Flores and Sanjaa Conclude NCAA Wrestling Championships as All-Americans; Watch Moore's Interview

Recap, Brackets, Photos, and Video Interview with Head Coach Teague Moore: http://aueagles.com/sports/m-wrestl/2011-12/releases/20120317

No. 1 Ryan Flores and No. 5 Ganbayar Sanjaa both ended their runs at the 2012 NCAA Championships in St. Louis, Mo., with sixth-place finishes in their respective weight classes.

Both Flores and Sanjaa earn All-America status for the second consecutive season, becoming the 15th and 16th in program history to reach the milestone. The duo also becomes the fifth and sixth student-athletes in AU history to be multiple All-Americans, joining Kyle Borshoff (2009, 10), Mike Cannon (2008, 09, 10), Steve Fittery (2010, 11), and Josh Glenn (2006, 07, 08). This marks the fifth straight year and sixth in the last seven that AU has crowned multiple All-Americans.

Sanjaa dropped both of his bouts on Saturday morning by identical 7-5 decisions to No. 7 Dylan Alton of Penn State and No. 6 James Fleming of Clarion. Flores did not compete on Saturday morning due to medical default and, as a result, placed sixth as well.

The Eagles sit in 19th place as a team with 31 points and will end the tournament with that result. Defending national champion Penn State continues to lead the team race with 128.5 points and has already clinched its second straight team title.

Flores and Sanjaa both wrapped up their distinguished careers at American on Saturday. Flores completes his two seasons at American with a 47-9 record, which includes 27 pins, the second-most in program history. He is a two-time All-American and a three-time EIWA Champion. The two-time All-American Sanjaa, meanwhile, ends his two years at AU with a 51-14 mark with 11 pins and six major decisions.

AUeagles.com's live blog wrapped up its three-day coverage from the Scottrade Center and the archive of the conversation can be accessed now. Visit the NCAA Wrestling Homepage on AUeagles.com for links to all of the coverage from St. Louis.

No. 5 Ganbayar Sanjaa – 157
Sanjaa dropped both of his bouts on Saturday morning to finish in sixth place, marking his second straight All-America honor and concluding his career at AU with a 51-14 record. He began with a 7-5 sudden victory loss against No. 7 Dylan Alton of Penn State. In what was a tight bout in its entirety, Sanjaa struck first with a takedown, which was followed by an Alton escape, to make it 2-1. Alton got the escape to begin the second period and then took a 4-2 lead with a takedown. Sanjaa responded with the quick escape and then tallied another escape to begin the third period to knot the match at four. The bout headed to extra time and neither wrestler struck during the first one-minute sudden victory period. Each wrestler earned an escape during the tiebreaker sessions and the action went back to sudden victory with it tied at five. Late at the end of the one-minute period, Sanjaa went in for a shot, but Alton countered to record the takedown and win the bout, 7-5, with four seconds left in the period.

In the fifth-place bout, Sanjaa dropped another 7-5 decision, this time to No. 6 James Fleming of Clarion. Sanjaa got off to another quick start with a takedown and a three-point near-fall to open up a 5-0 advantage in the first period. Fleming fired back to make it 5-3 through one and that score remained after two periods. Sanjaa began the third period on bottom and Fleming was able to roll him over to record the three-point near-fall and take a 6-5 advantage. Sanjaa was unable to score in the final moments and with a riding-time point, Fleming registered the 7-5 decision.

No. 1 Ryan Flores – HWT
Flores did not compete in his two scheduled bouts on Saturday due to medical forfeit and placed sixth in the tournament. He earns his second straight All-America honor and will graduate with a 47-9 record in his two seasons at American.