University American University Nickname Eagles Head coach Teague Moore League Division I (NCAA) | Location Washington, DC Colors Blue, White, and Red Arena Bender Arena | |
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Assistant Coach Clint Musser and
Chad Hanke Conference Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association | ||
The American Eagles men's wrestling team represents American University in Washington, D.C. in NCAA Division I competition. The school's team competes in the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (the Patriot League, the Eagles' primary conference, does not sponsor wrestling) and have their home matches in Bender Arena.
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Through the 2015–16 season, American can claim nine All-Americans with a combined seventeen honors.
In the Years
When Mark Cody began coaching at American, he transformed an almost extinct team into a nationally-ranked team. Because of him, the Eagles were able to gain a National Champion and 14 All-Americans. Here's a breakdown of the years starting with Cody's 1st All-American.
In 2004–05, Daniel Waters received All-American status by placing 8th at Nationals, becoming the first wrestler in AU history to gain that honor.
In 2005–06, Muzaffar Abdurakhmanov placed 3rd at Nationals while Josh Glenn placed 6th. It was the first time AU had two All-Americans in the same year and the first time in AU wrestling history that American broke the Top 20 at Nationals with a 17th-place finish.
In 2006–07, Josh Glenn beat Kurt Backes from Iowa State 6-4 in the NCAA Finals. Glenn became not only the first AU wrestler to win nationals, but the first AU athlete to win a National Title. The last time an AU sport was in the finals was in 1985 when the AU Men's Soccer team lost in the NCAA Finals.
In 2007–08, Josh Glenn got 4th place at Nationals, becoming the first 3X All-American in American University Wrestling history. In addition, Michael Cannon placed 6th at Nationals.
In 2008–09, Michael Cannon placed 8th at Nationals, earning the honor a second time. In addition, Kyle Borshoff placed 7th at Nationals.
In 2009–10, for the first time in AU wrestling history, the Eagles had three All-Americans in the same year. Michael Cannon placed 3rd at Nationals, becoming the 2nd wrestler to earn 3 All-American titles. Kyle Borshoff placed 8th at Nationals, earning his 2nd All-American title in his career. Finally, Steve Fittery placed 5th at Nationals. The Eagles also placed 14th at Nationals.
In 2010–11, the American University Wrestling team not only broke multiple records, but also did the best they ever did at Nationals. Ganbayar Sanjaa placed 4th at Nationals, earning his 1st All-American title. Steve Fittery placed 3rd at Nationals, earning his 2nd All-American title in his career. Fittery also only lost one match that year. Finally, Ryan Flores became the 2nd wrestler in AU history to make it to the NCAA Finals. Unfortunately, Flores lost to Zach Rey of Lehigh 1-0. Team wise, American University placed 5th, right behind Penn State, Cornell, Iowa, and Oklahoma State. This is the best that American University have ever did in school history. Mark Cody earn National Coach of the Year, the first time he has ever earned it in his career.
A month after Nationals, Mark Cody took the head coaching job at the University of Oklahoma. Another month later, the head coach of Clarion came in to fill in the spot.
Moore era (2011–present)
In 2011–12, Teague Moore took over the team. Kyle Borshoff stepped up from volunteer assistant coach to 1st assistant coach. Pete Friedl, 3X All-American of Illinois, become the 2nd Assistant coach. Moore helped lead the eagles to a 19th-place finish at the NCAAs. Moore also led the Eagles to a 3rd-place finish at the EIWA's, the highest finish AU has accomplished ever.
Individual records
Italicized: Current AU Wrestlers