Read the Archive of AUeagles.com's Live Blog From Mat-Side
Day 1: Recap / Brackets / Highlight Video
Day 2, Morning Session: Recap / Brackets / Highlight Video
Day 2, Final Session: Brackets / Watch Mariacher Final / Watch Flores Final / Photos

The No. 12 American University wrestling team crowned a pair of champions -- No. 1 Ryan Flores and No. 13 Matt Mariacher -- on Sunday afternoon at the 108th EIWA Championships in Princeton, N.J., en route to a program-record third-place team finish.

Flores, the No. 1-nationally-ranked heavyweight, captured his second straight EIWA crown, topping Lehigh Zach Rey, the No. 2-nationally-ranked wrestler, in dramatic sudden victory fashion. After a scoreless first period, Rey earned the escape to begin the second period and maintained the 1-0 advantage through two. Flores responded with the escape to start the third period and the duo needed extra time as it remained tied 1-1 through seven minutes.

In the minute-long sudden victory session, both wrestlers got aggressive, looking for the championship-clinching points. After an extended scramble, Flores was finally able to record the takedown with seven seconds remaining to win the crown. (watch the full match here)

This marks Flores' third victory over Rey in the EIWA Finals. Flores got the upper hand in last year's EIWA title bout, a tiebreaker win, along with his 2009 sudden victory over Rey when Flores attended Columbia. For their careers, Flores and Rey have now split six bouts, which included a Rey win in last season's NCAA National Championship match.

Flores will head to the NCAA Championships with a perfect 17-0 record this season, which includes 13 falls. He pinned each of his first three opponents leading up to the finals in a total time of 3:24, earning him the Billy Sheridan Memorial Trophy for the most falls in the least time. He is the first-ever AU wrestler to capture the prestigious EIWA honor.

Prior to Flores' thrilling victory, No. 13-nationally-ranked Mariacher also earned his second consecutive EIWA title at 141 lbs., with a 6-4 decision over Michael Nevinger of Cornell. Mariacher, the 5th-seed, took a 4-2 lead after one period following a pair of takedowns and subsequent escapes by Nevinger, the 2nd-seed in the tournament and the No. 17-nationally-ranked wrestler. Mariacher recorded another takedown in the second period and led 6-3 with one period to go. Mariacher began the third period on bottom and was able to hold tough, losing a point on riding time but earning the 6-4 decision. (watch the full match here)

Mariacher and Flores are now both multiple EIWA winners at American, becoming the fourth and fifth wrestlers in program history to accomplish the feat. The three prior multiple-time champions are Muzaffar Abdurakhmanor (2005, 06), Mike Cannon (2009, 10), and Josh Glenn (2006, 07, 08). In total, Flores and Mariacher are the 11th and 12th EIWA Champions in program history.

AU's third finalist on Sunday was Kevin Tao, who dropped a 4-0 decision to Lehigh's Shane Welsh in the 149 lbs. final. Tao, the eight-seed in the tournament, and Welsh, the six-seed, took part in a scoreless opening period before Welsh struck first with an escape to open the second period. A Welsh takedown in the second made it 3-0 and Tao was unable to get anything going, eventually falling 4-0 once a riding-time point was added.

As a team, the Eagles finished in third place, a new program record, topping last year's fourth-place result. AU had finished in fifth in 2009 and 2010, which were the best-ever results to that point. Six Eagles placed on the podium, which consisted of Flores, Mariacher, Tao, Ganbayar Sanjaa (third place at 157 lbs.), Daniel Mitchell (sixth place at 197 lbs.), and Thomas Williams (sixth place at 125 lbs.).

Cornell captured the team title with 151.5 points thanks in large part to Flores' victory over Lehigh's Rey in the last match of the tournament. Lehigh was second with 149 points while American came in third with 103 points. Penn was fourth (94.5 points) and Navy fifth with 85 points.

Flores, Mariacher, Tao, and Sanjaa have each qualified for the NCAA Championships, which will be held in St. Louis from March 15-17. The at-large bids will be announced this Wednesday.

141 - Matt Mariacher (1st Place)
After drawing a first-round bye, fifth-seeded Mariacher posted a perfect 3-0 record at the EIWA Championships to claim his second straight conference crown. He defeated the No. 1, No. 2, and No. 4 seeds -- all of whom were nationally-ranked -- en route to the title. Mariacher pinned top-seeded Zack Kemmerer of Pennsylvania in the semifinals before his exciting 6-4 decision over Cornell's Michael Nevinger, the tournament's second-seed. Mariacher will head to the NCAA Championships, looking to improve upon his Round of 12 finish from last year.

Round of 16: Bye
Quarterfinals: W dec. 4th-seed Adam Krop (Princeton), 9-3
Semifinals: W pins 1st-seed Zack Kemmerer (Pennsylvania), 3:54
Championship: W dec. 2nd-seed Michael Nevinger (Cornell), 6-4

149 – Kevin Tao (2nd Place)
Eighth-seeded Tao made an improbable run to the finals with three victories along the way, including an injury default against top-seed and No. 6-nationally ranked Mario Mason from Rutgers in a bout that Tao led when Mason pulled out. In the finals, Tao came up on the short end of a 6-4 decision to Lehigh's Shane Welsh, the sixth-seed, but Tao still qualifies for the NCAA Championships.

Round of 16: W dec. Zachary Bintliff (Princeton), 10-5
Quarterfinals: W injury def. 1st-seed Mario Mason (Rutgers)
Semifinals: W dec. 5th-seed Stephen Robertson (Pennsylvania), 3-2
Championship: L dec. 6th-seed Shane Welsh (Lehigh), 4-0