Wrestling Lacks Necessary Depth

Though the Harvard wrestling team may have won only one dual match in 15 attempts this season, coach Jay Weiss has always said he doesn’t measure the Crimson’s success solely on its record (1-14, 1-7 EIWA). And it’s hard to find fault with such a system, considering the individual nature of the sport and the accomplishments of some of the members of Harvard’s team.

The highlight of the year was obviously co-captain Jesse Jantzen (149 lbs.), whose NCAA championship, Outstanding Wrestling Award and laundry list of other accolades have him penciled in as the greatest wrestler in Harvard history.

But while Jantzen’s abilities have made him a legend in Harvard history, they are not enough to overshadow completely what some of his teammates—such as freshman Bode Ogunwole (heavyweight), sophomore Max Meltzer (141 lbs.) and co-captain Reggie Lee (197 lbs.)—accomplished.

Ogunwole proved to be the biggest surprise of the season. He did not even wrestle in a dual meet until Jan. 3 against Princeton after junior Jonas Corl went down with an injury less than a week before.

Ogunwole placed third during the EIWA tournament, losing only to the tourney’s top seed, Penn’s No. 1 Matt Feast, 5-3.

And in the NCAA tournament, he upset two wrestlers—Cleveland State’s No. 9 Russ Davie and Fresno State’s No. 8 Clinton Walbeck. Despite the lack of experience and expectations, he finished the year with a 16-10 overall record.

His performance this year was so remarkable that Weiss was unwilling to comment on who will take the starting position when the 2004-2005 season rolls along.

“Bode came in with just so much talent that it’s fun to work with him,” Weiss said.

Meltzer—who will take next year off in order to focus on training—also came in third during the conference tournament, but found it less satisfying.

After defeating Penn’s Doug McGraw during the regular season, 3-1, Meltzer found himself against the Quaker during EIWAs near the final rounds. But this time, McGraw got the upper hand, and won 11-6.

Similarly, during the NCAA tournament, Meltzer found himself facing a familiar opponent near the end of his tourney run. During the consolation rounds, Meltzer wrestled against Lehigh’s No. 9 Cory Cooperman, who Meltzer had lost to, 6-1, on Jan. 3.

The second time around, the match wasn’t nearly as close, and Cooperman won by technical fall during the third period. Cooperman ended up taking seventh place at NCAAs. The loss ended Meltzer’s season, with a final record of 34-10.

“Obviously I wanted to do better, but there’s going to be next year,” Meltzer said of his performance in the NCAAs.

For Lee, he considered it an honor just to qualify for the tournament.

Having taken the 2002-2003 year off, Lee came back to Harvard and proved to be one of just a few consistent winners on the mat.

Though he had a bit of an injury scare during the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational in December, Lee was one of three Crimson grapplers to take third at EIWAs, but went on to lose both of his NCAA tournament matches to Ohio’s Joe Weimer and Missouri’s Jeff Foust.

The achievements from these members demonstrate the disparity of talent with a team that wasn’t even able at times to field enough healthy members for every weight class.

In its final dual meet against BU, the Crimson forfeited twice and had only three competitors with winning records competing, though neither Jantzen nor Meltzer competed in the event.

Of particular difficulty throughout the year was fielding wrestlers at 157 and 165 lbs., which rotated between freshmen Bobby Latessa and Jonathan Spiker, sophomore J.T. Young and seniors Brandon Kauffman and Jantzen. But there was only so much Jantzen—who spent most of the year at 149 lbs.—could do; he was the only Crimson wrestler to garner points during every dual meet.

—Staff writer Evan R. Johnson can be reached at erjohns@fas.harvard.edu.