Flores rolled to an 11-2 major decision over No. 6 Spencer Myers of Maryland in the heavyweight matchup. Making his season debut, Flores got off to a quick start, picking up a near-fall en route to a 5-1 lead after the first period. He recorded a takedown in the second stanza and had a 7-2 advantage through two. After an escape to begin the third period, Flores added another takedown as well as a riding-time point to cruise to the major decision.
"Ryan wrestled very well and dominated one of the top-ranked heavyweights in the country," remarked Head Coach Teague Moore. "For his first event of the year, it was a great start and we're happy to see him perform at this level."
This marks Flores' second consecutive victory at the All-Star Classic. Last year, then-No. 8 Flores defeated then-No. 2 Jarod Trice of Central Michigan with a 3-1 decision.
No. 4 Ganbayar Sanjaa also kicked off his season on Monday night, although he came up on the short end of an 8-5 decision to No. 3 Jason Welch of Northwestern. Sanjaa jumped out to a 2-0 lead but was whistled three times for stalling to level the match at two. After trading escapes, Welch recorded a takedown to take a 5-3 lead, and extended his advantage to 8-3 with an escape and takedown early in the third period. Sanjaa registered a late escape and another point for riding time, but it was not enough as Welch earned the victory.
"Ganbayar wrestled well but gave up some technical points that were tough to recover from," added Moore. "He will learn from the match and become better because of it. That's why we came to this event."
Flores and Sanjaa's appearances are the first time in program history that AU has had two wrestlers compete at the All-Star Classic in the same year. Additionally, the Eagles were only one of three schools -- along with Oklahoma State, Maryland, and Wyoming -- to have multiple wrestlers participating in this year's event.
AU wrestlers are now 4-1 all-time in bouts at the All-Star Classic. Current Assistant Coach Kyle Borshoff won in 2009 when he earned a 3-2 decision over Ohio State's Lance Palmer. Marc Hoffer, American's all-time leader in wins, also competed at the 2001 All-Star Classic in an exhibition bout at 149 lbs. and defeated Hofstra's Eric Schmiesing, 6-4.
The Eagles will return to the mat this Saturday, November 26 when they travel to Troy, N.Y., to compete in the Northeast Duals. No. 7 American will compete against No. 6 Lehigh, No. 17 Rutgers, No. 25 Binghamton, and Purdue at the event.
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