The EIWA Championships is now 101 years old, the college wrestling event with the richest history in the sport. Over the past century, numerous great stories have emerged from this tournament.    Three teams that participated in the first EIWA Championships are still on the mats this weekend: Penn, Columbia and Princeton. The newest team in this tournament is American University, which enters its third EIWA competition.    Last year, American placed in dead-last in the tournament, scoring 2.5 team points for 13th place. The first year, American did not score any points. This year, however, should be a totally different story. Although coach Mark Cody's team is entering just seven athletes, the Eagles are expected to make a major impact in the standings.    Cody took over the American coaching job after serving stints as an assistant coach at powerhouses Nebraska and Oklahoma State. Cody immediately set high goals for the team, even though the program had survived a review where college administrators considered dropping the sport.    "I thought it was time to get a head coaching job. I had been an assistant coach for 18 years," said Cody. "When I interviewed, I was not all that interested. When I went for my second interview, I realized that they really want to do it here. The president of the university said that he wanted to build a powerhouse at American."    "I was surprised that the facilities were so nice, that they had a strength and conditioning coach, and had great academic support. Even though we are a small school, they had every advantage of a bigger school, except for scholarship support," he said.    Cody came into a program that needed a new image and direction. He immediately started talking to recruits who were being considered at successful major programs, and had to explain what American was all about. He had to set a gameplan for building a program from scratch.    "I wanted to get some impact guys to put us on the map, and I wanted to fill all the weight classes," said Cody. "We have the impact guys. Now I need to fill the lineup with more of them."    This year, the big man on campus of this Washington-D.C. school known for its international student body is a non-American. Hailing from Tashkent, Uzbekistan, the top seed at 157 pounds at the EIWA Championships is Muzaffar Abdurakhmanov of American Univ.    Cody recruited Abdurakhmanov from the junior college ranks, where the talented athlete had won two NJCAA titles for Colby JC in Kansas. While many other well-known wrestling programs sought this emerging star, it was Cody and American Univ. which reeled in the big catch.    "It came down to us, Minnesota and Oklahoma," said Cody. "In recruiting,  I  made him as comfortable as possible. I got together some Russian students here, some who are athletes. They did a good job convincing him to come to American. Also, when I went out to Colby to meet him, I felt we had a connection. I found out that he was very comfortable with our situation."    Abdurakhmanov made an immediate impact on the national scene. He made the gold-medal finals of the Sunkist Kids International Open in October, losing only to 2004 Olympian Joe Williams of the Sunkist Kids in the finals. He made the semifinals of the 2004 Midlands Championships, where he was beaten by NCAA runner-up Alex Tirapelle of Illinois, 4-2. It was Abdurakhmanov's only college defeat so far this year.    "He is good on his feet," said Cody. "He keeps attacking. Many times, he will hit things in matches that I'm not even aware that he can do. On the top, he can turn people. And in every match this year, he has gotten up from the bottom. I thought with his freestyle background that the bottom was something I would have to work on with him. His junior college coach did a really good job on that with him."    In addition to Abdurakhmanov, the American Univ. team has an international flavor to it, as one of the assistant coaches, Ruslan Madjinov, was an international competitor and coach for Kyrgyzstan.    Cody has helped groom other athletes who should score many team points for American in the tournament this year. At 174 pounds, Dan Waters, a former Navy SEAL, has developed into a potential medalist at his weight class. Tom Kniezewski  (149), Josh Glenn (184) and Adam LoPiccolo (HWT) are expected to do well at the EIWA tournament this year.    Waters is an interesting story. He is 28 years old, and spent six years in the Navy, serving as a SEAL. His first college career came at  Penn State, where he wrestled, but career hampered by injury. He received an undergraduate degree then went into Navy after graduation. He is now pursuing a masters degree at American. Waters was featured in an article in USA Today this morning, describing his military background and its affect on his wrestling career.    "The first two years in this job, I would call people and they would ask me if we were a Div. I team," said Cody. "Because of Muzaffar, Waters, Glenn and Kniezewski, I don't have to answer those questions anymore."    Cody received his opportunity to coach a Div. I team after American made the unique decision to decide to upgrade its wrestling program. This was a major victory for wrestling, not only at this campus, but on a national scale.    A few years ago, American decided to review the wrestling program, to determine if the sport would continue to exist in the athletic department. Basically, wrestling would have to demonstrate to administrators that it belonged on the campus, and could contribute to the university.    This challenge to wrestling was met head-on by AU wrestling alumni and others of importance to the university. A very crucial meeting was set up with Athletic Director Tom George and the wrestling community, where wrestling had to make its case and prove itself. A number of major wrestling leaders flew into Washington, D.C. to support the American wrestling team, and pitch the value of college wrestling.    "The people who were involved in American wrestling got behind it," said Cody. "There are many alumni, including men like Alan Meltzer, Loren Danielson and Jack Haire, who stepped up for the program. They are so proud of the fact that they wrestled at American Univ. They want to be sure the program stays afloat. The administration has been very supportive since I have been here."    American not only decided to maintain its wrestling program, but made a public announcement that it had chosen to invest more into the team in order to compete on a national level. The school hired a talented new coach in Cody, and joined the prestigious EIWA Championships, where it would face other schools with the same commitment to academics and national wrestling prominence.    "I've gone after many kids in the Midwest, and when they hear Washington, D.C., they have been intimidated," said Cody. "When they came out, they were surprised how beautiful the campus is. We are one mile away from the Potomoc River in one direction. One mile in the other direction is downtown Washington D.C., and the Georgetown area. It is a great selling point for our recruits."    "Recruiting is going really well," continued Cody. "We have a few verbal commitments at this time. There are two guys who can step in an make a major impact right away."    After the first session of the EIWA Championships this year, American won three matches, more than any other entire tournament in the past, scoring 7.5 points for sixth place in the standings. Another team member had a bye and are expected to win some matches. Cody already can see that his plan is starting to take root, and that American is truly already on the wrestling map.    Last week, American Univ. announced that it would drop its men's and women's tennis team, and its men's golf team. The reason provided was financial. At the same time, the wrestling team, which was considered on the chopping block just a few seasons ago, marches forward with high goals.    "My goal is to win a national team title. That has always been the goal for me," said Cody. "I feel we can get the recruits here. I am am trying to recruit the same individuals that we got at Ok