May 22, 2008
Wrestling team scores nation’s highest GPA
(Photo courtesy of Athletics Communications)
Josh Glenn became AU’s first-ever wrestling national champion in 2007. A year later, the program has registered another, perhaps even more impressive title: academic champions.
The team has been recognized by the National Wrestling Coaches Association as having achieved the highest GPA of any Division I program in the country. AU’s 3.335 was tied with Duke, ahead of third-place Liberty, No. 4 Stanford, and fifth-place Princeton.
The accolade is yet another milestone in Coach Mark Cody’s revitalization of a program once slated to be cancelled, now considered among the nation’s elite.
“My goal is to win a national championship, and one of our other goals is to be national champions in the classroom,” he said. “We’re on the map now because of all the All-Americans we’ve had. The six All-Americans we’re had have all been Academic All-Americans too. That’s something we tell recruits. Here, it’s academics first, then wrestling.”
Glenn, whose storied career came to an end this year, and junior Mike Cannon pulled off the double accomplishment, winning All-American honors for both their performance in the arena and in the classroom. In addition, senior Christopher Stout and junior Jasen Borshoff also were named Academic All-Americans.
“It means a lot to me,” said Cannon, a business administration major specializing in accounting in the Kogod School of Business. “It’s nice to work hard for something and achieve it, not only on the mat but in the classroom. Seeing we were tied with Duke and beating schools like Harvard and Princeton made us feel like we accomplished something.”
NCAA All-Americans Mike Cannon and Josh Glenn were named Academic All-Americans Thursday and helped AU to the highest team GPA in the country (Photo courtesy of Athletics Communications)
AU and Stanford were the only schools this year to rank in the top 10 academically and also place in the top 25 at the NCAA Championships. The Eagles have accomplished the feat three consecutive years.
“The fact that they’re up to speed in the classroom helps their mind-set in the wrestling room,” Cody said. “It’s one less thing they have to worry about. It’s something we talk about every day in practice. It’s not an option to miss a class if you’re in this program. We have a great support system, [coordinator of academic support] Maureen Breslin has done a great job with that. I think our student-athletes are a great reflection of the academic excellence of American University. AU students hail from all over the world. They are a diverse group with many different passions—ours happens to be wrestling.”
For Glenn, Borshoff and Stout, their recognition as Academic All-Americans is the first of their careers. Glenn has maintained a 3.081 GPA as a double major in international studies and law and society. He recently received the university’s Stafford H. Cassell Award, given annually to the senior who best exemplifies the traits of Mr. Cassell: total and selfless dedication to the university, profound energy, reliability, as well as intellectual curiosity, friendliness, and helpfulness. Borshoff has a 3.505 GPA and will begin work on his master’s degree at AU in the fall after graduating in three years with his bachelor’s in health promotion. Stout, a business administration major specializing in accounting, has a 3.27 GPA.
Cannon last year became the first-ever undergraduate on the team to achieve Academic All-American status. This year, he became the program’s first-ever repeat member of that prestigious club.
“In wrestling, there isn’t much of future,” he said. “It can only take you so far. You make a lot of connections, but you’re probably not going to make a living from it. Academics will get me where I want to go in the future.”
Some material from AUEagles.com was used in this story.
