March 20, 2008
St. Louis, Mo. - Defending 197 lbs. NCAA National Champion Josh Glenn and 165-pounder Mike Cannon advanced to the NCAA Wrestling Championships Quarterfinals Thursday evening and are now just one win away from earning All-America honors. Glenn advanced to his third-consecutive NCAA quarterfinals with a first period fall during session II while Cannon advanced to his first quarterfinals with a 7-4 decision.
Glenn made quick work of his second round opponent, pinning Oregon State's Kyle Bressler at 1:29. Glenn took control of the match off the opening whistle and scored a takedown five seconds into the first for a 2-0 lead. A little over a minute later Glenn used a crossface to turn Bressler and after fighting for several seconds Glenn earned the win by pinfall at 1:29.
Glenn will now square off with eighth seed Craig Brester from Nebraska in the quarterfinals. Brester advanced with a 7-2 decision over nine seed Patrick Bond from Illinois. Glenn and Brester also meet in last year's NCAA Championships Quarterfinals where Glenn advanced with a pin at 6:36.
Cannon earned a berth into the championship quarterfinals with a 7-4 decision over Zack Shanaman from Penn. Cannon scored first in the match with a takedown at 0:29 and rode Shanaman for 2:00 before a reversal tied the score at two. An escape before the end of the period by Cannon regained the lead, 3-2, with 1:44 of riding time. Cannon began the second on top and rode Shanaman until the midway point when Shanaman escaped and re-tied the lead at three. Cannon began the third period down and was cut before scoring a takedown at 5:50 for a 6-3 lead. A late escape by Shanaman meant nothing as Cannon took the decision with riding time, 7-4.
Cannon's quarterfinal opponent Friday morning will be second seed Mark Perry from Iowa. Perry advanced Thursday evening with an 11-2 major decision over Air Force's Stephen Crozier.
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Both Glenn and Cannon are now just one win away from earning All-America honors. A win Friday morning will guarantee that neither finishes lower than sixth place while a Friday morning loss coupled with a wrestleback win Friday evening will guarantee no worse than eighth place.
Jasen Borshoff's first NCAA Tournament appearance was cut short with a 1-0 loss to Steve Mytych of Drexel in Thursday night's wrestlebacks. Borshoff and Mytych took a 0-0 tie into the second period after a competitive opening period which saw two very intense scrambles. Mytych scored an early escape in the second to take a 0-1 lead and defended against Borshoff's attack in the third to preserve the decision.
Christopher Stout was also eliminated from the championships Thursday evening, dropping a 4-1 decision to Iowa's Ryan Morningstar. Stout fell behind early in the first, 0-2, off a takedown by Morningstar but cut that lead in half with an escape. Stout then began the second on top before allowing Morningstar an escape point, moving his deficit to 1-3. After riding Stout out in the third period, Morningstar took the decision, 1-4.
After session II American sits in 30th place with seven team points. Iowa currently leads the team competition with 29.5 points.
Session III in St. Louis is scheduled to begin tomorrow, March 21, at 10 a.m. central time. Both Glenn and Cannon will be in action during the morning session as they continue on their path towards a national championship. Friday's morning session also marks the beginning of ESPNU and ESPN360.com's coverage of the NCAA Wrestling Championships. Sessions III and IV on Friday as well as Saturday's championship medal round will be broadcast live by both while Saturday night's finals round will be aired live beginning at 7:30 p.m. central time on ESPN.
