Updated Brackets

Team Standings

Session IV Recap

March 22, 2008

St. Louis, Mo. - American University senior Josh Glenn and sophomore Mike Cannon finished their run at the 2008 NCAA Wrestling Championships Saturday morning with two matches in the championships medal round. For Glenn, the matches marked the end of AU wrestling's most celebrated career while for Cannon, the matches signified the beginning of a great career.

"I'm so proud of these guys," Head Coach Mark Cody said. "It's been a tough season and I'm just so proud of the way they finished up. Our main goal on the season is to do well at the NCAA Championships and we have done just that. We are going to finish ahead of 12 teams in the team standings that we lost to earlier in the year in dual meets and that is because of our two All-Americans, Josh Glenn and Mike Cannon."

Glenn's final match as a member of the American University wrestling team came against sixth seed Dallas Herbst from Wisconsin in the fifth/sixth place match. As he had so many times in his career, Glenn quickly jumped out to an early lead, scoring a takedown 13 seconds into the match. Glenn remained aggressive throughout the first period, scoring two sets of back points for a 6-0 lead and accumulating more than two minutes of riding time before the start of the second. In the second, Glenn chose to begin neutral and was taken down by Herbst to bring the score to 6-3. A quick reversal and nearfall regained the momentum in Glenn's favor and heading into the third he held a 10-3 lead. Herbst scored a takedown in the third and Glenn was hit with a one point penalty for stalling, but after riding time was added, Glenn took the decision and fifth place at the tournament, 11-6.

"I'm proud of Josh," Cody said. "He's had an incredible career. It's tough enough to get on the podium at the NCAA Championships once but he's done it three years in a row now for us and has also won a national title. I just can't say enough about what Josh has done at American and what he will always mean to our program, on the mat and off. He's an incredible person and I'm glad that we've all had the opportunity to know him."

Glenn's first match on Saturday ended with the defending national champion on the wrong end of a 9-6 decision to seventh seed Hudson Taylor from Maryland. Glenn held a 2-1 lead heading into the second after a late first period takedown had put him ahead. Beginning the second on bottom, Glenn escaped from Taylor and followed up with a takedown to go ahead 5-1 at the 4:00 mark. Glenn then began the third on top with a 5-2 lead but that margin quickly slipped away as Taylor scored a reversal to move the score to 5-4. An escape by Glenn put him back up by two but after a takedown by Taylor which tied the score and three nearfall points, Taylor took the decision, 6-9.

Glenn has become the face of American University wrestling during his four year tenure with the team. He has recorded 110 career wins at AU, second most in program history, is the school's only winner of multiple All-America honors, a feat which he's accomplished three times, and became the school's first Div. I National Champion.

Cannon's final match of the year came in the fifth/sixth place match where he lost a 13-6 decision to eighth seed Moza Fay from Northern Iowa. Cannon came out quickly against Fay and scored a takedown for an early 2-0 lead. Fay answered back with an escape and takedown of his own to take the lead, 2-3, before scoring a nearfall at the end of the period to move the score to 2-5. Cannon scored a second takedown in the second period to close to within two points of Fay, 4-6, but he would get no closer the rest of the way. Fay used a takedown and nearfall in the third period to increase his lead and with riding time advantage, Fay took the decision, 6-13.

Despite the loss, Cannon finished in sixth-place overall and earned All-America status, a feat which has only been accomplished five times in AU history.

Mike Cannon celebrates Friday after defeating Purdue's Luke Manuel 3-1 in sudden victory to become an All-American

"Mike has come such a long way since his freshman year," Cody said. "Brad Vering put it best earlier when he mentioned how much work we put into him. He came to American as a one-time state champion in Maryland and know he's on the podium at the NCAA Championships, competing against the best in the country. Were going to get back to work in a few weeks and come back next year looking for a national title."

Cannon lost his first match of the day by fall to fourth seed Mack Lewnes from Cornell. Lewnes was first to get on the board with a takedown midway through the first period for a 0-2 lead. Cannon escaped shortly after to move the score to 1-2 but a second takedown put Lewnes up by three. Cannon began the second on top, trailing 2-4, but quickly fell further behind when Lewnes scored a reversal off the opening whistle. Trailing 3-8 after Lewnes' third takedown of the match, Cannon got caught in a cradle and was pinned at 4:18.

American finished in 23rd place at the 2008 NCAA Championships with a total of 22 team points. This marks the third-consecutive year that AU has finished the season in the nation's top-25. Iowa won the team competition by a comfortable margin with 117.5 team points while Ohio State placed second with 79 points.