Crimson Anticipates New Season, Fresh Start

With the beginning of summer, mats enter storage and Crimson singlets find their way to the back of closets, as the collegiate wrestling season draws to a close. Yet, far away from the bannered walls and bright lights of the MAC, the members of Harvard wrestling enjoy no such hiatus. After suffering unprecedented injuries in the ’07-’08 campaign that deflated a promising year, the Crimson has worked tirelessly, running, lifting, and adapting, to achieve its full potential.

The season does not officially begin until mid-October, when Harvard can increase its wrestling to more than once a week, but for those veterans felled by injuries, a return to the mat cannot come soon enough.

“Personally, I’m happy to be able to compete,” writes junior co-captain Louis Caputo, who has not competed for the Crimson since January. “However, I am much more excited about how this team is coming together and the potential we could realize once the competitive season starts.”

Indeed, while a number of grapplers look forward to their individual returns to action, the collective health of the team has shifted enthusiasm towards group achievements that were simply unrealistic a season ago.

“This year, we want to allow more people to feel like they can accomplish something,” junior co-captain J.P. O’Connor said. “Instead of saying ‘I want to be top 10,’ we want to do something everyone can take pride in, like winning the Ivy League title.”

Harvard has every reason to believe the title is within its grasp, as the squad boasts a potent balance of seasoned veterans and talented rookies. With the introduction of six new freshmen, the first-year competitors are the most represented of any class on the squad, and have already made a noticeable impact.

“[The freshmen] are incredible,” O’Connor said. “They have so much fire and everyone of them fits in great. I really like that they’re coming in and pushing the old guys.”

Particularly critical for the Crimson could be the range of weights covered by the rookies, who will help the team to field a full lineup at every match. Last year, superstars like O’Connor and sophomore Corey Jantzen often scored convincing wins, only to have their performances drowned out by numerous forfeits at other positions. This year, freshmen Zack Pope (125 lbs), Walter Peppelman (149), and Sean Murphy (197) occupy otherwise empty positions, bolstering the small squad.

With such a talented recruiting class, and Caputo (184) and O’Connor (157) claiming preseason residence in the top five, head coach Jay Weiss’ squad finds itself brimming with confidence. But, in the words of another spandex-clad hero, with great power comes great responsibility. For the Crimson, such optimism has yielded a grueling schedule.

“We’re not facing any slouches,” Weiss said. “We’re trying to get tough matchups [at every position].”

Looking at the months ahead, it seems the coaching staff has skillfully accomplished this task, generating a challenging slate of contests that has also inspired tremendous excitement among the grapplers.

The Crimson opens the year calmly enough on November 15th at the Binghamton Open in Johnson City. But, the schedule quickly picks up steam, as the grapplers prepare to battle six teams from last year’s top 30.

The Journeyman/Brute Northeast Collegiate Duals feature a match with No. 5 Missouri on November 29th, followed a month later by a highly anticipated contest against 11th-ranked Minnesota at the Lone Star Duals. Combined with tests at Lehigh, Army, and Boston University, Harvard should have ample preparation for the Ivy season in February.

“I’m very pleased with the new schedule,” Caputo writes. “We are wrestling top-caliber teams that we didn’t get to wrestle in years past. I couldn’t be more happy with the direction this team is headed.”

Whichever path the Crimson follows this season, all roads lead to the final dual meet against No. 4 Cornell, in which the MAC banners of past glory could very well bear witness to a new chapter in the tradition of Harvard wrestling.

However, if the Crimson expects to wrest the Ivy crown from last year’s champions, it must avoid the disastrous injuries of last year.

Instead of fearing such setbacks, though, Weiss remains determined to start fresh.

“[The injury factor] is what it is,” he said. “We still have to move forward and get to the point where we’re training as hard as possible.”

The entire squad echoes this sentiment, expressing great anticipation for November.

“We’ve had a great preseason,” junior heavyweight Andrew Knapp said. “Now we’re just excited to get started.”

—Staff writer Max N. Brondfield can be reached at mbrondf@fas.harvard.edu.