Trio of Star Grapplers Qualifies for NCAAs

For Harvard’s newcomers, the EIWA Championships at the University of Pennsylvania’s Palestra served as a humbling reminder of the depth of Eastern schools. For the veterans, this weekend’s tournament scored them plane tickets to St. Louis for the NCAAs.

Three Crimson grapplers advanced to Sunday’s semifinal bouts and the season-ending championships, with junior co-captain J.P. O’Connor and sophomore Corey Janzten taking second, while junior co-captain Louis Caputo notched a third-place finish.

Top-seeded O’Connor—also No. 4 in the nation at 157 lbs.—looked to avenge a loss in last year’s 149 lbs. finals, using a fall and two decisions to earn a matchup with No. 5 Jordan Leen of Cornell.

Although O’Connor topped the second-seed 7-5 earlier this year, it was Leen’s turn for retribution, as the Big Red senior notched an 8-2 victory in a match that saw O’Connor injured.

“It was a dirty match I felt,” Harvard coach Jay Weiss fumed. “[O’Connor] tweaked his knee and the match should’ve been stopped. Now’s he’s banged up and we’ll see how [the knee] reacts.”

O’Connor had to grind for much of the tournament, as an early matchup against Columbia’s Derek Sickles required extra time. After a 4-4 tie in regulation, O’Connor showed his determination with an overtime score.

“Those [close bouts] are the kind of things that remind you…if you win by a point or by a pin you go to the next round,” junior heavyweight Andrew Knapp said. “And [O’Connor] got it done when it mattered.”

No. 4 Jantzen (141) also proved his mettle through gritty matches, improving on a 2008 fourth-place finish. Due to strong performances early in the season, Jantzen found himself atop the bracket in 2009 and justified his seeding. Despite nagging injuries, the young grappler appeared in top form over the two-day tournament, dispatching Cornell’s Corey Manson and Trevor Melde of Rutgers to earn a spot in the decisive bout.

Jantzen wrestled hard in the finals as well, but came up on the short end of a 4-3 decision against No. 20 Seth Ciasulli of Lehigh. Regardless, Weiss was pleased with Jantzen’s prospect for a healthy end to the season.

“[Jantzen]’s ankle is fine and knock wood he didn’t have a problem all weekend,” Weiss said. “He missed a lot of matches this year and getting into match mode mentally takes a bit [of time], but he’ll be ready for nationals.”

Caputo (184) had a strong showing of his own as the tournament’s second seed, cruising through two opening bouts 10-0 and 9-2 to reach Sunday’s semifinal. Unfortunately for the co-captain, he could not top Cornell’s Justin Kerber, as the third seed claimed a 5-3 sudden victory.

But rather than imploding after a difficult loss, Caputo displayed his mental toughness with a dominant 10-2 win in the third place bout.

While Harvard’s top three competitors earned the majority of the Crimson’s points, the squad enjoyed other quality showings.

Although sophomore Andy Olsen (174) and rookies Bryan Panzano (165) and Sean Murphy (197) made quick exits from the talented field, veterans Tommy Picarsic (133) and Knapp (285) pushed deep into the consolation bracket.

After using only 6:09 to earn a 15-0 victory in his first bout, Picarsic used his momentum to push top-seeded Joe Baker of Navy to the limit. The Crimson senior competed fiercely to a 4-4 tie before a late third period score gave Baker a 5-4 edge. Picarsic showed no sign of letdown as he closed Saturday with a consolation win, before facing Penn’s Bryan Ortenzio. The Quaker wrestler overcame Picarsic for the second time this year, ending the senior’s season with a 3-1 decision.

For his part, Knapp surprised onlookers early with a 3-2 upset of Navy’s fifth-seeded Michael Sprigg. Although Knapp dropped his next bout, the junior earned one more win on the weekend for a 2-2 overall showing.

The final Harvard competitor to make a statement was freshman Walter Peppelman (149). The rookie continues to seek that elusive “Big Win,” but rebounded nicely in consolation after falling to top-seeded Matt Kyler of Army, 8-0. Peppelman turned around to dominate Columbia’s Nick Standish 9-0, before facing Penn’s Cesar Grajales, who bested O’Connor in last year’s final. Peppelman battled to the very end, dropping a 1-0 decision to the eventual fifth-place finisher.

While many of the Crimson grapplers face the end of their season, all three of Harvard’s NCAA qualifiers will enjoy legitimate chances to win national championships. Even though Caputo, O’Connor, and Jantzen must wait another year to compete for an EIWA crown, they can take ample consolation in knowing that they have one more opportunity to come out on top.

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