SEASON RECAP: Wrestling

Jesse Jantzen ’04 was the Harvard wrestling team’s golden child last year, but this season, the Crimson found itself rallying behind two younger team members who demonstrated the potential to be quite successful in their own right.

The highlights of the Crimson’s season were sophomores Robbie Preston (125 lbs.) and heavyweight Bode Ogunwole Though the team earned a 1-11 record on the season, notching its one win over Princeton, the success that came in the spring showed the young team has potential for next year.

“Team-wise, it was frustrating,” coach Jay Weiss said, noting that injuries left the Crimson with an incomplete lineup and that the team had to go into matches scraping for wrestlers in each weight class. “I am really proud of how the guys battled through it.”

But come springtime and the NCAAs, Preston and Ogunwole made a name for Harvard wrestling on the national level.

Preston and Ogunwole both made it to the NCAA Championships, each going 3-1 in the consolation brackets. Preston battled all the way to the Round of 12, dropping the match right before he would have placed and would have become an All-American.

“Their performances give us momentum heading into next season,” Weiss said.

The crowning moment of Preston’s season was taking home first place at EIWAs. Preston was injured just before the tournament, and Weiss said what he was able to accomplish was amazing considering the setback.

On the heels of his achievement, Preston was named first team All-Ivy League, losing only twice on the season and notching a total of 20 wins. He was undefeated in Ivy action, tallying four wins.

Ogunwole was honored with a second team All-Ivy nod, while freshman Dominic DeNunzio (149 lbs.) and senior Eddie Jones (184 lbs.) were given honorable mentions.

The young DeNunzio had a promising first season with an 11-16 record, but will be out next year with a torn ACL.

Ogunwole finished the season 22-5 overall, with a 3-1 Ivy record. He will also be representing the US in the Junior World Championships this summer in Lithuania, having won his place by winning the team world trials for the under-20 age group.

With Ogunwole and Preston on board, the Crimson’s hopes are up for next season, and Weiss believes he has one of his best recruiting classes coming in. Harvard will also see the return of junior Max Meltzer and sophomore Bobby Latessa, who along with the returning players and incoming freshmen will make the team more complete.

“Going through growing pains is difficult, but [the wrestlers] got valuable experience,” Weiss said. “I knew it was going to be tough this year.”

And if there is a tangible reason for Harvard to look optimistically at the next season, it is that the Crimson team may start the year with three juniors ranked in the top eight for their weight class in the country, something that has never happened before.

—Staff writer Megha Parekh can be reached at parekh@fas.harvard.edu.