2010 NCAA Wrestling Championships Homepage
#4 Mike Cannon's wrestling career came to a close on Saturday as the senior won two matches to place third at the 2010 NCAA Wrestling Championships. He was joined on the mat by fellow All-American's #5 Steve Fittery and Kyle Borshoff who placed fifth and eighth, respectively, helping American to a record 14th-place finish.
Cannon placed third after defeating #2 John Dergo of Illinois in the consolation semifinals, 7-5, and #7 Joe LeBlanc of Wyoming in the third-place match, 7-2. Cannon's finish at this year's tournament marks the highest he has ever placed at the NCAA Championships after taking sixth at 165 lbs. in 2008 and eighth at 174 lbs. in 2009. Cannon, now a three-time All-Ameican, is one of just 13 student-athletes under the NCAA's current weight class structure to earn the honor at three different weight classses.
Cannon will graduate with 122 career wins, second all-time in American history. He and former teammate Josh Glenn, '08, are also the only three-time All-American's in program history as well as American's only four-time NCAA Championships qualifiers.
Fittery earned a 15-6 major decision over #4 Cyler Sanderson of Penn State in the fifth-place match, bringing a close to a steller first year with the Eagles. He posted a team-high 34 wins this season with 28 victories coming with bonus points. Fittery, who made his NCAA Division I Championships debut at this year's tournament, was a two-time Division II All-American at Shippensburg University where he finished as the national runner-up in both 2007 and 2008.
Borshoff also ended his American wrestling career on Saturday as he placed eighth to earn All-America status for a second straight year. Borshoff, along with Cannon and Glenn, is one of only three student-athletes in American history to earn multiple All-America honors after placing seventh in 2009. His four wins over the weekend bring his career total to 102, good for fifth all-time at American.
With three student-athletes earning All-America, the Eagles tied for the seventh most All-America honors at this year's tournament. The three also mark a new program record, surpasing the previous record of two which the team had accomplished three times. Since 2005, the year Daniel Waters, '05, captured American's first All-America honor, the Eagles have sent 11 student-athletes to the podium at the NCAA Championships. American's 10 All-America honors over the past five years are second-most in the EIWA only to Cornell's 20.
American also set a new program record by placing 14th overall in the team standings with 38.5 points. The Eagles are the second-highest placing team in the EIWA at this year's tournament, behind only Cornell which finished second. American had previously finished as high as 17th which the team accomplished in both 2006 and 2007.
149 lbs. - Kyle Borshoff
Borshoff lost to #9 Kevin LeValley of Bucknell in the seventh place match, 5-0. The two took a scoreless tie into the second period where LeValley took a 1-0 lead with an escape early in the frame. LeValley was able to turn Borshoff in the third period for three back points and with riding time advantage took the victory, 5-0.
157 lbs. - #5 Steve Fittery
Fittery lost to #2 Adam Hall of Boise State in the consolation semifinals, 6-4. The pair were scoreless through the first period and in the second Hall took a 4-1 lead with an escape and nearfall. Fittery moved the score to 4-3 with two back points in the third period before a reversal put Hall ahead 6-3. Fittery added an escape point late in the period but his last shot attempt was unsuccessful, giving the match to Hall, 6-4.
Fittery returned in the fifth-place match and went out on top, defeated #4 Cyler Sanderson by major decision, 15-6. Fittery was forced to come from behind as Sanderson scored three takedowns in the first period for a 6-3 advantage. The junior moved the score to 6-5 with a takedown early in the second period and then took his first lead of the match with three back points, 8-6. Sanderson cut Fittery to begin the third period but was unnable to defend against Fittery's attack as he quickly shot in on a single leg to move the score to 11-6. With three more nearfall points and riding time advantage, Fittery earned the major decision by a final score of 15-6.
184 lbs. - #4 Mike Cannon
Cannon advanced to the third-place match with a dramatic come-from-behind victory over #2 John Dergo of Illinois, 7-5. The two took a scoreless tie into the second period where Dergo took a 3-0 lead with an escape and takedown. Cannon cut Dergo's lead to 3-1 with an escape in the third period and then scored a takedown of his own to even the match at three. Cannon cut Dergo after erasing his riding time advantage and proceeded to score a second takedown for his first lead of the bout, 5-4. Cannon added two back points to his advantage and took the decision by a final score of 7-5.
Cannon ended his career on top as he defeated #7 Joe LeBlanc of Wyoming in the third-place match, 7-2. Cannon scored the first takedown just 13 seconds into the match and rode LeBlanc for the remainder of the period. He held a 4-2 advantage after scoring another takedown in the second period and added a third takedown in the third period for a 6-2 margin. With riding-time advantage, Cannon took the final decision by a score of 7-2.
