The American University wrestling team moved down one spot to No. 9 in this week's InterMat College Rankings after finishing 3-1 at the Lone Star Duals. Five student-athletes were also featured in the individual rankings with one Eagle entering the rankings for the first time in his career.
The Eagles defeated Ouachita Baptist, 35-12, No. 14 Arizona State, 27-18, and Air Force, 23-7, at the duals but fell to No. 7 Oklahoma, 22-14, for their lone loss of the day. Steve Fittery and Ganbayar Sanjaa both went a perfect 3-0 while Daniel Mitchell posted a 3-1 record and Matt Mariacher finished 2-2.
Freshman 125-pounder Nick Arujau made his varsity debut at the duals and has entered the individual rankings for the first time in his career at No. 20. He lost to No. 7 Jarrod Patterson of Oklahoma by a score of 1-0 in sudden victory in his fist bout then returned to defeat Air Force's Andrew Zwirlein 13-9. Arujau had posted a record of 16-3 in open competition this season, placing first at the East Stroudsburg Open, third at the Wilkes Barre Open and fifth at the Brute Binghamton Open.
Fittery remains in the top position at 157 lbs. after recording two technical falls and one decision. Sanjaa moved up two spots to No. 12 at 149 lbs. with one technical fall and two decisions. Mariacher also rose one spot to No. 14 at 141 lbs. after finishing the day with a technical fall and decision. Ryan Flores dropped to No. 7 this week after falling to No. 12 Nathan Fernandez of Oklahoma, 4-2.
American returns to action on Friday, January 21 when it travels to Philadelphia, Pa. to take on Drexel at 7:00 p.m. The Eagles will carry a 9-4 record into the day while Drexel currently stands at 6-11 overall.
The Dragons last competed at the CAA Duals where they finished 0-2. 165-pounder Joe Booth and 184-pounder Justin Wieller led Drexel with a 2-0 record with Booth picking up a victory over No. 19 Justin Lister of Binghamton. Booth leads the team with 16 wins this season while Wieller picked up his tenth win of the season with a decision over Binghamton's Ryan McGrarity.
Drexel's line-up also includes two-time CAA Rookie of the Week Brandon Palik at 197 lbs. and November Rookie of the Month Austin Sommer at 157 lbs. Frank Cimato has recorded 13 wins this season for the Dragons at 125 lbs.
