Rookies Surprise In Season Opener

At the Binghamton Open yesterday, the Crimson knew what it was getting from its veterans, but the rookies had a few surprises in store for the field as well.

The Harvard wrestling team brought a full squad to Binghamton, N.Y. for its season-opening competition and once again made a strong statement to begin the year.

Co-captain J.P. O’Connor took home a championship, while fellow co-captain Louis Caputo and returning sophomore stalwart Walter Peppelman each placed third.

But in a year that features one of Harvard’s strongest recruiting classes in recent memory, a number of freshmen showed that they could make an impact on the mat from day one.

“I was excited to get guys on the mat, especially some of the freshmen who have been looking good in the training room,” Crimson coach Jay Weiss said. “Today was a big step…Three or four freshmen proved that they can really compete at a high level.”

Among these rookies were Tony Buxton, Steven Keith, and Adam Hogue—all of whom placed in the top six. Buxton cruised to the semifinals in the 141-pound weight class before falling in a tight bout against Binghamton’s Anwar Goeres, 6-4. A medical forfeit gave the freshman third place.

Keith and Hogue stumbled early in their first collegiate tournament but quickly regained their footing. After both were pinned in their first bouts, Hogue reeled off six-straight wins to finish sixth at 165 lbs., while Keith (125) proceeded to go undefeated in the wrestleback, placing fifth. With a dominant 12-2 showing in his final bout, Keith showed how much progress the freshmen made in just one afternoon.

“We had a couple guys get pinned when they were [leading a bout],” O’Connor said. “They made rookie mistakes, but improved dramatically throughout the tournament.”

Two other wrestlers notched their first career wins, with junior Fermin Mendez (125) and first-year David Lalo (174) besting opponents in the early rounds.

While O’Connor praised all of these strong efforts of Harvard’s young grapplers on the mat, he was quick to point out that the inexperienced contingent also contributes to the overall dynamic.

“These guys are great not only as wrestlers, but as people,” O’Connor said. “They couldn’t have done a better job today. They battled and showed that they’re going to put Harvard in the top 20 in the country.”

If the Crimson does climb this high in the rankings, it will not just depend on a strong rookie class but will also draw on its seasoned veterans.

O’Connor (157) and Caputo (184) breezed through their brackets with characteristic ease, reminding the field of their All-American status. But both faced challenges before they were done, as O’Connor pulled out a tough 3-1 victory in the finals, while Caputo fell 4-3 in the semifinals.

“I feel like I wrestled well in my first four matches,” O’Connor said of his run through the tournament. “But in the final, I wrestled a little conservatively, which is something I’ve been trying to work on for the past two years.”

Nonetheless, O’Connor emerged unscathed, a fate that Caputo could not match. The co-captain—wrestling unattached as he takes the semester off from Harvard—mounted a furious comeback after falling behind 3-0 to Cornell’s Steve Bosak but dropped the bout due to riding time. But O’Connor was confident Caputo would bounce back.

“I’m sure he’s thinking about [the loss], but he will make every change he needs to make come March,” O’Connor said. “[Caputo] wrestled really tough in the toughest weight class of the tournament, and he wrestled pretty damn well, so he’ll be back to where he needs to be soon enough.”

Another wrestler on the brink of success was Peppelman, whose third-place effort demonstrated tremendous improvement over last season. Although the sophomore fell to eventual champion Donnie Vinson, 2-0, in the semifinals, his strong showing earned praise from Weiss.

“Peppelman was awesome today,” the coach said. “[Vinson] is ranked 11th in the country, and one year ago today, he beat [Peppelman] 12-2. Walter made up some ground.”

If the Crimson’s strong rookie class shows as much improvement as Peppelman over the past year, Harvard will be in place to contend on a national stage.

“These tournaments are huge for us to practice,” Weiss said. “[Today] was so valuable for us, and we are all pleased with how this young group started.”

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