American University

Four American University individuals have combined for six total national championships. The success of AU athletics in the NCAA College Division (now NCAA Division II) in the 1960s spurred the transition to Division I.

JOSH GLENN (2007 NCAA Wrestling National Champion – 197 Pounds)

Josh Glenn electrified the American University community in 2007 when he captured the school’s first NCAA individual wrestling national championship.

Glenn began the year as a favorite to win the crown after placing fourth at 184 pounds the previous season. He entered the 2007 NCAAs with a 22-1 overall record and with a 19-match winning streak.

He cruised through the first four rounds of the tournament on his way to the final. He earned a 14-2 major decision over Andrew Anderson of Northern Iowa before blanking Patrick Bond from Illinois, 3-0.

His second day included a pair of pins, beating Nebraska’s Craig Brester at 6:36 in the quarterfinal and Hofstra’s Chris Weidman at 4:27 of the semifinal bout to earn his ticket to the final.

Glenn’s championship victory was dramatic, as he battled Iowa State’s Kurt Backes through regulation and into overtime. In the sudden-death extra period, Glenn went on the attack first and scored on a single-leg shot in the opening minute to earn a 6-4 victory.

“I knew I was going to win the match, no matter what,” Glenn said after the win. “I knew I was going to stay aggressive and keep wrestling.”

Glenn finished his career at American University with 110 victories, second-most in program history. He is one of two Eagle wrestlers to finish as a three-time All-American.

Glenn was also a three-time champion in the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA), and the first Eagle to win an individual title at the prestigious Ken Kraft Midlands Championships.

A 2018 inductee into the Stafford H. “Pop” Cassell Hall of Fame, Glenn was also inducted into the EIWA Hall of Fame in 2020. 

PETER CHEN (Two-Time NCAA College Division Outdoor Pole Vault Champion – 1966 & 1968) 

Peter Chen won both the 1966 and 1968 individual titles in the pole vault, when American University competed in the College Division of the NCAA (now known as Division II). 

He cleared 15 feet, 7-1/2 inches to win his first title, and went 16-1 for the victory in 1968. Chen, a three-time All-American, was inducted into the Stafford H. “Pop” Cassell Hall of Fame at AU in 1997. 

Chen was the first AU student-athlete to win a Penn Relays individual title, and he placed sixth or better at the national championships four times. Chen still owns the Eagles’ school records both indoors and outdoors in the pole vault.

ANDREW “BUTCH” BELL (Two-time NCAA College Division Outdoor 400-Meter Hurdles Champion – 1967 & 1968)

Andrew “Butch” Bell won a pair of NCAA national titles in the 400 hurdles events. In 1967, he competed in the 440-yard hurdles, winning in 51.0 seconds. The next season, with the NCAA competing at the metric distances, his 400-meter mark of 51.5 seconds won the title. 

His win in 1967 earned Bell the distinction of being a University Division All-American, becoming AU’s first student-athlete to earn the honor at what later would become Division I. Bell was a College Division All-American indoors that same season. 

His victory in 1968, coupled with Chen’s pole-vault title, lifted American University to an eighth-place finish in the men’s team standings at the NCAA College Division Nationals, held in Hayward, Calif. 

Bell was inducted into the Stafford H. “Pop” Cassell Athletic Hall of Fame in 1985.

RAY CROWE (NCAA College Division 1-Meter Diving Champion – 1966) 

Ray (Crowe) West became American University’s first national champion on March 22, 1966, when he won the NCAA College Division 1-meter diving title. 

Crowe, who scored 339.65 in the finals, helped the Eagles to a seventh-place team finish at that competition and was one of two Eagle All-Americans that season. Tim Miller placed third in the breaststroke at that same competition. 

Crowe was inducted into the Stafford H. “Pop” Cassell Athletic Hall of Fame in 2011