AOTW: Undisputed Master of the Mat

Having fielded questions from Sports Illustrated, been interviewed on ESPN2 and featured on the sports cover for Newsday—Long Island’s local newspaper—it seemed that by Sunday afternoon Harvard wrestler Jesse Jantzen was content with the attention he had received for his NCAA title and Most Outstanding Wrestler Award.

But all that changed about an hour into his flight from St. Louis, when the captain came over the loudspeaker to announce to the cabin that a certain celebrity—the inconspicuous Jantzen, sporting street clothes and two black eyes—was sitting amongst them.

The pilot went on to explain to the captive audience about Jantzen’s accomplishments, after which the plane burst into applause for the Harvard history maker. And while Jantzen may have been trying to make himself as invisible as possible as the list of his accolades came blaring over the loudspeaker, coach Jay Weiss made sure that everyone on board knew who he was, reaching across the aisle to raise Jantzen’s arm into the air.

This was just one of several bizarre Hollywood moments that Jantzen experienced during the crazy 24-hour period after his epic performance this weekend, the climax of which came in his final bout as a collegiate wrestler, when he beat Oklahoma State’s No. 2 Zack Esposito in the last round of the NCAA tournament.

“At this point it is the pinnacle,” Jantzen said about the title. “This is a goal I set out to do and it’s obviously something [that] doesn’t always happen and I’m real fortunate.”

But what that America Airlines pilot didn’t tell those 200-plus passengers, and what they probably didn’t realize, was just how dominant Jantzen was at the NCAAs.

For starters, he absolutely manhandled all of his opponents. That’s not to say that the grapplers he faced before wrestling against Esposito weren’t worthy opponents. After all, Jantzen’s opponent in the semifinal—Michigan’s No. 4 Ryan Churella—ended up coming in third place after Jantzen upended him 11-4.

To do so, Churella had to defeat Cornell’s No. 6 Dustin Manotti in the final consolation match, which he accomplished in a 9-4 decision. Esposito, on the other hand, had only been able to beat Manotti by three.

“He’s the best wrestler in the country,” said Harvard coach Jay Weiss. “I don’t see him as a Harvard guy. He’s the best wrestler in the country.”

Jantzen proved that excellence once again in the championship match. Even when he was up by six points going into the third period against Esposito, Jantzen didn’t let off the heat. He came out strong and scored a quick takedown, furthering his lead to eight points. Most other wrestlers, had they been in a similar situation, might have chosen to do something a bit differently.

“I imagine that if I had been in his position I would have said, ‘Well there’s no point in taking a lot of chances. I’m way the hell ahead,’” said John Harkness ’38, Harvard’s first and only other NCAA champion.

Jantzen isn’t the first man to win the national title or the Most Outstanding Wrestler award from Harvard—but he is the first to win both in the same year. And times certainly seem to have changed a bit since the Crimson’s other national title was awarded in 1938.

“This is much more big-time than when I won it,” Harkness said. “There were a few little people gathered around cheering. It was a lot of fun but it was certainly nothing on this scale.”

So to anyone reading this from American Airlines Flight 1120, while Jantzen may have been Harvard’s first three-time EIWA champion, four-time All-American, NCAA champion since 1938 and Most Outstanding Wrestler award winner since 1932, he also did so much more than that—the pilot just didn’t have time to tell you everything he did.