CLEVELAND, Ohio - Maximilian Leete,
Caleb Campos, and
Emmanuel Ulrich will represent the American University wrestling team at the NCAA Championships on March 19-21 at Rocket Arena in Cleveland. The trio stand as AU's largest contingent competing in the tournament since 2020, with Leete wrestling at 133 pounds, Campos at 184, and Ulrich at 285.
Tournament Information
- When: March 19-21
- Where: Cleveland, Ohio (Rocket Arena)
- How to Watch: ESPN+ and ESPN 2
- Live Stats: NCAA.com
American at the NCAA Championships
- 2020 saw four AU wrestlers set to compete at NCAAs, but the tournament was canceled due to COVID-19.
- The Eagles have had 95 NCAA qualifiers dating back to 1973, and one national champion in Josh Glenn at 197 pounds in 2007.
Jason Borrelli at the NCAA Championships
- Fifth-year head coach Jason Borrelli has now sent four AU wrestlers to the NCAA Championships. He coached a national champion at Stanford just five years ago, guiding 165-pounder Shane Griffith to a title in 2021.
- Griffith was one of two All-Americans for the Cardinal that season, and was Stanford's first national champion since 2004.
- Over Borrelli's 13 seasons with Stanford, he sent 35 different wrestlers to the NCAA Championships a total of 64 times. In 2016-17, Stanford set a program record with nine NCAA qualifiers.
Leete
- Leete is coming off a victory at the EIWA Championships, taking home the 133-pound crown after going 3-0 as the #1 seed. He and his teammate Campos became AU's first EIWA champions since 2012 with their victories at the conference tournament.
- After defeating the #8 seed and #5 seed, Leete beat fellow NCAA-qualifier and #17 Ethan Berginc of Army in a thrilling overtime battle in the finals.
- The graduate senior is now 16-6 and is ranked 14th in the most recent NCAA Coaches' Rankings, released on Feb. 26. He's defeated five ranked wrestlers this season, including Cornell's Tyler Ferrara when he was #15.
- Leete is AU's only former NCAA-qualifier of the group of three, having competed in the tournament in 2024 as a junior after finishing fifth at EIWAs. He redshirted last year, using a fifth season to return this year for one more run.
- Although he lost his first two matches as the #31 seed in 2024, Leete nearly pulled off an upset over the #2 seed Ryan Crookham. He drew two stalling penalties and scored an escape, but Lehigh's undefeated wrestler won 4-3 after scoring the match's only takedown.
- This year, Leete takes on Maryland's #23 seed Braxton Brown in the first round. The two met in a dual meet at American on Dec. 5, and Brown pinned Leete in 4:38 with a 4-3 lead. It was Leete's first dual after an injury put him out for three weeks.
Campos
- Campos comes into NCAAs in excellent form, having won the EIWA Championships at 184 pounds in the back half of a career season for the redshirt junior.
- He went 3-0 as the #3 seed at EIWAs, notably taking down the #2 seed Rylan Rogers of Lehigh in the semifinals, then the #1 seed and fifth-ranked wrestler in the country James Conway of Franklin and Marshall in the championship round.
- Campos leads AU in wins with a 25-6 record, holding six pins and five major decisions to his name. He's been the team's most reliable wrestler this season, winning nine matches in a row at one point and defeating four ranked wrestlers in the process.
- Campos will face off against Cal Poly's #23 seed Ceasar Garza, who defeated him 18-12 last season on Nov. 2, 2024 when he was a Michigan State Spartan. It was the first dual meet of Campos' redshirt sophomore season.
- Campos moved up a weight class this year, having wrestled at 174 in his first three seasons at AU. This is his first NCAA Championships.
Ulrich
- Ulrich had a breakout season as a redshirt sophomore, posting a 21-14 record and finishing fifth at the EIWA Championships. He went 3-2 at the tournament, defeating Binghamton's Trent Sibble, Chris Powell from LIU, and Bucknell's Logan Shephard on his way to the podium.
- The heavyweight started every dual for AU, going 9-7 in addition to an impressive showing in open tournaments. He placed fifth at the Navy Classic, third at the Lock Haven Open, and went 4-2 at the Southern Scuffle for a seventh place finish at one of the nation's most competitive opens.
- After defeating Bucknell's #26 Lucas Lawler on Feb. 15, Ulrich jumped landed at #28 on the most recent RPI rankings.
- Ulrich matches up against the #33 Mason Rebuck of Bloomsburg in the 285 pigtail match.
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