kevin LeValley of Bucknell University in the seventh place match. LeValley broke the scoreless tie with an escape early in the second period. He added three back points in the third when he turned Borshoff. LeValley would end up winning the match because of his time advantage.
The three All-American honors tied AU for seventh-most earned by school at the NCAA Championships. It also sets a new mark for AU.
In the past five years, 11 AU wrestlers have climbed the podium at the NCAA Championships, 10 of whom have been named All-Americans. The Eagles rank second, only behind Cornell University for the most All-Americans in the past five years.
AU finished the weekend in 14th place overall with 38.5 points, the best performance in program history. The Eagles’ previous best team finish was 17th in 2006 and 2007.
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