With no current sports to follow, we'll be looking back at #AmericanHistory, starting with Josh Glenn's national title run in March 2007.
One season after finishing in fourth place at 184 pounds and dropping a tight 8-7 match in the semifinals to the eventual national champion, Glenn's mindset before the tournament is simple: "My thoughts are, 'I got to win five more matches.' Riding a 19-match winning streak and holding a record of 22-1, Glenn receives the No. 2 seed at 197 lbs. He'll take on Andrew Anderson of Northern Iowa in the first round.
Glenn scores seven takedowns en route to a convincing 14-2 win in his first match of the tournament. He advances to face Patrick Bond of Illinois in the Round of 16.
After a scoreless first two periods in the Round of 16, Josh gets a quick reversal and rides out the rest of the third period for a strong 3-0 win. He advances to the quarterfinals for the second straight season. He will take on No. 7 seed Charles Brester of Nebraska for a chance to move into the semifinals.
After one period in the quarterfinals, Josh has built up a 6-1 advantage thanks to two takedowns and some near fall points. Brester narrows the gap in the second and third period, but Josh breaks loose and secures the fall! He moves into the semifinal round for the second straight season.
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He'll be taking on No. 11 seed, and returning All-American, Chris Weidman from Hofstra.
After a scoreless first period in the semifinals, Josh scores a reversal and then slaps a cradle on Weidman to get the fall. He is AU's first NCAA finalist.Â
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He'll take on No. 9 seed Kurt Backes of Iowa State in the finals, who is the only wrestler to beat Josh this season, as he won by fall at the Midlands Championships. Less than ten seconds into the match, Josh secures a single and gets on the board first.
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Backes and Glenn go back-and-forth the rest of the way. The referees originally awarded Josh the go-ahead takedown in the final 20 seconds of regulation, but waved it off upon conferring. Battling through adversity, Glenn gets an early takedown in overtime to become American's first national champion.
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"I knew I was going to win the match, no matter what," said Glenn. "I knew I was going to stay aggressive and keep wrestling."
"Josh does not do anything between two and 99 percent - he gives 100 percent all the time," said head coach Mark Cody.
Glenn's win is American's first national championship in any sport since 1966 when diver Ray Crowe won the NCAA D-II national title.
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