First Victory Lone Bright Spot in Tough Vacation

With that elusive first victory behind it, the Crimson can start looking to turn some close losses in its favor.

The Harvard wrestling team (1-5) finished winter break at the Lonestar Duals Saturday in Arlington, Texas, besting Stanford 24-21 before dropping close matches to Cal Poly and No. 7 Minnesota, 16-19 and 20-28, respectively. Despite the narrow defeats, junior co-captain Louis Caputo felt encouraged by the Crimson’s resolve against top teams.

“The [duals] went well,” he said. “It felt good to pull off the win against Stanford, and we held our own against Minnesota.”

In addition to three grueling team bouts in one day, Harvard faced individual challenges last week, sending four wrestlers to the Midland Championships Dec. 28 and 29 in Evanston, Ill. Even with a daunting schedule, Caputo appreciated so many opportunities to compete.

“I felt good,” he said. “It’s been a long week with [Midlands], and we were happy to end on a good note.”

With a break for exams, the Crimson will focus on individual improvements throughout January, looking to be ready for the start of the dual meet season later this month.

“We’ll be specifying our training,” Harvard coach Jay Weiss said. “We’ll look at ‘how does this person get better and what do they need to work on?’”

With minor adjustments, the Crimson can anticipate bolstering the win column this spring.

LONESTAR DUALS

Three Harvard grapplers went undefeated and Caputo (19-3) earned upper-weight Outstanding Wrestler honors, but the Crimson struggled to overcome early deficits. Despite additional 3-0 performances from junior co-captain J.P. O’Connor (16-2) and sophomore Corey Jantzen (11-2), Harvard continually suffers by forfeiting the 125 lbs. weight class.

“If you have someone there who could win a match or two, it’s a nine-point swing,” Caputo said. “It’s hard, but [having holes in the lineup] is nothing new for Harvard wrestling, and we just have to fight back.”

Senior Tommy Picarsic and junior Andrew Knapp added wins for the Crimson, and rookie Walter Peppelman notched a fall to give Harvard its first victory of the season over a talented Stanford squad. The six-point forfeit deficit proved crucial in three- and eight-point losses to Cal Poly and Minnesota.

Freshman Spencer Desena (2-5) bounced back from a difficult Midlands performance to notch a decision against the Mustangs, and Picarsic (2-1) earned his second victory of the day, but winning five of 10 bouts could not stave off defeat for the Crimson.

Despite a nine-point deficit to open the final match, Harvard led the Golden Gophers through eight bouts. But the Crimson wasted falls by Jantzen and Caputo and a technical fall from Peppelman (13-6) as Minnesota dominated the top two weights to seal a win.

MIDLAND CHAMPIONSHIPS

Caputo, Jantzen, Peppelman, and Desena traveled to Northwestern’s Ryan-Welch Arena, taking on the nation’s best grapplers.

Caputo enjoyed the best result for Harvard and a personal-best fourth place at Midlands, but the small squad struggled to make an overall impact, settling for 21st in the 47-team field.

“[The Championships] could have gone better,” Caputo said. “Overall, we’ve got some strides to make, but going to these tournaments is all about facing the best guys in the country and seeing where we stand.”

Caputo and Jantzen entered the tournament ranked fourth and first, respectively, but both faltered late in the draw.

The third-seeded Caputo rode a technical fall, a major decision, and a 4-2 victory to earn a semifinal matchup with Iowa’s Phil Keddy, who handed Caputo his first loss this season at the NWCA All-Star Classic on Nov. 25.

The Hawkeye junior took his second in a row against Caputo with a 6-3 decision on Monday.

The Havard grappler bounced back in time to overtake eighth-seeded Jerome Ward of Iowa State in the wrestleback bracket, but came up short in the third-place bout, falling to fourth-seeded Doug Umbehauer of Rider.

Jantzen also struggled for the first time this year, dropping two bouts in Evanston. The top seed earned back-to-back falls in what looked to be another dominant performance, but Jantzen could not sustain his momentum, suffering a quarterfinal defeat to eighth-seeded Zach Tanelli of Wisconsin in a 3-1 decision.

Although the loss proved disappointing, Jantzen caused greater concern with a minor ankle injury, forcing the sophomore to medically forfeit his wrestleback match.

Peppelman went 2-2, winning consecutive wrestleback bouts after dropping a major decision to second-seeded Jake Patacsil in the opening round. After notching a decision and a technical fall without relinquishing a point, Peppelman finished the tournament with a 4-1 loss to Pittsburgh’s Mark Powell.

In the heavyweight division, Desena could not muster an upset over top-seeded David Zabriskie, losing 9-0 before bowing out to Iowa’s Eric Thompson in the wrestlebacks.

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