Without Ogunwole, Wrestling Scores Split Against Penn, Princeton

This weekend, the Harvard wrestling team stepped onto the mat for the first time with the knowledge that one of its most important wrestlers would no longer be able to wrestle in his usual position at the end of the lineup for the rest of the season. The Crimson emerged with its second straight weekend split without the services of tri-captain Bode Ogunwole, who confirmed that he will be out for the season due to an arm injury he suffered last weekend.

“Obviously it’s hard not to have Bode there to anchor the lineup,” said freshman J. P. O’Connor, who notched two victories in the Ivy League contests this weekend against Princeton and Penn. “Normally, if the match is within reach, Bode’s such a dependable guy that you can usually count on him to get the win and take the match for us.”

Harvard won in a dominating performance against the Tigers on Friday night, taking eight straight bouts en route to a 36-7 victory. Saturday afternoon, the Crimson fell to No. 14 Penn, 28-12, after an early lead.

After the split, Harvard (2-6, 1-1 Ivy) is now 2-3 in the Eastern Collegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA). The Crimson travels to Boston University next Friday, and will return home for the first time this season to wrestle Brown and Franklin & Marshall on Saturday.

PENN 28, HARVARD 12

Against the Quakers (6-5, 2-0), Harvard took a quick lead by taking three of the first four matches on the day. The 133-lb. bout featured the two wrestlers in the 2006 EIWA finals—No. 2 Matt Valenti and tri-captain Robbie Preston, ranked 10th in the nation. Valenti had defeated Preston in the EIWA finals, 4-2, and Preston could not manage to return the favor, falling 5-1 after a close match in which he led 1-0 early in the second period.

The Crimson, however, won the next three matches, with tri-captain Max Meltzer clinching a 5-4 decision at 141, freshman J. P. O’Connor winning by fall in 2:07 at 149, and sophomore Andrew Flanagan defeating his opponent, 11-4, at 157.

“[Without Bode in the lineup,] I still wrestle the same way as I [did] in the past,” O’Connor said. “I don’t think we feel more burdened as a team; we are just a little more aware now about getting bonus points [by major decisions or pins], which becomes more important especially without such a great wrestler like Bode.”

The Crimson struggled in the upper weight classes, which featured several nationally ranked wrestlers for Penn. Freshman Frankie Colletta (165) lost 15-6 in a major decision to No. 17 Zach Shananman, while freshman Fred Rowsey (174) lost to No. 9 Matt Herrington by fall in 39 seconds. Sophomore Louis Caputo, ranked 13th in the nation at 184, could not overcome No. 14 Lior Zamir and lost 3-2, with all the scoring occurring in the final period.

Junior Jonathan Butler (197) and freshman heavyweight Andrew Knapp lost their matches by decision, while freshman Ryan Fitzgerald was pinned in 35 seconds by Rollie Peterkin.

HARVARD 36, PRINCETON 7

After winning its first dual match of the season against Army last Sunday, the Crimson came out confident and aggressive, dominating Princeton, who fell to 0-11 (0-2) on the season, for its second straight victory. After Fitzgerald lost a high-scoring 21-13 decision and after a forfeit at 133, Harvard put together a string of seven straight victories against the Tigers.

No. 16 Meltzer had a major decision over Danny Scotton, 17-5, giving the Crimson a 10-4 lead. Harvard never looked back, getting four more points on another major decision from No. 6 O’Connor.

No. 10 Flanagan won by fall in 5:00, giving the Crimson a commanding 20-4 lead. Colletta added a third major decision on the night for Harvard before Rowsey won an 8-3 decision, putting the match out of reach.

Caputo then pinned Oliver Noteware in 1:52 and junior Billy Colgan won, 3-1, in a comeback victory at 197 after being down 0-1 after the second period. Knapp, in only his second match of the season, could not close the day for the Crimson with a win but had a close contest, losing 3-2.

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