Complete NCAA Championships Notes
NCAA Championships Homepage on AUeagles.com
AUeagles.com's Live Blog Homepage
The American University wrestling team is sending five student-athletes to the 2012 NCAA Championships on the heels of a program-record third-place team finish at the EIWA Championships. This year's NCAA Championships are being held at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Mo., beginning Thursday, March 15 and running through Saturday, March 17.
The Eagles will be led by returning national runner-up Ryan Flores, the top-seed in the heavyweight draw. American's lineup will also feature returning All-American Ganbayar Sanjaa, two-time EIWA Champion Matt Mariacher, EIWA runner-up Kevin Tao, and three-time NCAA qualifier Daniel Mitchell.
American will send two returning All-Americans and three seeded wrestlers onto the mat in St. Louis in search of a similar outcome to last year's NCAA Championships, where the Eagles earned a program-record fifth-place result. The Eagles crowned a program-best three All-Americans at last year's tournament.
Flores, the top heavyweight in the draw, is undefeated this season with a 17-0 record, which includes 13 pins. Making his fourth-career appearance at the NCAA Championships, Flores was a national finalist a year ago. He is a three-time EIWA Champion and comes into the tournament with victories in 28 of his last 29 bouts.
Sanjaa received the No. 5 seed at 157 lbs. a year after coming in fourth-place at the NCAAs at 149 lbs., which earned him All-America recognition. Sanjaa is 22-3 this year and finished third at the EIWAs.
Mariacher makes his second-straight NCAA appearance and is seeded No. 11 at 141 lbs. The two-time EIWA Champion reached the Round of 12 in last year's NCAA draw and he leads AU with 23 victories this season.
AU's other two qualifiers are Tao, the EIWA runner-up at 149 lbs., and Mitchell, who received an at-large bid into the field. Tao is making his first NCAA appearance while this marks the third straight year that Mitchell has earned a NCAA berth.
AUeagles.com will be your home to follow the Eagles all tournament long as it will host a live, interactive blog from matside in St. Louis, beginning on Thursday, March 15 at 12 p.m. ET. Be sure to check back with the NCAA Championships Homepage on AUeagles.com throughout the weekend for recaps, updated brackets, photos, and videos.
The 2012 NCAA Championships will be broadcast live in its entirety by the ESPN family of networks. ESPN3 will provide a live online video stream of all six sessions, which include sessions 1 and 2 on Thursday, March 15. Sessions 3, 4, and 5 will air live on ESPNU on Friday, March 16 and Saturday, March 17. The finals will be televised on ESPN on Saturday, March 17 at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Click here to read the complete NCAA Championships notes.
