Preston Returns for Three Good Showings

The EIWA and NCAA tournaments in March, for which Harvard wrestlers have practiced all season, are right around the corner, and eighth-ranked junior Robbie Preston will certainly be an indispensable figure to the Crimson’s success there.

So it is certainly good news for Harvard that Preston, in his return from a leg injury that had kept him out of the lineup for over a month, put up three solid performances this weekend.

He recorded one pin and two major decisions in bouts against Boston University, Brown and Sacred Heart, propelling the Crimson to two wins and one tie against its three opponents.

“I think I was a little tired from not wrestling for four weeks,” Preston said. But he later added, “My heart was in it.”

“I think we’re peaking at the right time,” he said. “Everyone’s coming back from injuries, me and [Max Meltzer]. Max has a couple of things to work out also. I know he wasn’t too pleased about his performance Saturday. But come tournament time, we’ll be ready.”

The Crimson (4-7-1, 1-4-1 EIWA) wrestled the Bears to an 18-18 tie in Saturday’s bout at Brown, and then defeated Sacred Heart, 32-12.

The previous night, the Terriers (4-7) fell to Harvard 26-14 at the Malkin Athletic Center, the last home match for the Crimson this season.

Next weekend, Harvard travels to No. 14 Cornell for a Friday night match, and then heads to Columbia to face the Lions and Duke on Saturday.

HARVARD 18, BROWN 18; HARVARD 32, SACRED HEART 12

The Crimson won five bouts, including three by major decisions, and managed to tie Brown (7-7-1, 2-5-1 EIWA) in the first match on Saturday despite having to forfeit at 125 lbs. Harvard then dominated the Pioneers (6-9) by winning eight of the nine contested bouts.

Both matches at Brown began with the 174 lbs. bouts.

The Bears opened with a decision win in which Matt Gevelinger defeated freshman Wesley Walker, 8-6.

Freshman Louis Caputo (184 lbs.) put Harvard on the board with a major decision against Branden Stearns. Brown then recorded a win at 197 lbs. against sophomore Joseph Bechtold, but junior tri-captain Bode Ogunwole, ranked seventh in the nation, answered with an 8-3 decision win in the heavyweight class.

The Crimson forfeited the bout at 125 lbs. before Preston (133 lbs.) scored a major decision against Dan Appello, and junior tri-captain Max Meltzer, ranked 15th in the nation, followed with another major decision against Mark Savino, 14-4, at 141 lbs.

After sophomore Bobby Latessa (149 lbs.) was edged by a 6-5 decision, freshman Andrew Flanagan (157 lbs.) defeated Michael Savino, 5-3, putting Harvard up 18-15 before Shawn Kitchner defeated tri-captain Mike Baria 3-1 at 165 lbs. to force the tie.

Against Sacred Heart, Walker recorded a pin of Jededian Gigvere in 5:16 to start the match, and Caputo followed with a 7-1 win.

After Kevin Fox pinned Crimson sophomore Billy Colgan (197 lbs.) in 0:24, Ogunwole repeated last week’s performance by recording another overtime victory against a ranked opponent, defeating 11th-ranked Payam Zarrinpour—who had beaten Ogunwole, 1-0, in the third-place match in the Midlands at Northwestern—in overtime.

“I think I’m definitely in shape now to do well,” Ogunwole said.

“Right now, the team is just pushing forward through the next couple of weeks,” he added. “Coach said that we have to take it one day at a time now, and that it is important to start fixing the little things.”

HARVARD 26, BOSTON UNIVERSITY 14

In his first match back from suffering a leg injury against Chattanooga on Jan. 7 at the Lone Star Duals, Preston started the day for Harvard with a 1:29 pin of Bryan Matsuura, who usually wrestles in the 125 lbs. weight class, improving his season record to 14-3.

Meltzer extended his perfect record by defeating Joe Whitaker in a 13-2 major decision.

After Michael Roberts defeated sophomore Matt Button (149 lbs.) in a 5-2 decision, Flanagan posted a major decision against his opponent, 14-6.

Baria’s win against Zachary Johns—who had entered the day with a 16-5 record—was the highlight of the day.

Wrestling in his last match at the MAC, the senior edged out his opponent, 6-5, in two overtime periods, and left the mat to a stirring ovation from the home crowd.

—Staff writer Tony D. Qian can be reached at tonyqian@fas.harvard.edu.