Harvard Opens Season in Dominating Fashion

The No. 25 Harvard wrestling team has been waiting all fall to unveil its full potential, and this weekend the squad fired on all cylinders.

The Crimson grapplers opened their season at the Binghamton Brute Open on Saturday, bringing a full roster to Johnson, N.Y. in order to test the team’s progress. With three finalists and two overall winners, it is safe to say Harvard earned a passing grade.

“Overall, if this is the way we’re going to start [the season], I’m excited,” Harvard coach Jay Weiss said. “A bunch of guys had bright spots, and our conditioning was some of the best in the tournament.”

Solid preparation and healthy wrestlers come as a relief for the Crimson, who made a tremendous showing despite the absence of key starters Andrew Flanagan (165 lbs) and Corey Jantzen (141), both of whom rested due to nagging injuries.

With these veterans holding back, Weiss had the opportunity to challenge the squad’s rookies and showcase its stars. Along with six returning grapplers, Harvard entered five freshmen into Saturday’s competition.

No first-year competitor showed more promise than Walter Peppelman, who has the daunting task of replacing junior co-captain and All-American J.P. O’Connor (157) at 149 lbs. The freshman from Harrisburg, Penn. reached the finals in his first collegiate action, dispatching multiple competitors in the talented open field.

“[Peppelman] blew through the tournament, just killing people,” Weiss said.

The rookie earned three straight falls to land in the semifinals before dispatching Nassau’s Bobby Ward in a tight 4-1 contest. Although Peppelman then fell 14-1 to end the tournament, his effort made a statement about the impact of the Crimson’s rookie class.

“I couldn’t be more proud of the young guys,” O’Connor said. “One thing you can’t teach is heart. Every one of them went out there and put in their all every time.

“It makes my job easy as a captain when the young [wrestlers] are inspiring everyone else.”

Despite the tremendous praise for Peppelman and his classmates—who amassed a 6-9 record on the day—O’Connor and co-captain Louis Caputo (184) provided plenty of inspiration themselves, posting the only two overall victories for Harvard.

No. 5 O’Connor, competing for the first time in a heavier weight class, will undoubtedly see this ranking rise after defeating Cornell’s Jordan Leen, the nation’s best wrestler and defending national champion at 157. After dismantling four opponents who managed no better than a 6-2 margin, O’Connor battled fiercely in the finals, earning a takedown in the second tiebreaker period against Leen, 7-5.

“I felt awesome,” the usually reserved O’Connor admitted. “We work so hard during the fall to get to this point, and my preparation with the coaches was phenomenal. It’s really nice to finally put the boots on and compete.”

As elated as the All-American was to return to action, his co-captain wasted no time showing his own enthusiasm for the start of the regular season. After sitting out most of last year with injuries, Caputo proved that his No. 4 national ranking was well-deserved, coasting through the Binghamton field in a manner reminiscent of his own All-American season in 2007.

Caputo notched five victories, including three straight against Cornell opponents. With a 6-3 decision over the Big Red’s Cameron Simaz, Caputo gave the Crimson its second overall victory with critical implications for the Ivy League season.

“Louis just dominated everyone he [competed against]” O’Connor said. “That’s just a testament to the way he wrestles and the caliber of competitor he is.”

With resounding victories in two weight classes and the imminent return of talented starters, Harvard has ample reason to bring an optimistic outlook to the mat as the season continues. But Weiss cautioned against getting carried away with initial success, as the road through the Ivy League spans nearly five months.

“I’m pleased with the whole team, but obviously there are things we have to make corrections on,” Weiss said. “It can be frustrating as a coach if the same mistakes being made in practice are happening [in competition], but that comes with the territory. It’s what we do these tournaments for.”

After a week off from competition, the Crimson will have an opportunity to improve even more, as it takes on some of the best competition of the season at the Journeyman/Brute Northeast Duals on Nov. 29th.

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