WASHINGTON - Maximilian Leete and Caleb Campos highlighted American University wrestling's first day at the 2026 EIWA Championships, with both of them winning quarterfinal and semifinal matches to secure automatic spots in the NCAA Championships in Cleveland. The two will wrestle for an EIWA title on Saturday in the final round, while Gage Owen and Emmanuel Ulrich will compete in the consolation semis with a chance for a top three finish. 

Notable

• The 133-pound #1 seed Leete clinched his spot at NCAAs with a thrilling win in the semifinal match over the #5 seed Gauge Shipp of Hofstra. He got out to a 4-2 lead with a takedown and escape, then drove Shipp to the mat on a re-attack in the third period to extend his advantage to 7-2. He gained two nearfall points in that sequence, taking the bout 9-3. 
• Earlier in the quarterfinals, Leete defeated Binghamton's Dillon Arrick 8-1. He set the tone with a takedown in the first 30 seconds and never looked back, scoring an escape and two more takedowns the rest of the way. 
• The #3 seed Campos took down the #2 seed Rylan Rogers from Lehigh in the 184-pound semifinal, meeting the familiar foe for the fourth time in his career. 
• Campos led 3-1 before putting together an excellent third period. He started with an escape, then took Rogers down and added three nearfall points with 1:42 remaining. He allowed only an escape from Rogers, commanding his way to a 10-3 win. 
• In the quarterfinals, Campos beat the #6 seed Will Ebert from Binghamton. He earned a point off of two stalling warnings in the first period, then went to work and delivered a takedown in the second. He added riding time to cap off a smooth 5-3 win.
• AU jumpstarted the day with wins from JJ Peace, Jack Maida, Owen, Austin Craft, and Hunter Hohman in session one. 
• Peace took care of business against Corey Ianucci in the round of 16, securing five takedowns to score a technical fall with a minute to spare in the match. The sophomore 
• Jack Maida won a tight bout at 141, using a takedown and three escapes to take the 6-5 win over Sacred Heart's John Hildebrandt. He staved off several shots in a scoreless third period to hold on for the win. 
• Austin Craft had the most exciting win of the morning for the Eagles at 165, upsetting the #6 seed Jake Slotnick of Hofstra with an emphatic pin. Already with a 3-1 lead in the first period, Craft grabbed hold of Slotnick with a headlock and flipped him down to the mat, keeping him down for the fall. 
• Hunter Hohman mirrored Craft's result with a another upset at 174, taking down Hofstra's #6 seed Matt Waddell 2-1.  
• Peace, Maida, Craft, and Hohman all won in the consolation round of 8, then lost in the round of 4. The four of them will wrestle in seventh place matches tomorrow. 
• Owen and Ulrich won both their consolation matches, giving them a chance to finish in the top three with victories in the consolation semis and finals. 
• Owen handily defeated Binghamton's Caleb Sweet in the round of 8 before coming up with an overtime victory of Pat Phillips of F&M in the round of 4, scoring a takedown 26 seconds into the extra frame. 
• Ulrich also required extra wrestling in his victories, scoring an escape in the second tiebreaker period against Binghamton's Trent Sibble for a 3-2 win in the round of 8. He used a takedown and an escape for a 4-1 result against Chris Powell of LIU in the next round. 
• With a victory in the consolation semifinal tomorrow, the heavyweight Ulrich can clinch one of the four allocated spots for the NCAA Championships. With only one allocated spot at 149, Owen will wrestle for a third place finish on the podium.

Day 1 Results

125

• Rd. of 16 - JJ Peace (AU) technical fall Corey Ianucci (SHU), 5:59 20-4, 
• QF - James Garcia (F&M) dec. JJ Peace (AU), 4-2 
• Cons Rd. of 8 - JJ Peace (AU) major dec. Julian Dawson (MSU), 9-1
• Cons Rd. of 4 - Charlie Farmer (Army) pin JJ Peace (AU), 6:43, 7-6

133

• QF - Maximilian Leete (AU) dec. Dillon Arrick (BING), 8-1 
• SF - Maximilian Leete (AU) dec. Gauge Shipp (HOF), 9-3

141

• Rd. of 16 - Jack Maida (AU) dec. John Hildebrandt (SHU), 6-5
• Luke Stanich (Lehigh) major dec. Jack Maida (AU), 20-7
• Jack Maida (AU) dec. Ryan Hartung (BING), 2-1 SV
• Bryce Kresho (F&M) major dec. Jack Maida (AU), 10-1

149

• Rd. of 16 - Gage Owen (AU) major dec. Connor Collins (Army), 15-4
• QF - Kaemen Smith (Navy) dec. Gage Owen (AU), 10-4
• Cons Rd. of 8 - Gage Owen (AU) major dec. Caleb Sweet (BING), 8-0
• Cons Rd. of 4 - Gage Owen (AU) dec. Pat Phillips (F&M), 3-2 SV

157

• Rd. of 16 - Brayden Roberts (LIU) dec. Kaden Milheim (AU), 6-1
• Cons Rd. of 8 - Fin Nadeau (BING) dec. Kaden Milheim (AU), 7-3

165 

• Rd. of 16 - Austin Craft (AU) pin Jake Slotnick (HOF), 2:09, 6-1
• QF  - Nick Mulvaney (BUCK ) dec. Austin Craft (AU), 5-0
• Cons Rd. of 8 - Austin Craft (AU) dec. AJ Falcone (SHU), 2-0 
• Cons Rd. of 4 - Jordan Brown dec. Austin Craft (AU), 4-2

174

• Rd. of 16  - Hunter Hohman (AU) dec. Matt Waddell (HOF), 2-1
• QF - Carter Baer (BING) major dec. Hunter Hohman (AU), 11-2
• Cons Rd. of 8 - Hunter Hohman (AU) pin Grayson Catlow-Sidler (LIU), 0:58, 3-0 
• Cons Rd. of 4 - Cort Vann (MSU) dec. Hunter Hohman (AU), 4-1

184

• QF - Caleb Campos (AU) dec. Will Ebert (BING), 5-3
• SF - Caleb Campos (AU) dec. Rylan Rogers (Lehigh), 10-3

197 

• Rd. of 16 - Julian Davis (Lehigh) major dec. Liam Packer (AU), 12-2
• Ibrahim Ameer (Drexel) technical fall, Liam Packer (AU), 6:02, 17-2

285

• QF - Nate Schon (Drexel) dec. Emmanuel Ulrich (AU), 4-3
• Cons Rd. of 8 - Emmanuel Ulrich (AU) dec. Trent Sibble (BING), 3-2
• Cons Rd. of 4 - Emmanuel Ulrich (AU) dec. Chris Powell, 4-1